Colophon (publishing)

A colophon printed in 1471

In publishing, a colophon (/ˈkɒləfən, -fɒn/)[1] is a brief statement containing information about the publication of a book such as an "imprint" (the place of publication, the publisher, and the date of publication).[2]

A colophon may include the device (logo)[2]: 69  of a printer or publisher. Colophons are traditionally printed at the ends of books (see History below for the origin of the word), but sometimes the same information appears elsewhere (when it may still be referred to as colophon) and many modern (post-1800) books bear this information on the title page[2] or on the verso of the title leaf,[3] which is sometimes called a biblio page or (when bearing copyright data) the copyright page.[4]

  1. ^ "colophon". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Cowley, John Duncan (1939), Bibliographical description and cataloguing, London: Grafton & Co., p. 77, hdl:2027/mdp.39015030342920, OCLC 902053242
  3. ^ Carter, John (2004), ABC for book-collectors (eighth edition, edited by Nicolas Barker, London: British Library; New Castle: Oak Knoll), p. 68.
  4. ^ John Peacock and Michael Barnard (1990), The Blueprint dictionary of printing and publishing (London etc: Blueprint), pp. 25, 60.