printer's mark is a device used for visual identification
of the printer, his business and, many times, his family. It could be considered
as the first form of copyright to protect the intellectual contents and
to guarantee the quality of the book. In the beginning of the mid-15th century,
these devices were very simple designs. However, by the mid-16th century,
they had evolved into a serious art form with ornate and complex patterns.
There are fine examples of these marks in the dome of the Main Reading Room
above the College Library Reference Desk.
This guide will help to locate and identify briefly the printer, variations in the printer's name (often altered to be linguistically consistent with the country in which he worked), his working period and the first known date of the device, if available.
For further information about the general architecture of the building, please ask at the Reference Desk for the guide The Powell Library Building.
Bibliography | Main Reading Room Dome | Printers & Their Marks
College Library | UCLA Library | UCLA Homepage
Comments about this website to: College
Library WebAdministrator
CL rev. ed. 1997 Deborah D. Costa
Website design by Ellen Watanabe
/ UCLA Library Graphic Arts Service
Graphics by Stephen Kunishima / UCLA Library Graphic Arts Service
© Regents of the University of California