William Blades

William Blades
Born 5 December 1824
Clapham, London, England
Died 27 April 1890 (aged 65)
Sutton, London, England
Nationality English
Occupation Printer
Bibliographer
Signature

William Blades (5 December 1824 – 27 April 1890), English printer and bibliographer, was born at Clapham, London.

Career

In 1840 he was apprenticed to his father's printing business in London, being subsequently taken into partnership. The firm was afterwards known as Blades, East & Blades. His interest in printing led him to make a study of the volumes produced by Caxton's press, and of the early history of printing in England.[1]

His Life and Typography of William Caxton, England's First Printer, was published in 1861-1863, and the conclusions which he set forth were arrived at by a careful examination of types in the early books, each class of type being traced from its first use to the time when, spoilt by wear, it passed out of Caxton's hands. Some 450 volumes from the Caxton Press were thus carefully compared and classified in chronological order.[1]

In 1877 Blades took an active part in organizing the Caxton celebration, and strongly supported the foundation of the Library Association. He was a keen collector of old books, prints and medals. His publications relate chiefly to the early history of printing, the Enemies of Books, his most popular work, being produced in 1880.[1]

On his death, his library was acquired by the St Bride Foundation as the initial collection of the library.[2] The architect of the St Bride's Foundation building created a room to house the collection that was a replica of Blade's original library.

Death

He died at Sutton in Surrey on 27 April 1890.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Chisholm 1911.
  2. ↑ History (St Bride Library)
Attribution

External links