William Caxton
William Caxton (1422-91), the first English printer. Originally a merchant, Caxton learned the art of printing in Cologne in 1470-72. He set up his first printing press in Bruges and in 1476 returned to London, where he began printing in Westminster. The first book printed in English was Sayings of the Philosophers (1477). Caxton went on to print Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Malory’s Morte d’Arthur and many other books, some of which were illustrated with woodcuts. He also translated and revised texts for printing.
