Caxton's Printing-Press in the Almonry, 1477 (litho)

Caxton's Printing-Press in the Almonry, 1477. William Caxton, the first English printer, was born about 1422, and apprenticed to a wealthy silk mercer of London. For some years he traded in the Low Counties, and subsequently served on diplomatic missions to the Duke of Burgundy. About 1471 he learned the art of printing, probably at Cologne, and about 1475 he printed his first book at Bruges. By September 1476, Caxton had established his printing-press in the Almonry at Westminster at the sign of the Red Pale. The first dated book printed in England was "The Dictes or sayengis of the philosophres," which appeared in 1477. Illustration for one a set of cards on Historical London, issued by Hignett's Cigarettes in 1926.