From Mercer to Master Printer
William Caxton (c. 1415-1492) started as a successful cloth merchant in the Low Countries. His path to becoming the father of English printing began in Bruges, where he was Governor of the English Nation—a guild for English merchants abroad.
During his diplomatic and business travels, Caxton saw Gutenberg's revolutionary printing technology. Seeing its potential, he set up his first printing workshop in Bruges around 1473, where he produced the first book printed in English.
In 1476, Caxton returned to England and set up his press at Westminster, near the Abbey. The location was strategic—close to the royal court and the educated clergy and nobles who became his main customers.
Caxton's Life & Works
Early Career in Bruges
Caxton was a successful mercer, trading English wool and cloth in Flemish markets. His role as Governor of the English Nation gave him diplomatic standing and commercial clout.
First Encounter with Printing
While finishing his translation of "The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye," Caxton worked with Colard Mansion to learn printing. This partnership produced the first English printed book.
Return to Westminster
Caxton set up his press at the Sign of the Red Pale, near Westminster Abbey. His first English publication was "The Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres," marking the birth of English printing.
The Canterbury Tales
Caxton's most famous publication brought Chaucer's work to a wider audience. This edition set conventions for English literary printing that lasted centuries.
Golden Age of Publishing
During this period, Caxton published over 100 titles, including works by Malory, Lydgate, and his own translations. He became printer, publisher, translator, and editor all in one.
Legacy and Death
Caxton died at his press, leaving behind a transformed literary landscape. His successor, Wynkyn de Worde, continued the business, moving it to Fleet Street where it became part of London's publishing district.
Caxton's Major Works
Each publication represents a milestone in the development of English literature and printing
The Recuyell (1473)
The first book printed in English, Caxton's own translation of a French romance. This Bruges edition established English as a language worthy of print culture.
View Manuscript
The Canterbury Tales (1478)
Caxton's edition of Chaucer's masterpiece brought Middle English literature to a new generation of readers and established many textual conventions.
View Manuscript
Le Morte Darthur (1485)
Malory's Arthurian romance, edited and published by Caxton, became the definitive version of the Arthur legends and influenced English literature for centuries.
View ManuscriptCaxton's Prologues
In his own words: excerpts from Caxton's prefaces and colophons
And for as moche as in the wrytyng of the same my penne is worn, myn hande wery & not stedfaste, myn eyen dimmed with overmoche lokyng on the whit paper, and my corage not so prone and redy to laboure as hit hath ben, and that age crepeth on me dayly and febleth all the bodye...
Thus was this book ended and finished in the Abbey of Westmester the last day of July, the year of our Lord MCCCCLXXXV, and the first year of the reign of King Richard the Third.
Visit Caxton's Westminster
The site of England's first printing press, near Westminster Abbey
The Sign of the Red Pale
Caxton's workshop stood in the Abbey precinct, in what is now Victoria Street. A commemorative plaque marks the approximate location where English printing began. The proximity to both royal and ecclesiastical power was crucial to Caxton's success in establishing a market for printed books.
Modern Location: The area between Westminster Abbey and Victoria Street, EC1