[Illustration: ST. CHRISTOPHER. EARLIEST DATED WOODCUT. 1423.]
THE PENTATEUCH OF PRINTING
WITH
A CHAPTER ON JUDGES.
BY
WILLIAM BLADES.
_With a Memoir of the Author, and List of his Works_,
BY
TALBOT B. REED.
_CHICAGO:
A. C. McCLURG AND COMPANY._
_1891._
[Illustration]
_Blades, East & Blades,
Printers,
23, Abchurch Lane, London, E.C._
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
PREFACE
The Pentateuch of Printing is not so fanciful a title for the present
book as might at first sight appear. There is a self-evident analogy
between the _Genesis_ of the World and the Genesis of Printing. The
spread of Typography is not inaptly typified by an _Exodus_; while the
laws promulgated in _Leviticus_ have a plain parallel in idea with
the laws and observances necessary to be followed in making a book.
_Numbers_ certainly is not so directly suggestive of the many great
names which figure upon the Printers’ Roll of Honour; but _Deuteronomy_
at once suggests, by its very signification, the second birth and
reinforcement of the vital conditions of Printing introduced by the
steam-machine. No subject is nowadays complete without a knowledge
of what specialists have previously written upon it, and the public
generally are certain to form their opinions upon the published
statements of the best _Judges_. We thus obtain six chapter-heads for
our book, and whether the information offered under these heads is
worth reading must now be left to the only Judge, against whose verdict
it is useless to appeal--the Reading Public.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PREFACE iii.
MEMOIR OF WILLIAM BLADES ix.
PROLOGUE xxv.
GENESIS 1
EXODUS 23
LEVITICUS 43
NUMBERS 59
DEUTERONOMY 83
A CHAPTER ON JUDGES 95
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
St. Christopher. Earliest dated Woodcut _Frontispiece_
Assyrian Clay Tablet, Stamped 5
Letters Stamped on a Greek Lamp 5
Letters Stamped on a Roman Lamp 5
Fifteenth Century Playing Card 6
Fac-simile, from the _Biblia Pauperum_. Block-book, 15th
century 8
Scriptorium Monk at work 9
Bookbinder, 16th century 10
Cover of a Book, 15th century 11
Fragment from a Xylographic _Donatus_ 12
_Image of Pity._ (Wood block and type) 13
Statue of Coster 17
Coster Commemoration Medal, 1856 19
Portrait of Ulric Gering 29
Manuscript written at Bruges, circ. 1472 34
Supposed Portrait of Caxton 36
Fac-simile from the _Recuyell of the Histories of Troye_,
1474. (Caxton’s Type, No. 1) 37
Bas-relief from the Entablature, Jerusalem Chamber,
Westminster 39
Illustrations showing regular and irregular body of Type 46
Impression of a Type in 1476 48
Impression of a Type, circ. 1470 48
Profile tracings from M. Claudius’ 15th century Types 49
Diagram of a Type 50
Illustration of a Punch 50
Illustration of a Matrix 51
The “Lay” of a pair of Type Cases 52
A Fifteenth Century Wooden Composing Stick 53
Old Iron Composing Stick 53
A Line of Composed Type 53
Old Wooden Press, 1508 54
Interior of a 17th century Printing Office 55
Improved Wooden Press, 1640 56
Portraits of Coster, Gutenberg, Fust, Aldus and Froben. (From
_Maittaire_) 62
Portrait of Aldus 65
The Medal of Aldus 67
The Plantin Museum, at Antwerp 75
Portrait of Christopher Plantin 76
Portrait of John Day, 1562 77
John Day’s Trade Mark 77
Portrait of William Spottiswoode 78
Portrait of Benjamin Franklin 79
Fac-simile Letter of Benjamin Franklin 80
Stationers’ Hall 81
Centenary Medal of the Walters, of the _Times_, 1885 87
Diagram Illustrating a Flat Impression 88
Diagram Illustrating Single Cylindrical Impression 88
Diagram Illustrating Double Cylindrical Impression of a
Perfecting Machine 89
Diagram Illustrating Cylindrical Impression from Curved
Stereotype 90
The “Hoe” Newspaper Printing Machine 90
Early Logotypes 92
Fac-simile Title-page of the _Star Chamber Decree_, 1637 104
Fac-simile Title-page of Atkyn’s _Original and Growth of
Printing_, 1664 105
Fac-simile Title-page and Illustration from Wolffger’s
_Format Buchlein_, 1620 106, 107
Fac-simile Title-page of Moxon’s _Mechanick Exercises_,
1683 108
Fac-simile Title-page of the Elzevir Specimen Book, 1713 109
Fac-simile Title-page of Watson’s _History of Printing_,
1713 110
Fac-simile Title-page of Lewis’ _Life of Caxton_, 1737 111
Fac-simile Title-page of Mores’ _Dissertation on Founders_,
1778 112
Fac-simile Title-page of I. Thomas’ _History of Printing in
America_, 1810 113
[Illustration]
_MEMOIR of the late WILLIAM BLADES_,
BY
TALBOT BAINES REED.
To the friends of the late WILLIAM BLADES no apology is needed for
publishing in its present form the work on which he was engaged at the
time of his death, in April, 1890. For such as did not know him, it is
thought that a few biographical notes on the man and his career will
sufficiently explain the peculiar interest which attaches to his last
and not least important work.
