to the assistant of the first English printer and book publisher, William Caxton. Caxton's assistant was named "Deville", which evolved to "devil" over time, as that name was used to describe other printers' apprentices. Malayalam root While the term "printer's devil" in India may stem from the European legend of Titivillus, another theory is that it might stem from the Malayalam term for "printing error" (achadi pisaku), which is only one change of a Malayalam letter away from "printing devil" (achadi pisachu). Famous devils A number of notable men served as printer's devils in their youth, including Ambrose Bierce, William Dean Howells, James Printer, Benjamin Franklin, Raymond C. Hoiles, Samuel Fuller, Thomas Jefferson, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Joel Chandler Harris, Warren Harding, Harry Burleigh, Lawrence Tibbett, John Kellogg, Lyndon Johnson, Hoodoo Brown, James Hogg, Geoff Lloyd, Harry Pace, Joseph Lyons, Albert Parsons, Meade Huggins and Lázaro Cárdenas. Usage United States In North America during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, young boys were indentured to printers by their parents, or in the case of orphans, by the municipal or church authorities. More than apprentices in other trades, printer's devils were boys who had expressed an interest in printing. By 1894, American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking noted that with the decline of the apprenticeship system in the United States, the term "printer's devil" was going out of use. India The printer's devil is also known in other languages such as Bengali, where it is called Chhapakhanar Bhoot. References Other sources Frank Granger (1997). The Printer's Devil. Retrieved December 25, 2005. Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. (year unlisted). Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama. Retrieved December 25, 2005. Pubs and Breweries of the Midlands: Past and Present (year unlisted) The Printer's Devil. Retrieved December 25, 2005. Obsolete occupations Printing