84) THE ART OF PRINTING. 



tered over the world ; so that France, Italy, Spain, and even Con- 

 stantinople, were supplied with presses. The first printing-press in 

 Spain was set up in Valencia, and the earliest book printed appears 

 to have been a Latin Dictionary, dated February, 1475 ; a Sallust 

 appeared the same year. Burgos was among the earliest cities in 

 Castile, and Zarragoza in Arragon, to enjoy the new benefit, and 

 Seville was not long behind them. Most of the works printed in 

 Germany and Italy were either religious or classical, and those chiefly 

 in learned languages ; but from the very first introduction of printing 

 in Spain, it was employed on works in the vernacular tongue. One 

 of the earliest Castilian prose books printed was the letters of Fernan 

 Gomez de Ciudad Real, who was forty-four years physician to John 

 II. Spain also partook at this period of the general introduction of 

 Greek literature into the West. 



The first printer is generally allowed to be Guttemberg, who 

 opened the art to Faust; and the earliest important specimen by 

 metal types, is Guttemberg's and Faust's Bible of 637 leaves, printed 

 between the years 1450 and 1455. Rude specimens of wooden blocks 

 appeared in Holland as soon as 1440, and at Mentz, from the same 

 materials, before 1540 ; but this is accounted a different art, and was 

 probably borrowed from the Chinese. According to Astle, the very 

 early prints from wooden blocks, without the least shadowing or 

 crossing of strokes, was probably contrived by the illuminators of 

 manuscripts and makers of playing cards. These, inelegantly daubed 

 over with colours, which they termed illuminations, were sold at a 

 very cheap rate to persons who could not afford to purchase valuable 

 missals. From 1462, printing spread rapidly over Europe. Italy 

 first printed in Greek characters, and the earliest specimen is in Lac- 

 tantius, which appeared in the year 1465. Hebrew was printed as 

 early as 1477 J Arabic and Chaldaic appeared in 1616; Samaritan, 

 Syriac, Coptic, &c., in 1636. The first book which Caxton printed 

 in England was the Game at Chess, in 1474. The first letters used 

 by him were of the sort called Secretary, and of this he had two 

 founts. Afterwards his letters were more like the modern Gothic 

 characters of the fifteenth century. Of these he had three founts of 

 great primer. Besides these, he had two founts of English or pica, 

 one of double pica, and one of long primer, or, at least, agreeing with 

 the kinds which are now called by these names. Wynkyn de Worde 

 is said to have first brought into England the use of round Roman 

 letters. William Jaques, in 1503, made a fount of English letters, 

 equal, if not exceeding in beauty, any which our founders produce in 

 the present day. The favourite characters of these times were large 

 types, and particularly great primer. The English press had no 

 works in the Greek or Oriental languages till the sixteenth century ; 

 the various ligatures and abbreviations used by the early printers 

 rendered more types necessary than at present. 



After the establishment of the Reformation, books no longer be- 

 came the exclusive property of the rich, and of consequence it was 

 unnecessary to spend either a life or a fortune to obtain learning and 

 knowledge. It may easily be imagined that the monks and scribes, 

 and other interested persons, endeavoured to check the increase of 



