This edition is published in the series "Aldine editions of the English poets." This series sought to publish English poets in pocket-sized volumes in the tradition of the Venetian printer Aldus Manutius. While small in size and cheaper to purchase than traditional folio volumes, these volumes are well-crafted and of good quality.

The publisher, William Pickering, was a notable figure in the emerging separation of book design from printing and publishing. He also sought to identify his work with that of Aldus Manutius, even to the point of pirating Aldus' signature anchor and dolphin printer's mark.

This edition of Chaucer's works is taken from Tyrwhitt's text and appears without illustration. This is the second edition of this series by the same publisher, the first being released in 1845.