ABSTRACT
In this chapter I argue that the typographic imaginary is incipient in the paratexts of William Caxton. In Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye (1473) he sets out the advantages and progressive potential of print. However, in Mirrour of the World (1481) he is more hesitant about it and, by focusing not on print but on writing in general, shows his close connection to older manuscript practices. His works investigate the relative values of manuscript and print and show him renovating established tropes about textual production for the new medium.