WILLIAM BLADES was born at Clapham, on the 5th of December, 1824--at a
period when the romantic bibliomania of DIBDIN and the Roxboro’ Club
was in its zenith. These enthusiasts met periodically to celebrate
their discoveries in the field of book-lore; to keep one another in
mind of the famous occasion when the Marquess of BLANDFORD wrested the
_Valdarfer Boccaccio_ from the Earl of SPENCER for the sum of £2,260,
at Evans’s; and to drink in silence to the “Cause of Bibliomania
all over the World.” Emulated by the example of these aristocratic
enthusiasts, other more humble enquirers, such as TIMPERLEY, HANSARD,
and JOHNSON were exploring the same field, and helping one another to
conclusions. There was more zeal than knowledge. There was a great deal
of fine writing, entertaining anecdote, and expensive book-making;
there were sweeping generalizations, and a touching confidence in
second-hand evidence. But in all the school, although it included one
or two practical printers, no one had the courage to defy authority,
and question all bibliographical dogma until he could verify it for
himself. The little boy at Clapham was destined to inaugurate this
desirable revolution, and apply to the study of Early Printing a sturdy
agnosticism which would have horrified DIBDIN and scandalized the
choice spirits of the Roxboro’ Club.
At the early age of sixteen, and after a comparatively brief
educational career at the Clapham Grammar School, WILLIAM BLADES
entered the office of his father, the late JOSEPH BLADES, a respected
City printer, at 11, Abchurch Lane. In after life he was always ready
to attribute the main part of his success as a bibliographer, as well
as his own business prosperity, to the thorough grounding which, during
his ’prentice years, he received in all the details, practical and
artistic, of his profession. Nor was he wont, in dealing with questions
relating to the well-being and relief of the journeyman printer, in
which he took so deep an interest, ever to ignore the days, often
severe and wearisome, when he wore the apron and worked at case side
by side with his father’s _employés_. His description of himself as
“WILLIAM BLADES, Printer,” on the title-page of one or more of his
books, conveyed what he felt to be his chief claim to authority on
matters relating to the history and antiquities of his craft. Those
matters it was his rule to investigate as a printer first, as an
antiquary next, and as a man of letters last; and it was by adhering to
this order that he was able to do for bibliography what AMES and DIBDIN
and TIMPERLEY had failed to do.
These investigations, however, do not appear to have interested him
specially during the early years of his career as a printer. It was
not till he had become a master in his craft that he gave the first
indications of a turn for the antiquities of Printing. Long before
1858 the bibliomania of the DIBDIN school had died down into a vague
academic interest in the productions of the early presses, measured
chiefly by their market value at auctions, and studied wholly on
the unquestioned authority of the author of the _Bibliographical
Decameron_ and his contemporaries. The art of exact fac-simile was
as yet unknown; and for those who, without access to the originals,
pretended to a knowledge of the typography of the early printers, the
lax copper-plates and wood engravings of the old illustrators were the
principal data of research.
In a few directions, however, the interest was reviving, and, in
1858, Mr. BLADES undertook to write an introductory note for a
reprint of Caxton’s edition of _The Governayle of Health_. His
special qualification for the task was that he had already begun his
investigation of the typography of the works of the first English
press, which were to result in his _Life of Caxton_. What it was
which specially turned his attention to this inquiry he has not left
on record. Whatever it was, looking at it from the printer’s point
of view, a very little study sufficed to convince him of the general
untrustworthiness of the old authorities, and the necessity of
instituting an original research.
The manner in which he went about this was characteristic of the man’s
enthusiasm and determination. He shut up his LEWIS, and AMES, and
DIBDIN, and ALDUS, and assumed that neither he, nor anyone else, knew
anything of WILLIAM CAXTON. From this clear stand-point he began first
to study the life, and then the books of the Mercer printer. He groped
through the City records till he established the clear connection
between the apprentice of ROBERT LARGE, and the merchant adventurer
in the Burgundian Court. Then, step by step, he traced the literary
_protegé_ of the Duchess to Bruges, and into the printing-office of
COLARD MANSION. As he himself confessed, it was no easy task. Often
he had to go back on his steps, and often the difficulties in the way
seemed to forbid all further progress. But the ground cleared as he
went on, and when once he had traced his hero to Westminster, the chief
biographical difficulties of his task were over.
There remained the still more important study of CAXTON’S works.
Here, more than ever, he resolved to take nothing at second hand. He
personally inspected no fewer than 450 Caxtons in different libraries,
collating, comparing, and classifying them as he went along. His
printer’s instinct at once found the key to the study. It was not in
the titles or colophons, in the diction or the literary evidence, but
in the types. He subjected each book to a searching typographical
examination, and classified it according to its types. He made the
whole work and method of the primitive little printing-house at the
“Red Pale” live before our eyes; we saw when type 1 came to an end, and
when type 2 appeared; we found the ingenious craftsman, when type 2 was
wearing out, trimming it with his graver, and creating type 2* out of
its ruins. We watched the career of each type, from the moment it was
cast in its rough mould, till the day when, worn out and discarded, it
passed into strange hands and finally vanished. Meanwhile, each book
as it came up, fell into its proper class. The year of undated books
was fixed by the evidence of their dated companions; and the relative
order in a single year was often determined by the observation of some
typographical detail, visible only to the eye of the expert, which
clearly marked off one stage in the printers’ habits from another.
