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

[2] His Life and Typography of William Caxton, England's First Printer,[3] 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.

[2] In 1877 Blades took an active part in organizing the Caxton celebration, and strongly supported the foundation of the Library Association.

[7] The architect of the St Bride Foundation building, Robert Cunningham Murray, created a room to house the collection that was a near replica of Blade's original library.