Author | Georges Jean |
---|---|
Original title | L'écriture, mémoire des hommes |
Translator | Jenny Oates |
Language | French |
Series |
|
Release number | 24th in collection |
Subject | History of the alphabet and writing |
Genre | Nonfiction monograph |
Publisher | FR: Éditions Gallimard US: Harry N. Abrams UK: Thames & Hudson |
Publication date | 4 December 1987 21 June 2007 (new ed.) |
Publication place | France |
Published in English | 1992 |
Media type | Print (paperback) |
Pages |
|
ISBN | 978-2-0705-3040-3 (first edition) |
Preceded by | Montaigne : « Que sais-je ? » |
Followed by | Vers l'Ouest : Un nouveau monde |
Writing: The Story of Alphabets and Scripts (French: L'écriture, mémoire des hommes, lit. 'Writing: Memory of Humans') is a 1987 illustrated monograph on the history of the alphabet and writing. Written by French linguist Georges Jean, and published by Éditions Gallimard as the 24th volume in their "Découvertes" collection. The book is one of the five bestsellers in the collection, together with The Search for Ancient Egypt.[1]
Drawing on unearthed artefacts and historical documents, Georges Jean illustrates the history of writing from an archaeological perspective and with a diachronic approach. The author chose to organise Writing chronologically, stretching it from the cuneiform of Mesopotamia in 3200 BC, through the Phoenician alphabet around 1000 BC, to modern typographical techniques, with descriptions of how writing appeared almost simultaneously in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China.[2] The author focuses on the introduction of Near Eastern and Western scripts, but also covers the characteristics and differences of some Far Eastern writing systems, Chinese, Indian and Tibetan, for instance.[3]
The book details a variety of writing tools and media, such as clay tablets used by the Sumerians, reed pen and papyrus of the ancient Egyptians, Roman writing awls, quill and parchment of those medieval Irish monks, as well as brush, fountain pen, stone, paper, printing press, etc.[4] It also discusses how these different writing methods and printing tools affect the development of written content, whether it can be circulated in large quantities, and the ways and channels for circulation.
The second part of this book is made up of an anthology of "Documents", which delves into more specialised texts and relevant authors on aspects of writing already covered in the body matter — the art of typography, digits and images, the tools for writing, calligraphy, the world's different writing systems, etc.[7]
De geschiedenis van het schrift heeft altijd velen weten te boeien. Die geschiedenis is meer dan 6000 jaar oud. Denken we maar aan het schrift van de Soemeriërs die kleitafels gebruiken en aan het papyrus en de rietpen van Egyptenaren. De Romeinen gebruikten de priem en later kwam het perkament de pen van ganzeveren zoals die door de Ierse monniken werden gebruikt. Het boek is mooi geïllustreerd met foto's in zwartwit en vierkleuren.