POLYCRONICON [POLYCHRONICON]

Sign of the Red Pale, Westminister: [William Caxton], 1482. One original folio leaf of the chapter Liber Quartus, viii, (Book Four), printed on recto and verso in black bâtarde typeface, rubricated in red, with marginal chronological notes in red, and ink notations in an early hand. 10.63 x 7.69 in. (27 x 19.5 cm) approx. 40 lines plus heading on each of the two pages. Small chip from the lower foretip, tiny paper adhesion on extreme edge of verso, else very good. Contained in a floating mat for observation of entire leaf. Scarce.

William Caxton (1422-1491 or 1492) introduced printing in English in 1476, establishing his first press on the grounds of Westminster Abbey. Printed in 1482, Caxton's edition of Ranulph Higden's Polycronicon, written around 1344, is a universal history concentrating on Britain. It was translated into English by John of Trevisa in 1387 and was a popular text that was widely copied and read. Caxton's early modern translation expands the chronicle to his own time. The Polycronicon is divided into seven books, after the seven days of Genesis or the seven ages of man.

BMC XI, 127; Goff H-267; HC 8659; STC 13483; Bod-inc H-121; Pforzheimer 490

 

.