Caxton's Game and Playe of the Chesse 1474 - Softcover

Caxton, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 4871871738 ISBN 13: 9784871871730

Publisher: Ishi Press, 2018

Synopsis

Published in 1474, this is the first book on chess ever published and one of the first books ever published anywhere in Europe on any subject. Naturally, chess players will want to read this book. However, be forewarned that there are no cleaver opening traps in this book. It provides no ways to do in your next opponent. But the subject is definitely chess. The actions of the king, queen, bishop, knight, rook and pawn are all in this book. The history of the game of chess is described.

About this title

About the Author

William Caxton (c. 1422 – c. 1491) was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and was the first English retailer of printed books. Caxton was settled in Bruges by 1450. He went on to become successful in business and governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London. At this time Bruges was a wealthy cultured city, and Caxton became interested in reading and fine literature. During his business travels, he observed the new printing industry in Cologne, which led him to start a printing press in Bruges in collaboration with Colard Mansion. He also embarked on the translation of Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye. At this time Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV, married the Duke of Burgundy and they moved to Bruges. Caxton became friends with the Duchess and it was she who encouraged him to continue his unfinished translation of the Troy stories (similar to those found in the Iliad), which he completed in 1471. Caxton set up a press at Westminster in 1476 due to the heavy demand for his translation on his return. The first book known to have been produced there was an edition of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. He printed perhaps the earliest verses of the Bible to be printed in English, as well as chivalric romances, classical works and English and Roman histories. He translated into English and edited many of the works himself. He is credited with the first English translation of Aesop's Fables, in 1484. The rushed publishing schedule and his inadequacies as a translator led both to wholesale transfers of French words into English and to misunderstandings. Caxton is credited with helping to standardise the various dialects of English through his printed works. Caxton was making trips to Bruges by 1450 at the latest and had settled there by 1453, when he may have taken his Liberty of the Mercers' Company. There he was successful in business and became governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London. His trade brought him into contact with Burgundy and it was thus that he became a member of the household of Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, the third wife of Charles the Bold and sister of two Kings of England: Edward IV and Richard III. He wasted no time in setting up a printing press in Bruges, and the first book to be printed in English was produced in 1473: Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, a translation by Caxton himself.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ishi Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 4871871738
• ISBN 13: 9784871871730
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 276