In such manner was the _Life of Caxton_ written. It marked a new epoch
in bibliography, and disposed finally of the lax methods of the old
school. With a work like the _Life of Caxton_ on record, it would be
impossible in future to write with authority about the old printers
and their books, without approaching the study from the point of view
of the typographical expert. There is no doubt that the mechanical
improvements in processes of fac-simile added much to the success and
value of the _Life and Typography of William Caxton_. It is useless to
talk about old type unless you can display it. This Mr. BLADES did on a
lavish scale. Not only were fac-simile pages of all the representative
books given, but the alphabets in each class of type were laboriously
picked out and presented, with the combinations and variants of each
letter, so that the student was able to study CAXTON’S works not only
as they appeared ready printed, but letter by letter, in the case
before composition.
The first volume of the _Life of Caxton_ appeared in 1861, and the
second in 1863; between which two dates, Mr. BLADES had married the
lady who, for twenty-eight years, was to be the loyal partner in his
life and work.
The _magnum opus_ was received with general approbation. It was
recognised that a right method of investigating the problems of
palæotypography had been discovered. A new interest was aroused in the
works of the early presses, and the fortunate possessors of “Caxtons”
became suddenly alive to their privileges.
Not the least gratifying result of the labours connected with this work
were the friendships which Mr. BLADES formed with men of his own taste,
engaged in like pursuits. It is worth recording the pleasant account
given by Mr. PROTHERO of the meeting of HENRY BRADSHAW and WILLIAM
BLADES, while the proofs of the _Caxton_ were still in the press. “In
September, 1860, Mr. BLADES paid a visit to Cambridge, taking with him
the first two sheets of his book in type, and the rest in manuscript.
It was a fine, warm afternoon, and after dinner--they dined earlier in
those days than now--they went down, as BRADSHAW was fond of doing,
into the college garden; a bottle of wine was ordered out, and there
and then, without moving from the place, Mr. BLADES read the whole
historical portion of the book to his willing listener, who frequently
interposed criticisms and suggestions of the most useful kind.”
The friendship thus begun continued uninterruptedly for a quarter of a
century. It was none the less valued because BRADSHAW, the keenest of
the new scientific school of bibliographers, was an outspoken critic.
“Believe me,” wrote Mr. BLADES, when acknowledging a voluminous letter
of criticism on his second volume, “no review in the _Athenæum_ or
_Saturday_ will give me half the inward satisfaction that I feel when
you tell me that my book has enabled or assisted you to write such a
body of sound, critical notes as now lies before me.”
This was not the only friendship for which he was indebted to his _Life
of Caxton_. His work brought him into contact and friendly intercourse
with librarians and printers, not only in England, but in France,
Holland, and Germany, and made his already rich library a rallying
point for students and enquirers of all kinds, who came to him for
advice and information, and received, in addition to both, an unfailing
and kindly welcome.
The publication of the _Caxton_ by no means completed Mr. BLADES’
attention to history of the first English press. His bibliographical
method forbade him to consider any question, however exhaustively
treated, as closed. He was constantly collecting new material, and as
constantly giving the world the benefit of his studies. The _Life of
Caxton_ was supplemented by a very useful hand list of the specimens
of the old master’s press in the British Museum, by his _How to tell a
Caxton_, as well as his introductory notes and monographs to several
valuable fac-simile reprints of English _incunabula_. He became a
constant and diligent contributor to the trade periodicals, and his
scattered articles--of which it is hoped the list appended will be
found to be a pretty complete catalogue--comprehend an important,
and perhaps not sufficiently well-remembered, volume of his literary
work. He did as much as any writer of the time to call the printer’s
attention to the honourable and interesting traditions of his craft,
and to lift him from the _rôle_ of a mere tradesman into that of a
partner in a glorious Art.
Meanwhile, his business was prospering. The distractions of literary
work and of a rapidly increasing bibliomania were not allowed to
interfere with the careful attention demanded in the building up and
maintenance of a large trade connection. His interest in the methods
and practice of the old press never hindered him from keeping pace
with all the improvements of the new. His office became well known in
the City for its enterprise in adopting any new improvement consistent
with the production of good printing; and he was looked up to as an
authority on the practice of the art and craft of today, no less than
on that of four centuries ago.
In 1870, occurred an epoch in the annals of typographical controversy,
when Dr. VAN DER LINDE’S destructive essay against the claims of
Haarlem as the birthplace of Printing appeared in the “Cologne
Chronicle.” Mr. BLADES was sufficiently interested in the subject, and
in the general tenor of Dr. VAN DER LINDE’S argument, to publish an
English translation of the work by Mr. HESSELS at his own cost. At the
same time he maintained from the first an attitude of careful reserve
on the main question. In an article on _Early Schools of Typography_,
contributed, before the appearance of the English edition of the
_Coster Legend_, to Mr. BERJEAU’S _Bookworm_, he had suggested the
possibility of an independent invention of printing both in Holland and
Germany, a theory which has of late years gained some ground. While
heartily approving of the destruction of all obviously false and flimsy
evidence on the side of either claimant, it was to him a source of
regret when the literary duel between Dr. VAN DER LINDE and Dr. HESSELS
descended from the arena of forcible argument into that of acrimonious
dispute. To him, as to most other students of the controversy, the
existence of the “Costeriana” was an insuperable obstacle to the
admission of the German claim; and one of his latest utterances, before
the Library Association, was a careful and judicial summary of the case
on either side, with a decided inclination of opinion in favour of
Haarlem as against Mentz.
During the few years which followed the publication of Dr. VAN DER
LINDE’S book, Mr. BLADES’ energies were chiefly devoted to the
development of his important library of books on Printing, the
foundations of which had been laid as far back as his apprentice days.
