PREFACES AND EPILOGUES
BY WILLIAM CAXTON〖William Caxton (1422?—1491), merchant and translator, learned the art of printing on the Continent, probably at Bruges or Cologne. He translated “The Recuyell of the Histories of Troy,” between 1469 and 1471, and, on account of the great demand for copies, was led to have it printed—the first English book to be reproduced by this means. The date was about 1474; the place, probably Bruges. In 1476, Caxton came back to England, and set up a press of his own at Westminster. In 1477, he issued the first book known to have been printed in England, “The Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers.” The following Prefaces and Epilogues from Caxton's own pen show his attitude towards some of the more important of the works that issued from his press.〗
THE RECUYELL OF THE HISTORIES OF TROY