After the beautiful productions of the German, Italian (of which some reproductions are given here), and French printers, our own William Caxton's first books seem rather rough, though not without character, and, at any rate, picturesqueness, if they cannot be quoted as very accomplished examples of the printer's art. The first book printed in England is said to be Caxton's "Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers," printed by him at Westminster in 1477. A noticeable characteristic of the early printed books is the development of the title page. Whereas the MSS. generally did without one, with the advent of printing the title page became more and more important, and even if there were no other illustrations or ornaments in a book, there was often a woodcut title. Such examples as some here given convey a good idea of what charming decorative feeling these title page designs sometimes displayed, and those greatest of designers and book decorators and illustrators, Albrecht Dürer and Hans Holbein, showed their power and decorative skill, and sense of the resources of the woodcut, in the designs made by them for various title pages. The noble designs of the master craftsman of Nuremberg, Albrecht Dürer, are well known. His extraordinary vigour of drawing, and sense of its resources as applied to the woodcut, made him a great force in the decoration and illustration of books, and many are the splendid designs from his hand. Three designs from the fine series of the Little Passion and two of his title pages are given, which show him on the strictly decorative side. The title dated 1523 may be compared with that of Oronce Finé (Paris, 1534). There appears to have been a return to this convoluted knotted kind of ornament at this period. It appears in Italian MSS. earlier, and may have been derived from Byzantine sources. [Illustration: GERMAN SCHOOL. XVITH CENTURY. ALBRECHT DÜRER, "KLEINE PASSION." (NUREMBERG, 1512.)] [Illustration: GERMAN SCHOOL. XVITH CENTURY. ALBRECHT DÜRER, "KLEINE PASSION." (NUREMBERG, 1512.)] [Illustration: GERMAN SCHOOL. XVITH CENTURY. ALBRECHT DÜRER, "KLEINE PASSION." (NUREMBERG, 1512.)] [Illustration: GERMAN SCHOOL. XVITH CENTURY. ALBRECHT DÜRER. (NUREMBERG, HEINRICH STEYNER, 1513.)] [Illustration: GERMAN SCHOOL. XVITH CENTURY. DESIGNED BY ALBRECHT DÜRER. (NUREMBERG, 1523.)] [Sidenote: HANS HOLBEIN.]