Colophon (pronounced kol-uh-fon or kol-uh-fuhn)
(1) A publisher's or printer's distinctive emblem (or imprint,
label, logo, mark, symbol trademark etc), used as an identifying device on its
books and other works, appearing variously within the covers and at the base of
the spine (replicated in the same place on a dust jacket).
(2) An inscription (historically at the end of a book or
manuscript but of late frequently printed towards the beginning), widely used since
the fifteenth century (although the practice pre-dates the invention of
printing) and providing the title or subject of the work, selected details about
the author(s), the name of the printer or publisher, the date and place of
publication and (less commonly), technical details such as typefaces, bibliophilic
information or the paper and method of binding used.
(3) By extension, in internet use, a page on a website
identifying the details of its creation, such as the author's name, the
technologies used (including copyright attribution) and many other details, some
or all of which may replicate the metadata associated with objects in other
digital contexts.
(3) In entomology, a genus of beetles in the stag beetle
family Lucanidae.
(4) In art, music, poetry etc, a finishing stroke or
crowning touch (archaic except as an artistic affectation).
(5) An city in Ancient Greece (in Lydia, Asia Minor); one
of the twelve Ionian cities banded together in the eighth century BC and
substantially depopulated in 286 BC (always initial capital). It was romanized as Kolophṓn.
1615-1625: From the Late Latin colophōn, from the Ancient Greek κολοφών (kolophṓn) (peak, summit; finishing touch; a finishing stroke),
from the primitive Indo-European root kel
(to be prominent; hill). A colophon
should not be confused with colophonite (in mineralogy a coarsely granular
variety of garnet) or technical words from medicine words like coloplasty (surgery
on the colon (especially partial resection or an instance of such surgery)). The adjective Colophonian is applied to (1)
an inhabitant of the Lydian city of Colophon or (2) matters of or pertaining
to that city. The term colophony (for the
type of rosin) is from colophonia resina (from the Ancient Greek Κολοφωνία ῥητίνη (Kolophōnia rhētinē)) which describes the hardened resin
from the pine trees of Colophon, a substance valued by the craftsmen who made stringed
musical instruments because its properties were uniquely helpful in increasing the
friction of bow hairs (and now used in pharmaceutical preparations
& soldering fluxes though it’s still prized by those who play the violin,
viola, cello etc). Colophon is a noun
and colophonic is an adjective; the noun plural is colophons.
The etymological relationship between the colophon in
publishing and the Ancient Greek city of Colophon lies in the original meaning
of the word and the reverence in the West for the classical world which would
have found a Latin or Greek form preferable to something in brutish English like
“details page”. The Greek word κολοφών (kolophṓn) meant “peak” or “summit” and
thus the ancient Lydian city in Asia Minor (what is now the land mass of the
modern Republic of Türkiye) which was said to be the oldest of the twelve of
the Ionian League came to be known as Colophon because it was built upon a
ridgeline which rose between Ephesus & Lebedos. From the, in Greek, kolophṓn came to be used to mean “a city or town at the summit of
a hill or a signpost at the end of a trail that indicated the name and location
of the place” and thus “a finishing touch; a finishing stroke”. From this duality of meaning came the use in publishing,
the bibliographic addendum called a “colophon” in the metaphorical sense of a “crowning
touch” and the historic placement at the end of a book or manuscript an
allusion to “the signpost at the end”.
Although it would be centuries before anything like a standardized form
emerged, the concept of the colophon has been identified in texts from
antiquity, recognizable versions existing as early as the second century AD.
An emulation of a colaphon.
A colophon is not an essential component of a book but
many publishers have long included one.
In its most simple modern form, a colophon is a summary of technical
information which includes data such as the name & insignia of the
publisher, the font(s) used, the details of photographs or art used on the
covers and the names of the author(s) or editor(s), along with whatever biographical
data they may care to reveal. The nature
of the text also influences what’s included, books with a technical bent (and
certainly those covering IT matters) likely to list software used in the
composition while those which focus on photography are likely to include much
about cameras. Reflecting environment
concerns, increasingly colophons include mentions of thing like sustainability
in the process (which can mean much or little) or the use of recycled
materials. A colophon differs from a
blurb (often printed on the back cover or a cover flap) which is a blend of
promotional puff-piece and a précis of the contents. Traditionally part of the back matter, they’re
now often found among the front pages along with the title page (a more modern
innovation than the colophon) appearing with the usual entries such as the date
& place of publication, the copyright stamp, ISBN references etc. In a sense, a colophon can be considered a
form of metadata (which references the concept of structured information which
is about other data).
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