One of the most famous historical documents of English printing is Joseph Ames's "Typographical Antiquities," published in London in 1749. Although Ames referred to his work as a history of printing, the bulk of it is a list of the first printers in England and their works through 1600, with very full bibliographical descriptions for many of the titles. Ames provided bibliographic information for the printers when it was available, and he included plates with the devices of printers and specimens of their type. For William Caxton, England's first printer, he provided six different numbered type specimens, so that the type could be matched to his particular works. Ames's work is thus more a bibliography than a history, but perhaps it is most accurately described as an antiquarian work. Joseph Ames (1687-1759) was a professional joiner and an amateur antiquarian who served as secretary to the Society of Antiquaries from 1741 until his death, and worked within the antiquarian tradition. In this article, the author describes the life of antiquarians of the time and the story of how "Typographical Antiquities" came to be written.