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An interesting point about these diagrams is, that they have short explanations written in them in ink, and in all copies where these inscriptions are found they are in the same handwriting. Oldys, who first drew attention to this peculiarity, supposed the handwriting to be that of Caxton himself, and though this is not impossible, it is more probable that this simple and monotonous task would be done by one of his assistants.

The suggestion which has sometimes been made that Caxton's wood-cuts were engraved abroad is quite without foundation. They are very often copied from those in foreign books, but their very clumsy execution would be well within the capacity of the veriest tyro in wood-engraving. Mr. Linton suggested that they might have been cut in soft metal, but as the blocks when found in later books often have marks clearly showing that they had been injured by worm-holes, this conjecture is untenable.

I traced out some time ago the history of two copies of this book, which is worth mentioning as showing the extraordinary manner in which Caxtons were mutilated and made up. About the year 1750 there were in existence two copies, A and B. A had two leaves in the middle, 52 and 53, taken from B, and after these leaves had been taken B came into the possession of W. Herbert, the bibliographer. A still wanted one leaf at end; B wanted three at the beginning, the two taken from the middle, and the leaf at the end.

In 1814 B belonged to Heber, the celebrated collector, who parted with it to Lord Spencer in exchange for some other books. In the same year Lord Spencer obtained a duplicate last leaf from the British Museum, which he added to this copy B.

In 1819, at the "White Knights" sale, Lord Spencer bought copy A, took out the last leaf from B and inserted it in A, thus making A practically complete. B was then sold as a duplicate, repurchased by Heber, and is now in the splendid library formed by Mr. Christie Miller at Britwell Court.

Fortunately in these days collectors are beginning to recognize that such doctored and made-up books are of little value or interest compared to genuine even if imperfect copies. Like paintings which have been "restored," the charm is gone. A few wealthy buyers who acquire libraries as part of the suitable furniture of a great house, and to whom the name and fine appearance of a rare book is all that is necessary, keep up such books to a fictitious value, but their day is slowly but surely passing and giving way to intelligent appreciation.

This first edition of Caxton's differs considerably in the text from all later editions, which follow the version printed at Oxford by Rood and Hunte in 1486.

It is a folio of 116 leaves, of which the first is blank, and has 38 lines to the page.

It is a folio of 80 leaves, of which four are blank and usually wanting. About twelve copies are known, and a good example is in the Lenox Library, New York.

Five copies are known, two in the British Museum, two in the Spencer collection at Manchester, and one in a private library in America. The book, which is a small quarto, should contain 52 leaves, the first and last being blank. One copy in the British Museum and one at Manchester are complete as regards text, but neither has both blanks.

The French edition which Caxton used has been clearly identified in a curious manner. In one or two places it contains bad misprints which Caxton translated blindly. In the life of St. Stephen the words "femmes veuves" have been misprinted "Saine venue," which Caxton renders "hole comen," in spite of the words making no sense. In the life of St. Genevieve "a name" occurs in place of "a navire," which appears in the English version as "at name" in place of "by ship." This French version is of great rarity, the only two copies known being in the British Museum and the Cambridge University Library.

The only copy known, which is perfect with the exception of the last blank leaf, is in the King's Library in the British Museum.

It seems very probable that at an early date these two books were bound together, but either before or on their coming into the possession of the Earl of Oxford they were bound separately. They agree entirely in size and typographical particulars, both having 39 lines to the page in two columns.

So far Caxton had worked entirely with his own materials and without any assistance from outside. His work had been confined to the most ordinary kind of printing, which required no special trouble and no great variety of type or ornament. The close of the year, however, saw a change in this respect, and the first influences of the French press, which were gradually later on to assume such large proportions, began to make themselves felt.

One point which gives this book a peculiar interest is, that in it is found for the first time Caxton's well-known device. It consists of his initials, divided by his merchant's mark, with a deep ornamental border at top and bottom. Many ingenious writers have attempted to read into this mark several items of information. The merchant's mark they say is not a merchant's mark at all, but the figures 74 significant of the time when he began to print. Two small ornaments shaped like an S and C stand for Sancta Colonia, where he learned the art of printing. The mark is, however, merely an ordinary merchant's mark, which in some shape or another all printers introduced into their devices, and the letters S C merely ornamental flourishes.