The genuine book-hunter needs not to be reminded of the insidious
nature of his malady. Any excuse suffices for a new relapse. The _Life
of Caxton_ was a more than common excuse. Not only did it lead its
author to a search after “fifteeners,” (of which, however, he did not
acquire many) but it was the occasion for collecting every available
work on the early practice of the Art, not only in England, but
abroad. From this it was but a step to treatises on the multiplex craft
of modern printing. His enquiry into the types and typefounding of
Caxton naturally opened the way for a collection on that branch of the
subject generally--particularly of typefounders’ specimen books, to
whose historical importance his little book on the subject, published
in 1875, was one of the first to call attention. His interest in the
Invention controversy naturally brought onto his shelves the voluminous
literature devoted to that question, which, when once begun, must, to
be of real importance, be complete. Nor was there any reason why the
collector, once embarked on his career, should hold his hand from any
work, be it a memoir, an Act of Parliament, a typographical oddity, a
sober specification, a specimen of fine work, or an ephemeral tract,
provided it bore on his subject, and added weight to his collection.
And so, from small beginnings, and it may be to the occasional concern
of himself, his library grew into one of peculiar value and importance.
How wisely and carefully he selected, how thoroughly he explored the
highways and byways of typographical literature, the catalogue of his
collection, when it comes to be published, will disclose.
An occasion arrived in 1877 for admitting the book-loving public to
a participation in some of its treasures. The Caxton Celebration of
that year was an event which will always be peculiarly associated
with the name of WILLIAM BLADES. It was due to him that the solecism
of celebrating the Fourth Centenary of the Introduction of Printing
into England three years before its time was avoided. When the true
anniversary came, Mr. BLADES threw himself heart and soul into the
movement. What was his part in the success of the Celebration is
already on record. He suggested both the form the festival should
take, and the methods by which it might be carried out. He undertook
the collection and arrangement of the unique display of Caxtons and
early English printed books which were brought together--perhaps the
most complete collection ever seen at one time. He organized and
superintended the arrangement of the large miscellaneous collection of
books, specimens, autographs, portraits, medals and curiosities, to
which he himself contributed the lion’s share. For the catalogue he
wrote, of course, the prefatory note on Caxton.
The writer of these notes has good reason to remember those busy days
at South Kensington. It was in that long, upper gallery, crowded with
packing cases, noisy with the hammering of nails, dim with dust,
and with the hand on the dial creeping hourly towards the opening
day, that he first met WILLIAM BLADES. The man of letters was in his
shirt sleeves, busy with the unpacking of a box of Caxtons. He was
the guiding spirit of the scene. While others despaired of being up
to time, he kept his head and worked hard. While others differed and
argued, he was serene and genial. It was impossible in his presence to
stand idle, or doubt for a moment of the success of the undertaking.
How complete was that success need not be told here, or how modest was
the share of credit which he took to himself. When it was all over, he
took his books and pictures and medals back to the little library at
Croydon, and returned to the life of the printer-student as cheerfully
as he had emerged from it a year before.
The formation of the Library Association, in 1877, was another event
which commanded Mr. BLADES’ warm sympathy. He was a Member of the
Council of that body from the beginning, and a frequent attendant at
the pleasant yearly Conferences held under its auspices in various
parts of the country. His diary contains notes of some of these
bibliographical expeditions, that to the Glasgow Meeting, in 1888,
being recorded with special pleasure. He contrived on such visits to
see all that was to be seen in the way of early printed books and
libraries, and invariably came back refreshed in mind, and often
weightier in baggage, from these congenial holidays. He occasionally
read papers before the Association, one of his latest public
appearances being at the London Meeting of the Association in 1889,
when he read an interesting account of the Chained Library at Wimborne.
His love of books tempted him, in 1881, to a literary effort in
a lighter vein than any he had hitherto adopted. The _Enemies of
Books_ is a dainty and entertaining defence of his favourites against
their sworn enemies, human, insect, and elemental, and brought him
into contact with many admirers whom his more serious works had not
interested. This championship did not hinder the development of an
almost romantic interest on the part of the author for the real book
worm. Among the treasures of his library were usually to be seen one
or more of these learned insects, browsing on the pages of an old
magazine, or, as a special delicacy, being feasted on a morsel of
fifteenth century printed matter. His attempts to rear them, however,
were unsuccessful. As he confessed once to the writer, it was one of
the failures of his life!
A _jeu d’esprit_ of another kind had been published in 1872,
whimsically connecting Shakespeare with the printing profession, a jest
which amused him all the more that it was taken _au grand serieux_
by some sober-minded correspondents. Later, in 1885, his account and
metrical paraphrase of the German morality play the _Depositio Cornuti
Typographici_, gave him scope for the combination of a good deal of
special lore to illustrate a quaint old-world literary drollery.
The closing years of his life witnessed no diminution of his
energies, either in business or literary pursuits, although both were
occasionally hindered by what proved to be premonitory symptoms of the
heart affection to which he was to succumb.
In 1884 he took up the cudgels on behalf of the English inventor of
the Steam Press, against his old friend Herr GOEBEL of Stuttgart, who
claimed the honour for his countryman KŒNIG. In the controversy which
ensued, Mr. BLADES was careful to keep the discussion free from the
faults which had marred the dispute between Dr. VAN DER LINDE and Dr.
HESSELS. It was a trial to him that his temperate statement of the
claims of NICHOLSON should, after all, cost him a valued friendship,
for the loss of which, however, he felt had not himself to reproach.
