COLOPHON

In the fifteenth century, books were originally published without title pages (and the corresponding Copyright Page) The printer indicated his production of the book on the “colophon” typically inserted at the rear of the book. Information contained in these early colophons might include the date the printing was completed, the name of the book, the printer, the printer’s “device”, and often a “register,” or a list of the signatures from which the book was made-up (sometimes the colophon states the number of copies printed, and in the case of a limited edition, will cite the copy number and may contain the signature of the author, illustrator, or publisher). In modern use, a colophon will describe details about the production of the book.