The BA celebrates the launch of A History of Writing
Posted on
Alexandria, 3 October 2005—The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) celebrated the launch of the Arabic version of A History of Writing: From Hieroglyph to Multimedia, the French book published by Flammarion Publishing House, on 29 September. The celebration was attended by Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina; Dr. Abdelhalim Nureldin, Director of the Calligraphy Center; Dr. Khaled Azab, Deputy Director of the Calligraphy Center; and Ms. Anne-Marie Christin who edited the French book. In addition, attendees included the researchers and translators who participated in the book’s preparation.
The book is deemed one of the renowned books available today that gives an account of writing from prehistory to the present day, covering all aspects of the evolution of various alphabets and their use from Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt to modern day. It is divided into three sections. The first is devoted to the oldest, non-alphabetic methods of writing, and to the ingenious developments devised by civilizations that chose to adapt them to their language and culture. The second focuses on the history and spread of alphabets. The third shows how the Western alphabet has reincorporated imagery into writing in various hand-written and printed forms, leading to questions about how different writing systems are now affected by computer technology.
 |
| Participants in the celebration |