Caxton and the Printing Press
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss printer William Caxton and the impact of the printing press in England.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and influence of William Caxton, the merchant who brought the printing press to the British Isles. After spending several years working as a printer in Bruges, Caxton returned to London and in 1476 set up his first printing press in Westminster, and also imported and sold other printed books. Caxton concentrated on producing popular books that he knew would sell, such as Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' and small liturgical 'books of hours'. The standard of Caxton's printing may have lagged behind that on the continent, but he was a skilful businessman and unusually for printers at the time, he managed not to go bankrupt. The advent of print is now seen as one of the great revolutions in intellectual history - although many scholars believe it was a revolution that took many generations to have an effect.
With:
Richard Gameson
Professor of the History of the Book at the University of Durham
Julia Boffey
Professor of Medieval Studies in the English Department at Queen Mary, University of London
David Rundle
Member of the History Faculty at the University of Oxford
Producer: Natalia Fernandez.
Last on
FURTHER READING
J. A. W. Bennett (ed.), 鈥楾he Canterbury Tales: A Facsimile Edition of William Caxton鈥檚 Second Edition鈥� (Cambridge: Cornmarket Reprints, 1972)
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N. F. Blake, 鈥楥axton and his World鈥� (Andr茅 Deutsch, 1969)
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N. F. Blake, 鈥楥axton: England鈥檚 First Publisher鈥� (Osprey, 1975)
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N. F. Blake, 鈥楥axton鈥檚 Own Prose鈥� (HarperCollins, 1973)
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Lotte Hellinga, 鈥楥axton in Focus: The Beginning of Printing in England鈥� (British Library, 1982)
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Lotte Hellinga, 鈥榃illiam Caxton and Early Printing in England鈥� (British Library, 2010)
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L. Hellinga and J. B. Trapp (ed.), 鈥楾he Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, Vol. III: 1400-1557鈥� (Cambridge, 1999)
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E. Hodnett (ed.), 鈥楾he History and Fables of Aesop translated and printed by William Caxton 1484, reproduced in facsimile鈥� (Scolar Press, 1976)
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D. McKitterick, 鈥楶rint, Manuscript and the Search for Order鈥� (Cambridge, 2005)
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J. C. T. Oates and L. C. Harmer, 鈥榁ocabulary in French and English: a facsimile of Caxton鈥檚 edition of c.1480鈥� (Cambridge University Press, 1964)
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George D. Painter, 鈥榃illiam Caxton: A Quincentenary Biography of England鈥檚 First Printer鈥� (Chatto & Windus, 1976)
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A. Pettegree, 鈥楾he Book in the Renaissance鈥� (Yale, 2010)
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SCROLL TO BOTTOM OF PAGE FOR FURTHER RELEVANT LINKS
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Broadcasts
- Thu 18 Oct 2012 09:00大象传媒 Radio 4
- Thu 18 Oct 2012 21:30大象传媒 Radio 4
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