His widening interest in early books of every kind led him, among his
latest efforts, to undertake what promised to be a novel and highly
scientific natural-history study of the _incunabula_. His careful
note on _Watermarks_, contributed to the _Athenæum_, and the equally
valuable note on _Signatures_, with which he inaugurated his projected
series of _Bibliographical Miscellanies_, promised, had the author
lived to complete his scheme, to place the study of early printed books
on a clearer and still more precise footing than it had yet attained.
But the project was cut short at an early stage. His investigations
on these questions had been carried on with all his old enthusiasm
and determination, but with increasing difficulty, and at increasing
physical cost. For the same reason, the _Pentateuch of Printing_ had
lain on his study table many months incomplete. The idea of giving
to book lovers, not professionally conversant with Printing, a clear
and simple account of the origin and development of the Art by which
books are produced, was one which he had long cherished. To the lay
mind the question is full of confusion and intricacy. It is obscured
by much that is irrelevant, and distorted by much that is incorrect.
His object was to clear away the irrelevant, to reduce fiction to fact,
and technicality to plain English. Intended originally for a short
treatise, the idea had expanded, and took form in the quaint conceit
which the title of the work implies. Nor, when it was more than half
complete in that shape, did it stop growing. He determined to add to
its attractiveness by illustration on a lavish scale, and had already
began to collect and prepare the woodcuts for the purpose, and further
enlarge the treatment of his subject in other directions.
At this stage it was that the abrupt summons came to lay down the busy
pen and rest from work.
His own jubilee as a printer was about to be celebrated, and his
friends and workmen were invited to the gathering, when it was known
that he was unwell, and that the occasion must be postponed. The next
thing we heard was that he was dead, on April 28, 1890.
In these brief notes nothing more has been attempted than a sketch of
Mr. BLADES as a printer and a bibliographer. Yet the picture would be
incomplete without a word as to his private life. Those who had the
privilege of knowing him at home will not readily forget the atmosphere
of gentleness and kindness in which he lived. His family life was one
of simple harmony--no one who was with him for an hour could fail to
discover that behind his learning and enthusiasm and industry there was
the background of an unaffected goodness. With those especially who, in
that well-remembered library, surrounded by his precious books, sought
his assistance or counsel, the memory of him will linger long as of
one whose pleasure it was to be kind, whose sympathy was always ready,
and whose shrewd sense and wide knowledge and cheery helpfulness were
always at the service of a friend.
* * * * *
In preparing the _Pentateuch of Printing_ for publication in the
form in which it now appears, the present writer has been careful to
refrain from anything like “editing” on a large scale. In a few cases
additional matter was necessary to the clear meaning of the narrative.
In other cases, where fragmentary notes had been left to indicate
topics which the author intended to deal with more fully, some little
expansion has been ventured upon. Otherwise, the object has been to
present the book, although not professedly complete in every respect,
as nearly as possible, both as regards the text and the illustrations,
as it was left by the author at the time of his death.
TALBOT BAINES REED.
_List of Published Works by WILLIAM BLADES._
The Governayle of Helthe; by John de Bordeaux
(?), or by Bartholomeus Montagnassa; with the
Medecyne of ye Stomache, in verse; by John
Lydgate (?). Reprinted from Caxton’s edition,
with introductory remarks and notes by William
Blades. 8vo. London 1858.
[_Printed in imitation Caxton types, cast in
pewter._]
Morale Prouerbes; C. Du Castel; with introductory
remarks by William Blades; _fac-simile_. 4to. 1859.
[_Printed in imitation Caxton types, cast in
pewter._]
The Life and Typography of W. Caxton, England’s
first Printer, with evidence of his typographical
connection with Colard Mansion, the printer at
Bruges; with numerous plates. 2 vols. 4to. London, 1861-63.
A Catalogue of Books printed by, or ascribed to
the Press of W. Caxton, in which is included the
press mark of every copy contained in the British
Museum. sm. 4to. London, 1865.
A List of Medals, Jettons, Tokens, etc., in
connection with Printers and the Art of Printing. 8vo. London, 1869.
[_Only 25 copies printed._]
A List of Medals struck by order of the
Corporation of London, with an appendix of other
Medals struck privately or for sale, having
reference to the same corporate body, or the
Members thereof. 8vo. London, 1870.
[_Privately Printed._]
How to tell a Caxton, with some hints where and
how the same might be found; plates. 8vo. London, 1870.
[_A handbook for the use of the amateur and
collector._]
Typographical Notes: The Early Schools of
Typography, from the _Bookworm_, March,
1870; The Enschedé Type Foundry at Haarlem. 8vo. London, 1870.
[_Privately Printed._]
Shakespere and Typography; being an attempt to
show Shakespere’s personal connection with, and
technical knowledge of the Art of Printing; also
remarks upon some common typographical errors,
with special reference to the text of Shakespere;
plates. 8vo. London, 1872.
Some early Type-specimen Books of England,
Holland, France, Italy, and Germany, with
explanatory remarks. 8vo. London, 1875.
[_With historical notes on the old English and
Foreign Type Foundries._]
Earl of Rivers. The Dictes and Sayings of the
Philosophers; a _fac-simile_ reproduction of
the first book printed in England; with a preface
by William Blades. 4to. 1877.
The Biography and Typography of William Caxton,
England’s first Printer; plates. 8vo. London, 1877.
[_A new edition, issued in connection with the
Caxton Celebration, 1877._]
The Boke of Saint Albans, by Dame Juliana
Berners; a _fac-simile_; with an
introduction by William Blades. 4to. 1881.
