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HISTORY OF PRINTING.

titled to the neatest commendation of anv writer of this period. He was born in Deronshue, uid educated at Oxford, from whence he removed to Lincoln's-inn. In 1442 he was appointed to the chief justiceship of the king's bench. He com- posed both in Latin and English; and the subjects he treated upon, together with the sen- timents which were delivered by him concerning them, will always endear his memory to true Englishmen. In Latin he vtrote upon the praises of the laws of England, and iu English on the difference between absolute and limited monar- chy. In these works he hath done justice to the excellence of our constitution and mws, and has shown himself to have been a firm friend to the cause of liberty. He was some time in Flanders, and while abroad wrote his famous book, entitled De Laudibut Legum Anglue, which, however, was not published till the reign of Henry VIII. since which time it has been frequently printed. He returned to England with queen Margaret, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Tewkes- bury,in 1471. Edward IV. granted him a pardon, on which he retired to his seat at Ebrington, in Gloucestershire, where he died at the advanced age of 90.

1480. 7^ Booh named Cordyale : or Memo- rare Noviirima : which treateth of Thefoure hut Thmget. Began on the mom after the Purifica- tion, of our blitsid Lady (2d Feb. 1478;, j-c. And finiUhed an the even of thannwnciacion of our said blissid Lady, tallying on the vednetdaye the xxiiij daye of Marche In the xix yere of Kyng Edwarde the fouTthe. Folio.

This work opens with the following exhorta- tion to the reader :

" Al ingratitude utterly tettyng apart, we owe to calle to OUT myndet the matu/folde gyfta of grace, with the benefaittis, that our lorde of hit mooit plentiueut bonte liath ymen vt wretches, in thit vretent trannitoire lif, whiche remembraunce of right directly thulde induce tu to giue hit Godhede therefore continale and immortale lou- ingi* and thankit, and in no wiie to falle to thig- norance or foryetfidness thereof." ire.

Mr. Dibdin calls this a rare production : the preface of which is said to have proceeded from the pen of earl Rivers. It is printed in long lines, with small capital letters in the spaces in- tended for the large ones ; it has neither catch- words nor signatures : the leaves, consisting of seventy-six, are not numbered ; the words are often differentlv spelt; in his punctuation he used a cross and little oblique dashes.

1480. Ouyde his booke of Metamorphose Trans- lated and fynmysshed by me William Caxton at Watmettre the xxii day of Apryll, the yere of our lord m. tn;c. iiijxx. And the xx yere of the Regne kmg Edward the fourth. [A manuscript in folio.]

Of all our typographer's productions, not one of them (according to Mr. Dibdin) appears so difficult to investigate, as the subject before us. We are informed, that a manuscnpt copy of the latter part of the above is in die library of Mag- dalen college, Cambridge, but that a perfect

copy has not yet been brought to light Mr. Dibdin concludes his remarks upon this subject, as follows : — " I cannot dismiss this curious article, without indulging the hope that the labours of some more successful bibliographer may bring a printed copy of the book to light ; none of me kind has hitherto, I believe, been seen or heard of. It is not improbable that the love of the marvellous, which seems to have so strongly possessed our venerable typographer, and which was also the ruling literary passion of the day, might have induced Caxton to print, as well as translate, the Metamorphoses of Ovid.

1480. The Chronicles of Englond^e.Enpnted by me William Caxton In thabbey of Westmyn- stre by london tfc. the v day of Jiiyn the yere of thincamacion of our lord god m.cccclxxx. 4rc. Folio. With which is usually bound,

The Detcripcion of Britayne ^c. Fynytthed by me William Caxton the xviii day of August the yere of our lord god mxccclxxx jrc. Folio.

These two small volumes, it is said, are to be found in most collections of Caxton's pieces.

He concludes his Chronicle with this pious wish : —

" T%at there may be a very final peace i» all christian realms ; that the infidels and miscreasttt may be withstauden and destroyed, and our faith enhauced which in these days is sore minitlted by the puissance of the Turks and heathen men. And after this present and short life, we may come to the everlasting life in the bliss of heaven. Amen."

In the following August, Caxton published his Description o/An^^aiuf, which contains twen- ty-eight cnapters ; it is comprised of twenty -nine leaves, and has neither signatures, numerals nor catchwords. These were very popular, having been reprinted four times in this century, (twice, however, without the Description i) and seven times in the sixteenth century.

1480. This year exhibits the name and com- mencement of Antoine Verard, who with respect both to the variety and curious description of his impressions, may justly be considered as one of the most interesting of all the early typogra- phers of Paris. Very numerous indeed were the impressions executed by this zealous printer, separately or in conjunction with others. De la Caille renders the same testimony. " Verard," says he, "was one of those who gave to the public die greatest number of works; and par- ticularly of romances:* of which" be adds, " there are extant more than a hundred voluntes, printed upon vellum, ornamented with beauti- ful miniatures, and exhibiting the most studied and exact imitations of the manuscripts from which they were copied." Such very magnifi-

ont d«te or place, or name of tbe printer i but printed by Verard, about U9fi. This volume is a most brilliant and magnificent specimen of Verard's printingr upon veUom. The work is ornamented with one lar^ and one hnndred small miniature paintings, very spiritedly executed, and heigrhtened with gold. A copy, having the title and tiro paces supplied by fac.8imlles in manuscript, wai sold by Wheatley and Adlaid, Piccadilly, London, Dec. g, I8S9, foriffie 16<
 * A very earljr edition of the Romance itfthe'Rtae, wltb-

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