About Us

The purpose of The Colophon Club at the time of its founding and today is to be "[a] social club for bibliophiles. To share, and encourage knowledge and enthusiasm for books and the book arts."  Our members come from all areas of the book arts from the craftspeople who show up in the colophon of a fine press or artists' book to the special collections archivists and librarians who share and care for handmade books. Members are located all over the world, but mostly consist of California Bay Area local book artists and bibliophiles spanning many generations from masters of their craft to students finding their way in the world of book arts. 

We meet once a month at either a book arts related venue, such as Arion Press, the San Francisco Art Institute's Legacy Foundation and Archive, Magnolia Press, and the studios of individual members and guests. We serve light hors d'oeuvres and drinks and the event includes a lecture and tour of the hosting venue. When we are not meeting at a host venue, we meet at Cafenated on Vine Street in Berkeley for a sit-down dinner with a guest lecture related to a topic in the book arts. Our annual Holiday Party in December is our largest gathering when artists are invited to bring a book they have worked on over the past year to share and discuss with fellow members. This is also when we hand out the annual membership keepsake, a work commissioned by the Club, handmade by one or more members. 

If you would like more information about The Colophon Club, please contact us at colophonclub at gmail dot com or DM us on our Instagram.