The Enemies of Books; Illustrated; Trübner & Co.,
London. 8vo. 1881.
2nd Edition. 8vo. 1881.
3rd Edition. 8vo. 1882.
The Biography and Typography of William Caxton,
England’s first Printer; plates. 2nd Edition. 8vo. 1882.
Les livres et leurs Enemis. 8vo. Paris (Claudin) 1883.
Numismata Typographica; or the Medallic History
of Printing; being an account of the Medals,
Jettons and Tokens struck in commemoration of
Printers and the Art of Printing. Illustrated. 4to. 1883.
An Account of the German Morality Play, entitled
“Depositio Cornuti Typographici”; as performed in
the 17th and 18th centuries. Illustrated. 4to. 1885.
[_With a metrical translation of the text of
the play._]
The Enemies of Books. Revised and enlarged by the
Author. (The Book-Lover’s Library.) Elliot Stock. 8vo. 1887.
2nd Edition. 1888.
Bibliographical Miscellanies, No. 1--Signatures. 8vo. 1890.
Bibliographical Miscellanies, No. 2--The Chained
Library at Wimborne Minster. 8vo. 1890.
Bibliographical Miscellanies, Nos. 3, 4, 5--Books
in Chains. 8vo. 1890.
The Pentateuch of Printing. Illustrated. Elliot
Stock, London. 4to. 1891.
List of Fugitive Pieces and Contributions to Periodicals.
Some Account of the Typography at St. Albans in the 15th century. 1860.
[_Privately Printed._]
[“_This went no further than half-a-dozen proofs._--W.B.”]
Numismata Typographica. _Numismatic Chronicle_, July, 1867.
The Early Types of the Royal Printing Office, Paris, and the Chancellor
of the University of Cambridge. _Bookworm_ (_Berjeau_) January, 1869.
The First Printing Press in England. _Bookworm_ (_Berjeau_), October,
1869.
[_Calls attention to the technical errors and anachronisms of the
pictorial representations of Caxton’s first printing-office._]
The Early Schools of Typography. _Bookworm_ (_Berjeau_) March, 1870.
[_Suggests the probability of an independent discovery of printing,
both in Holland and Germany._]
Specimens des Caractères Typographiques. _Printers’ Register_, April,
1870.
[_A Review._]
The Enschedé Type Foundry at Haarlem. _Bookworm_ (_Berjeau_) April,
1870.
Palæotypography--a series of articles in _Notes and Queries_. 1870.
[_A plea for a scientific study of early printed books._]
Review of Munsell’s Chronology of Paper and Paper Making. _Printers’
Register_, March and April, 1871.
Common Typographical Errors, with especial reference to the Text of
Shakespere. _Athenæum_, January 27th, 1872.
[_Dealing with corruptions in the text attributable to errors in
composition._]
List of Medals connected with Printers and the Art of Printing,
exhibited at the opening of the New Library and Museum, Guildhall,
London. 1872.
[_Privately Printed._]
Timperley and his Works. _Printers’ Register_, December, 1873.
A Strike in 1798. _Printers’ Register_, January, 1874.
A notice of Caslon I. _Caslon Circular_, January, 1875.
Early Type Specimen Books. _Caslon Circular_, April, 1875.
Early Type Specimen Books. A series of articles. _Printers’ Register_,
June, 1875.
[_Subsequently reprinted in a volume._]
The Literary Almanack; included in Southward’s _Dictionary of
Typography_. 8vo. 1875.
[_Gives notes of the principal dates and events connected with Printing
and Publishing._]
Bibliotheca Typographica. _Printers’ Register_, 1875-6.
[_A list of publications in the English language, treating of Printers
and Printing, with annotations. The completion of this Bibliography was
suspended, and the material placed by Mr. Blades at the disposal of the
compiler of the “Bibliography of Printing.”_]
Typographical _Jeux de Mots_. _Printers’ Register_, October, 1876.
William Caxton and the Development of the Art of Printing in England
and Scotland.
_Caxton Celebration Catalogue_, 1877.
List of Medals connected with Printers and the Art of Printing. _Caxton
Celebration Catalogue_, 1877.
[_With historical and biographical notes._]
Portraits and Autographs of Printers and Publishers. _Caxton
Celebration Catalogue_, 1877.
[_With historical and biographical notes._]
A Guide to the objects of chief interest in the loan collection of the
Caxton Exhibition. 1877.
Numismata Typographica. Begun _Printers’ Register_, July, 1878.
[_Reprinted as a volume in 1883._]
An Enterprising French Printing Firm. _Printers’ Register_, Nov. and
Dec., 1878.
The Plantin Museum. _Macmillan’s_, September, 1878.
[_This was also translated into French._]
William Gye, Printer, of Bath. _Printers’ Register_, January, 1879.
Books and their Enemies. Begun _Printers’ Register_, June, 1879.
[_Subsequently expanded into “The Enemies of Books,” 1881._]
Mr. Hoe’s Typographical Library. _Printers’ Register_, June, 1879.
Franklin-ana. _Caslon Circular_, April, 1879.
Development of Books and their Size-Notations. _Library Notes_,
January, 1880.
A Day in Paris. _Caslon Circular_, July, 1880.
Almshouses or Pensions? _Printers’ Register_, October, 1880.
A Lad of Mettle. _Caslon Circular_, April, 1881.
The First Printing Press at Oxford. _Antiquary_, July, 1881.
