Handwritten colophons first appeared in 6th century manuscripts. The first printed colophon appeared in the Mainz Psalter, created by Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer in 1457. The printers, not being able to write Latin themselves with any fluency, naturally left their colophons in the hands of their correctors. Late antique scholars and medievalists who work on manuscripts as primary sources are very familiar with the art of the colophon. However, the history of the colophon dates back much further, to ancient history when scribes in ancient Mesopotamia chiseled colophons on cuneiform tablets as early as the third millennium BCE. At their inception, colophons were writing production records: who wrote what, when, and where? Jewish authors and scribes and early Christian writers in the Hellenistic period used colophons as a verification of the validity of their writings as well.
The toledoths in Genesis are colophons, indicating Genesis was compiled from tablets authored by the patriarchs. There are basically four theories concerning how Genesis was written and by whom. The Constantinople prints are noted for their long colophons. Those in the early Venice prints are shorter, probably because most of the printers were Christians. Colophons were also at times used to call special attention to some one person who had assisted in the work.
Medieval colophons occasionally have more elaborate forms of address. The sole surviving late-fifteenth-century, Old French manuscript of The Mirror of Simple Souls has a colophon where the “one” who wrote the book is grammatically marked as female. The third-personal “her” for whom prayers are to benefit is also female. The “I” of this colophon could be interpreted as the author praying for a female scribe. However, the scribe wrote this colophon in three works she copied.
The Ancient biographer Diogenes Laertius reports that Xenophanes was born in Colophon, a city that once existed in Ionia, in present-day Turkey. Laertius says that Xenophanes is said to have flourished during the 60th Olympiad (540–537 BC), and modern scholars generally place his birth some time around 570-560 BC. Unlike other pre-Socratic philosophers, our knowledge of Xenophanes’ views comes from fragments of his poetry that survive as quotations by later Greek writers.
What is a colophon in literature? A colophon is a brief statement containing information about the publication of a book such as the place of publication, the publisher, and the date.
Colophons can provide details on production techniques, typefaces, layout, designers, and materials. In yearbooks, colophons give staff information, specifications, and more. Examples:
Nonfiction:
"The text of The Empathy Exams is set in Adobe Jenson Pro…This book was designed by Ann Sudmeier… Manufactured by Versa Press on acid-free 30 percent postconsumer wastepaper."
Fiction:
"Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad"
The modern colophon comes from ancient Mesopotamian scribes. Its primary purpose now is providing edition information. Students consult colophons to learn about typefaces and production techniques. Signed books can increase value.
Examples of colophons:
- "The colophon provided publication details."
- "The colophon was beautifully designed."
- "The colophon indicated an Italian printing."
Synonyms: imprint, inscription, blurb, comments, details
In Medieval books, colophons gave facts like author, date, thanks. Renaissance books had colophons too. This guide is still developing – more to come!