Capgrave, John, Et Al. [Wynken De Worde]

[Nova Legenda Angliae] "De Sancto Augustino Episcopo Et Confessore"

      [Wynkyn de Worde, ], [1516. ]. Small 4to. Single page; leaf xxvi. Some light stains. "Wynkyn de Worde (also Wynken; originally Jan van Wynkyn) (died 1534) was a printer and publisher known for his work with William Caxton, and is recognized as the first to popularize the products of the printing press. De Worde was born in Wœ rth in Alsace; the name by which he is generally known means "Wynkyn of Wœ rth. " Traditionally, he was believed to have accompanied Caxton to England in 1476; more recently, it has been argued that de Worde actually arrived c. 1481, and that Caxton brought him to England to counter the competition of a second printer. (John Lettou set up a press in London in 1480. ) De Worde improved the quality of Caxton's product; he was, in this view, "England's first typographer. " In 1495, following Caxton's death in 1491 and a three-year litigation, de Worde took over Caxton's print shop. De Worde is generally credited for moving English printing away from its late-Medieval beginnings and toward a modern model of functioning. Caxton had depended on noble patrons to sustain his enterprise; while de Worde enjoyed the support of patrons too (principally Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII), he shifted his emphasis to the creation of relatively inexpensive books for a commercial audience and the beginnings of a mass market. "{wkpd] STC 4601. ESTC s107172.