[_With an account of the ‘Exposicio’ of “1468,” and a list of early
Oxford types._]
Who was Bercula? _Bibliographer_, December, 1881.
On Caxton’s “Four Sons of Amyon.” _Athenæum_, April 14th, 1882.
Vulgaria Whittintoni, 1520. _Bibliographer_, 1882.
Messrs. Blades’ New Printing Works. _Printers’ Register_, April, 1882.
Literary Ghosts. _Caslon Circular_, January, 1883.
How to Correct Printers’ Proofs. 8pp. 1883.
[_Privately Printed._]
The Invention of the Steam Press. A series of Articles in the
_Printers’ Register_, October, 1883, to June, 1884.
[_The object of these Articles was to defend the claims of Nicholson to
the honour of the invention, against those put forward by Herr Goebel
on behalf of the German, Kœnig. Herr Goebel’s reply was published in
the same periodical in March to June, 1885; Mr. Blades’ rejoinder in
July, 1885, and Herr Goebel’s last word in August, 1885._]
Memoir of Henry Bradshaw. A review. _Printers’ Register_, March, 1886.
The Auchinlech Press. _Caslon Circular_, April, 1886.
Old English Letter Foundries. _Leeds Mercury_, March 9th, 1887.
[_A review of Mr. T. B. Reed’s book--Article reprinted in Caslon
Circular._]
On the Present Aspect of the Question, Who was the Inventor of
Printing? 1887.
[_Privately Printed._]
[_This was a paper read before the Library Association at their
Birmingham Congress, in September, 1887._]
Type Composing and Matrix Machines. _Printers’ Register_, September,
1887.
The Hagermann Matrix Stamping Machine. _Printers’ Register_, January,
1888.
The Library of the French Protestant Church. _Antiquary_, July, 1888.
‘Form,’ or ‘Forme’? _Printers’ Register_, August, 1888.
Old Taverns in Candlewick Ward. _City Press_, October, 1888.
De Ortu Typographiæ. _Bookworm_ (_E. Stock_) 1888.
[_Notes on the Invention of Printing controversy._]
A New French Grammar. _Printers’ Register_, December, 1888.
[_Article unsigned._]
An Account of Proposals made nearly Two Centuries ago to found Public
Libraries. _Library_, 1889.
On Trade Unionism. _Caslon Circular_, January, 1889.
Bibliography. _Printers’ Register_, February, 1889.
Watermarks. _Athenæum_, March 16th, March 30th, May 18th, 1889.
A New Zealand Caxton. _Printers’ Register_, July, 1889.
MM. Madden and Alkan. _Printers’ Register_, August, 1889.
[_Article unsigned._]
On Signatures in Old Books. _Library_, 1889.
On Paper and Paper-marks. _Library_, 1889.
On Chained Libraries. _Library Association_, October, 1889.
Two “Old Style” Type Founders. _Caslon Circular_, July, 1890.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
PROLOGUE.
The following Chapters, being intended as a popular summary of a very
large and interesting subject, only profess to deal with the most
important aspects of that subject, both on its historical and practical
side.
Of late years the question, Who invented Printing? has assumed more
than ever a prominent place in bibliographical criticism, and many
books, large and small, have been published by opposing authors;
notably by Dr. Van der Linde, in support of the claims of Gutenberg, of
Mayence, and by Mr. Hessels on the side of Laurence Coster, of Haarlem.
The unrestrained abuse and the attribution of base motives in which
both these writers indulge demands the strongest protest from all who
wish to see the evidence treated with calmness and without prejudice.
The question is not at all whether Dr. Van der Linde can or cannot read
Dutch fifteenth century MSS., or whether Mr. Hessels, as a Costerian,
is incapacitated from writing a true word: these mutual recriminations
only raise a feeling of repulsion to the whole subject. We really
want a fair and impartial criticism, based on acknowledged facts and
historical evidence.
As to the various forged documents, we now know them, so let us treat
them as incumbrances and throw them on one side. This has been the
object aimed at by
THE AUTHOR.
_July, 1888._
[Illustration]
_THE PLAN._
[Illustration]
{ 1. ENGRAVED STAMPS.
{ 2. PARCHMENT AND PAPER.
_Creation_ { 3. PLAYING-CARDS.
{ 4. ENGRAVED BLOCK-BOOKS.
{ 5. CAST TYPES.
{ 1. EUROPE.
{ 2. ASIA.
_Propagation_ { 3. AFRICA.
{ 4. AMERICA.
{ 5. AUSTRALIA.
{ 1. TYPEFOUNDER.
{ 2. COMPOSITOR.
_Law_ { 3. PRESSMAN.
{ 4. PAPER.
{ 5. INK.
{ 1. BEFORE A.D. 1500.
{ 2. A.D. 1501 TO 1600.
_Famous Printers_ { 3. A.D. 1601 TO 1700.
{ 4. A.D. 1701 TO 1800.
{ 5. A.D. 1801 TO A.D. 1890.
{ 1. MACHINE-MADE TYPES.
{ 2. PRINTING MACHINES.
_Second Birth_ { 3. COMPOSITION ROLLERS.
{ 4. STEREOTYPE.
{ 5. COMPOSING MACHINES.
[Illustration]
GENESIS.
“_Let Lyght be._”
[Illustration]
GENESIS.
