Printing Evidence in Early Printed Books
Examining the printing in the pages of early printed books provides clues about how the text is presented as well as how a book was printed. You will see what type of design elements were employed and who was responsible for the creation of the book.
Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola's Concordiaeqve comitis (Strasbourg: Johann Grüninger, 1509)
B785.P53 D45 1509
Printing Terms & Definitions
There are several types of printing terms to describe the evidence of printing in early printed books. Special Collections uses vocabulary from the Rare Books & Manuscripts Printing and Publishing Terms.
Term types include:
- Compositor's work - such as Pagination errors and Signing irregularities
- Control of printing - such as Printing privileges
- Distribution and sales methods - such as Subscription lists
- Editions, issues and states - such as Cancellations and Integral errata lists
- Fakery, falsification, imitation, and copying- such as Fictitious imprints
- Multiple printers - such as Catchwords and Signature registers
- Pressman's work - such as Printing in multiple colors
- Printer identification - such as Colophons and Printers' devices
Search terms within each type used at USC can be found in the box to the left.
Printing Evidence search terms at USC
Follow the links to find books using the terms below. Click on the "Examples" link to see visual examples of each term.
Compositor's work
- Duodecimo format
- Folio format
- Octavo format
- Pagination errors
- Quarto format
- Signatures - Examples
- Signing irregularities
- Sixteenmo format
- Twenty-fourmo format
Copyright and licensing
Control of printing
Distribution and sales methods
Editions, issues and states
Fakery, falsification, imitation, and copying
Multiple printers
Pressman's work
- Accidental impressions - Examples
- Damaged printing plates - Examples
- Printing in multiple colors - Examples
Printer identification
Special shapes, sizes and kinds of books