84 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1703. 



books printed by them than the Durandus, in the library of Basil in Switzer- 

 land, printed, as a gentleman who saw it told me, A.D. 1458. Joannes Janu- 

 ensis's Catholicon, in her Majesty's and the Lord Bishop of Norwich's libraries, 

 printed 1460. The Latin Bible of 1462, yet extant in the French King's 

 library, and in divers monasteries beyond the sea, and perhaps in England. 

 The Tiilly's Offices, printed both in 1465 and 1466, if both these be not the 

 same edition, the last sheet or leaf being composed afresh : and so on till 

 SchoefFer worked for himself after the death of Fust, and Schoeffer's posterity 

 after him. But I willingly forbear the catalogue, in hopes that this, with that 

 of the other old printers throughout Europe, and especially of our English 

 workmen, with their devices, the effigies of most of them, and a multitude of 

 uncomFion remarks relating to writing, printing, parchment, paper, binding, 

 &c. will be communicated to the world, when Mr. Bagford's papers shall be 

 digesied, 



Qtn the first discovery of the art by Fust at Paris, or at his first settlement or 

 public profession of it at Mentz, it quickly spread over the best part of Europe,* 

 and was commonly used in other countries before it was known in England, 

 notwithstanding what some writers affirm to the contrary ; the first book that 

 we pretend to have been printed here, being Hierome, or rather Rufinus, on 

 the Creed, printed at Oxford, A. D. 1 468. 



To prove this in some measure, not to mention the progress of printing in 

 other countries, I instance in Italy, and particularly Rome ; here, not to insist 

 on the large catalogue of printed books described in an epistle to Pope Xystus 

 IV, published at the beginning of the 5th tome of the Bible printed with Lyra's 

 Commentaries at Rome, A.D. 1472, and transcribed by Boxhorn; I shall only 

 relate the sum of what I meet with in Bernard Mountfaucon'sDiarium Italicum, 

 tome 1, p. 255, 256, viz. that Joannes Aleriensis, in a flattering epistle to Pope 

 Paul II, who was elected A. D. 1464, congratulates him, because printing was 

 first used at Rome under his pontificat. Which if spoken of the very first 

 practice of the art at Rome, and not of an established imprimery, seems to be 

 false; because this learned monk, in the same place, says he saw a Lactantius 

 in the musaeum, or study, of Monsieur de la Thuilliere, which has these words 

 at the end, Lactantii Firmiani institutiones cussb in venerabili monasterio Subla- 

 censi Anno 1461, antepenultima Octobris. Now, unless a man will suppose 

 printing to be invented in this monastery, he must believe it to be brought 

 hither from Rome, which is about 20 miles distant from it. And the same 



* From these places^ and from books^ or parts of books, where, or wherein such sorts of letter 

 was used, the printers still call their letters Italic, Roman, English, &c. austin, caQon, pica, 

 primer, brevier, &c. — Orig, 



