CAXTON, William, first English printer: b. Kent about 1422; d. London 1491. In 1438 he was bound apprentice to Robert Large, a mercer in London, and soon after his master's death (1441) he went to Bruges, where, in 1446, he went into business on his own account. About 1463 he was appointed (governor') at Bruges for the English merchants settled in the Low Coun tries, a post in which he continued for some years. About 1471 Caxton entered the service of Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, sister of Edward IV. He had already begun a transla tion of the popular romance entitled 'Le recueil des histoires de Troye,> and this he finished at Cologne in 1471. In order to meet the demand for the book he learned the art of printing, probably at Cologne, and his 'Recuyell of the Histories of Troy,' the first English printed book, appeared about 1474, having issued, it is supposed, from the press of Colard Mansion at Bruges. His 'Game and Playe of the Chesse,> also a translation from the French, was prob ably a production of the same press in 1475, and is the second English book printed. He left Bruges in 1476, returned to England, and in 1477 had a press at Westminster Abbey, where he printed the 'Dictes and Sayings of the Phi the fist typographical work executed in England. Caxton continued to exercise his art for about 14 years, during which time he produced nearly 80 works, many of them trans lated by himself from the French, and one of them — 'Reynard the Fox)— from the Dutch.
He was patronized by Edward IV, Richard III and Henry VII; and he was on intimate terms with Earl Rivers, the Earl of Worcester and others of the nobility, the two noblemen named having even translated works for his press. He was buried in the church of Saint Margaret's Westminster. Besides the books already men tioned, Caxton printed Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales); 'Troylus and Creside); 'Book of Fame,) and translation of Boethius; Gower's 'Confessio Amantis); works by Lydgate; Malory's 'King Arthur) (The Golden 'The Fables of etc. His books have no title pages, but are frequently provided with prologues and colophons. His types are in the Gothic character, and copied so closely from the handwriting of his time that many of his books have been mistaken for manuscript. In some nopunctuation is used; in others the full point and colon only; commas are represented by a long or short upright line. Copies of some of his books now bring extraordinary prices when sold. The standard 'Life of Caxton) is that by W. Blades (1861-63). Consult also Knight, 'The Old Printer and the Modern Press) (Lon don 1861) ; Blades, 'A Catalogue of Books Printed by or Ascribed to William Caxton) (London 1865); (Biography and Typography of C.axton) (London 1882) ; History of English Literature) (Cambridge and New York 1907-13, in Vol. II) ; and the publications of the Caxton Club.