Another question has been raised as to whether this device was cut in England or in France, but it has no resemblance to French work, and is almost certainly a native production. As Mr. Blades justly remarks: "Caxton, desirous of associating his press more directly with this issue than by the colophon only, which many people might overlook, probably designed his mark for the purpose of attracting attention. He no doubt stamped this device on the last blank page of the books after they had been received from abroad and before putting them into circulation."

Considerable doubt has been thrown on the authorship of Christine de Pisan, but apparently unjustly. In the prologues of many manuscripts, and in Caxton's edition, the writer apologizes as a woman for treating of such warlike subjects, and appeals to the goddess Minerva, saying, "I am, as thou wert, a woman Italian."

A complete copy should contain 144 leaves, the first being blank, and over twenty copies are known. A perfect copy in the Cambridge University Library contains a manuscript note showing that it was bought in 1510 for three shillings and eight pence.

In the Windsor copy this chapter is printed at the end of the book on three extra leaves, and ends as follows: "This chapitre to fore I durst not sette in the boke by cause it is not convenyent ne aparteynyng that every laye man sholde knowe it."

In order to make the style as good as possible, Caxton obtained the assistance of John Skelton, lately created a "poeta laureatus" at Oxford, who revised the work for the press.

One point in connexion with this book is curious. How was it that this third edition was printed when the stock of the earlier edition was not exhausted? Caxton, by his will, bequeathed a certain number to the churchwardens of St. Margaret's, to be sold for the benefit of the church, but these were not exhausted even by 1498, when a fourth edition was printed. In 1496 Caxton's son-in-law received twenty, and a number still remained in possession of his daughter.

Though the point can never be settled, it is not unlikely that this manuscript has preserved for us a genuine specimen of Caxton's own writing, not, of course, the ordinary current hand, but the book hand used in copying manuscripts. At that time there was still a prejudice amongst the nobles against printed books, so that the presentation copy to the patron generally took the form of a neatly written manuscript.

There is another interesting point to be noticed about this manuscript. It contains the autograph of Lord Lumley, who inherited the library formed by the Earls of Arundel. Now, William Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, was one of Caxton's patrons, so that it seems extremely probable that this manuscript was presented to him by Caxton himself.

Caxton, like all other printers at that time, numbered bookbinders amongst his workmen and issued his books ready bound. Every genuine binding from his workshop is of brown calf, ornamented with dies. His general method of covering the sides of his bindings was to make a large centre panel contained by a framework of dies. This panel was divided into lozenge-shaped compartments by diagonal lines running both ways from the frame, and in each of these compartments a die was stamped. The die most commonly found has a winged dragon or monster engraved upon it. The framework was often composed of repetitions of a triangular die pointing alternately right and left, also containing a dragon. This die is interesting, not only because the use of a triangular die was uncommon, but because it was an exact copy of one used by a London binder of the twelfth century.

CAXTON'S DEATH.

His will, could this be recovered, would doubtless throw light on this and many another obscure point, but the hope of finding it grows daily less and less. The ordinary repositories have been searched in vain; though it was still considered possible that it might be found amongst the large collection of documents preserved in Westminster Abbey. Mr. Scott, of the British Museum, who is at present engaged in calendaring these documents, and to whom I wrote on the subject, replied: "I believe it to be quite impossible that Caxton's will can be in the Muniment Rooms at the Abbey, because all the wills are together in one bundle, arranged chronologically, and also I have calendared, so far as I can see, all papers and deeds relating to Westminster." There is just the possibility that at some period the will, having been recognized as of supreme interest, has been removed to some place of greater security and its whereabouts forgotten.

"Of your charitee pray for the soul of Mayster Wyllyam Caxton, that in hys time was a man of moche ornate and moche renommed wysdome and connyng, and decessed ful crystenly the yere of our Lord M.CCCC.Lxxxxj.

"Moder of Merci shyld him from thorribul fynd And bryng hym to lyff eternall that neuyr hath ynd."

There seems great probability that this is a genuine copy of a genuine inscription, for had it been a forgery of the time when it is first mentioned, early in the eighteenth century, the forger would have given the date as 1493, which was then supposed to be the date of Caxton's death, rather than 1491, the genuine date.

