A landmark study of William Caxton (c.1422-c.1491), the merchant, translator and printer who introduced the printing press to England and produced the first books printed in the English language. William Blades, himself a printer and one of the foremost nineteenth-century authorities on early English printing, combines a biography of Caxton with a detailed examination of his work as a printer, including his types, paper, woodcut illustrations, initials, devices and printing methods. Originally published in two volumes in 1861 and 1863, Blades's study became a foundational work of Caxton scholarship. This revised second edition incorporates later discoveries and corrections and is extensively illustrated with reproductions and facsimiles drawn from Caxton's books, making it of particular interest for the history of printing, typography and the early English book. The Biography and Typography of William Caxton, England's First Printer, by William Blades. Published by Trübner & Co., London and Karl I. Trübner, Strassburg, 1882. Second Edition. Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson and Co., Edinburgh and London. A very good hardback with leather spine and corners. The spine with lightly raised bands with gilt rules and gilt title. Some rubbing and wear to leather, and signs of library label removal to the spine. Boards with marbled paper - rubbed to edges. Front endpapers cracked at hinge. Some offsetting to pastedowns. Soundly bound. Text pages are bright and clean throughout with occasional signs of usage. Occasional ink stamp of 'The Ferguson Bequest Fund'. Illustrated. Text in English. xii + 387pp + Plates. Dimensions: approximately 190mm high x 134mm wide x 34mm deep. Weight: approximately 580g (unpacked).