As well as the stories inside books, there are the stories behind them – tales of printers, binders, typesetters and paper-makers who are mostly unheard of. Adam Smyth, a literature professor who is also part of a printing collective, wants to do these men and women justice. Rather than go back to ancient China or dwell on obvious names (Gutenberg, Caxton), he picks out a handful of talented individuals whose lives are as exceptional as their achievements.
He begins 550 years ago, with Dutchman Wynkyn de Worde, one of the many immigrants in London who advanced English print culture. From a converted tavern in Fleet Street, he published more than 800 titles, with a pioneering use of woodblocks, an enthusiasm for Middle English literature, and a fondness for handbooks and guides. Among his odder publications was a printed birth girdle – a strip of paper to be placed over a woman’s womb during labour that sought divine aid for a happy outcome.