“In the beginning!” What a whirlpool of disputations and theories have
these three words created! Our grandfathers attributed the creation
of the world with amusing accuracy to the year B.C. 4004; and just as
geology and astronomy have pushed back this old-fashioned “beginning”
to indefinite millions of years, during which Evolution, with slow but
certain progress, was working out this world’s destiny in obedience
to the fiat of the Almighty, so modern research and criticism have
demonstrated that the same law of evolution applies to mental as well
as physical phenomena, and that in both cases what _is_ follows by
fixed law on what _was_. Looked at in this light, the Art of Printing,
as indeed all arts, never had a definite beginning, but was the
necessary development of a previous process, as sure to come in the due
course of events as harvest is to follow seed-time.
No acorn, no oak; and the idea that Printing, Minerva-like, started up,
perfect from its birth, in the form of the Mazarin Bible or the Mayence
Psalter, will not bear the test of criticism, although long current
in typographical histories. The steam engine, the gasometer, the
railway, the telegraph, the telephone, and all the great discoveries
of modern science, had to pass through an imperfect infancy and gradual
development; why, then, imagine that Invention in the one instance of
typography reached perfection by a sudden leap?
Typography, or the art of combining separate letters and taking from
them an impression, was a growth of the fifteenth century. At that time
progress of any kind was much more slow and difficult than now; and we
hardly realise the immense advantage all modern inventors have derived
from the Printing-press. Every step forward in art or science is now
chronicled, and we can watch the infancy and growth of each great
discovery through all its stages. But just imagine the Printing-press
to be non-existent, and not only would invention be a slow and tedious
process, through the absence of that previous knowledge which leads
up to it, but of those tardy advances which were made posterity would
learn but little and profit less.
In this respect the art which is “omnium artium servatrix” has been at
a great disadvantage. Slowly born, just as the nations were emerging
from centuries of torpor, its promoters realised to a very limited
extent its future greatness, and omitted to register, with any attempt
at accuracy, either the date of its birth or even its parentage. The
chroniclers of those days, mostly ecclesiastics, who noted carefully
the occurrence of an unusually high flood or the death of some obscure
abbot, had the barest recognition for the young Hercules whose infancy
gave no intimation of his future prowess, and whose only mission seemed
to be the manufacture of cheap school books or poor imitations of the
picturesque old manuscripts.
But here the question arises, Was Printing, strictly speaking, a
development of the fifteenth century? The word Printing in its broad
sense means “making an impression”; and if this be accepted as a
definition, we can trace its footsteps to a period long before man
stood upon this earth. All over the world we find, in the various
strata of the earth’s crust, Nature herself printing on the pliant
rocks representations of animals and trees; a life history entombed
ages before language was born or man possessed the power of observation.
Language itself was of necessity a slow development, and equally slow
was the next step; for speech existed long before man discovered that
the human voice, which informed the brain through the ear, could be
represented by figures or a combination of signs which produced the
same result through the eye.
[Illustration: ASSYRIAN CLAY TABLET, STAMPED.]
This wonderful development--the art of writing--was progress sufficient
for many centuries, during which all kinds of materials were used to
perpetuate the deeds and ideas of various nations. Leaves of trees
and pieces of wood were written upon; clays, slabs and cylinders were
stamped; seals, even signatures, by which personal authority was
transferred, were engraved on wood or metal; vases preserved the name
of the artist who formed them, and even the common clay lamps of the
Greeks and Romans showed the names of their makers, printed with a
stamp in bold relief upon the under surface.
[Illustration: LETTERS STAMPED ON GREEK LAMP.]
[Illustration: LETTERS STAMPED ON ROMAN LAMP.]
The _style_, which marked the waxen tablets, the _pen_ or _brush_, with
which words were formed on the papyrus sheet, and the pointed _reed_ or
quill which was used on parchment or paper were simply improvements,
all leading on to still further developments.
As ages rolled on and learning increased, book-writing and book-binding
became important trades, and were subdivided into special branches,
such as the calligraphers, who wrote luxuriously for the libraries of
the rich, and the scriveners, who supplied the wants of poor scholars
and priests.
The Chinese were probably the nation who first used vegetable fibre
to make sheets of paper. In Europe, our oldest MSS. are upon prepared
skins; and paper, the manufacture of which was not common until the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries, was seldom used, although specimens
derived from the Arabs are found as early as the sixth century.
[Illustration: FIFTEENTH CENTURY PLAYING CARD.
Engraved on Wood. (From _Singer_.)]
Printing from engraved blocks of wood or soft metal was practised in
the fourteenth century, when rude figures of the Virgin and other
saints, often coarsely coloured by hand, made their appearance. (_See
Frontispiece._) About the same time ornamental patterns were printed on
stuffs from engraved blocks. Cardboard was developed from paper, and
playing-cards, printed from blocks, were common in the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries. All these methods of Printing were so many decided
advances towards Typography; but two new processes were still necessary
to success, viz.: a thicker ink than previously used, and some kind of
press with which to make a regular and even impression.
The next step was the making of that interesting class of books called
“Block-books.” These consisted for the most part of a series of rude
woodcuts the full size of the page, representing various parts of
Scripture History, Heaven, Hell, Death, and the Judgment. The earliest
known specimens of these works are printed in a brown ink similar to
distemper drawings. Lampblack was already well known to the ancients
as a basis for writing ink, and, mixed with gum water, formed that
deep glossy hue so much admired in many old MSS.; but how to thicken
the ink so as to make it suitable for printing from a raised surface
was a discovery of great importance, made long before typography was
invented. This object was attained by prolonged boiling of oil and then
grinding it with carbon or lampblack.