Of Caxton's domestic affairs we know hardly anything. A lucky discovery made by Mr. Gairdner in the Public Record Office proves that he was a married man. This is a copy of a document produced in a lawsuit relating to a separation between Gerard Croppe, a tailor of Westminster, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of William Caxton, and dated the 11th of May, 1496. Each was bound over, under penalty of one hundred pounds, not to vex, sue, or trouble the other about any matters relating to their marriage, and to live for the future apart, unless the said Gerard could recover the love and favour of the said Elizabeth. This having been agreed to, Gerard was to receive out of the bequest of William Caxton twenty printed Legends at thirteen shillings and four pence a Legend, giving a general quittance to the executors of William Caxton.

Could the record of the original trial be recovered, the evidence of the various witnesses would no doubt afford much information.

In the churchwarden's accounts of St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, there occurs an entry in the year 1490.

This has been supposed to refer to Caxton's wife, but beyond the similarity of names there is no evidence to support the conjecture. In the same way, too, the entry of a William Caxton's burial in 1479 in the parish records of St. Margaret's has caused several to conjecture that this may have been the printer's father.

It appears almost certain that Caxton left no son, for all his printing material passed into the hands of Wynkyn de Worde, who had for some time been his assistant.

Wynkyn de Worde, who took out letters of denization in April, 1496, is described as a printer, and a native of the Duchy of Lorraine. Many writers have mistakenly derived his name from the town of Woerden in Holland, whereas he really came from the town of Worth in Alsace, and sometimes uses the name Worth in place of Worde. The suggestion, too, that he came with Caxton from Bruges would appear improbable, for as that event took place in 1476, and De Worde did not die until 1535, he would have been too young to be an assistant.

Amongst the documents, however, in Westminster Abbey is one dated 1480, relating to the giving up of a tenement by Elizabeth, wife of Wynand van Worden. If this really refers to the printer, it is clear that he must have married an Englishwoman, who would be able to hold property, which the husband, as an alien, could not. It makes it also appear probable that he was an assistant of Caxton when he established himself as an English printer in 1476, but De Worde must at that time have been a fairly young man.

Although Caxton makes frequent mention of the homeliness and rudeness of his language, yet it is clear that these expressions must not be taken quite literally. He was born in the Weald of Kent, where the peasants no doubt spoke a very marked dialect, but his own English shows no signs of this. His family was not of the peasant class, and he had received a good education, though where he does not say. Living as an apprentice in the house of one of the richest and most important London merchants, and in the company of his fellow-apprentices, he would soon lose any provincialisms he might possess. His position as head of the English merchants abroad, and his confidential position at the court of the Duchess of Burgundy, could hardly have been reached by one who spoke rude and provincial language. His statements must be taken rather as expressions of the mock humility which it was the fashion of the time to insert in prefaces, especially when they were addressed to people in high rank.

LIST OF CAXTON'S BOOKS, WITH COLLATIONS.

BOOKS PRINTED AT BRUGES.

Cessolis . The game and play of the chess fol. ; 74 leaves. Leaves 1, 74 blank.

Cordiale. Les quartre derrenieres choses fol. ; 74 leaves. Leaves 1, 74 blank.

Le Fevre. The Recuyell of the histories of Troye fol. ; 352 leaves. Leaf 1 blank.

BOOKS PRINTED AT WESTMINSTER.

Aesop. Fables fol. 1484 a-s^8; 144 leaves. Leaves 143, 144 blank.

Ars moriendi 4to A^8; 8 leaves.

Art and craft to know well to die fol. 1490 A^8, B^4, B3^2; 14 leaves. Leaf 14 blank.

Blanchardyn and Eglantine fol. A-M^8 ... Full collation unknown.

Boethius de consolatione philosophiae fol. ; 94 leaves. Leaf 1 blank.

Bonaventura. Speculum vitae Christi fol. a-s^8, t^4; 148 leaves. Leaves 1, 148 blank.

Bonaventura. Speculum vitae Christi. Ed. 2 fol. a-s^8, t^4; 148 leaves. Leaf 1 blank.

Book of Courtesy 4to ; 14 leaves. Leaf 14 blank.

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