Richard Pynson (d. 1530), early London printer and possible apprentice to William Caxton. Pynson, a Norman, is generally thought to have come to England during the life of Caxton, and to have been apprenticed to him. The style of Pynson's printing, however, seems to indicate almost certainly that he learned in Normandy, probably from Guillaume le Talleur.
Pynson began printing in London in about 1490. Some of his early printings include a Latin grammar, an illustrated version of The Canterbury Tales, and Henry Parker's Dialogue of Dives and Pauper. He was appointed printer to the king upon the accession of Henry VIII.
Pynson did not print nearly as many books as Wynkyn de Wolde, perhaps 300 to de Wolde's 600, but the quality of Pynson's output is consiberably better. Significant books printed by Pynson include the works of Terence (1496), the first printing of a classic in London, the Boke of Cookery, and the Morton Missal. After Pynson's death in 1530, his business was taken over by Robert Redman.