Arabic Typography: History and Practice

Second Edition, 2025. 401 pages. Preface by Robert Bringhurst, with an introduction by Gerry Leonidas. Paper-covered boards. No dust jacket as issued.

Although Arabic is the third most widely used text script in the world, there is a lack of good typographic literature. This publication is a multidisciplinary reference work that combines the latest academic findings with applied typography. By focusing on elements specific to Arabic script, it avoids overlap with the extensive literature on Latin script typography, enabling precise presentation and making it relevant and accessible to the widest possible readership.

The first part, featuring several contributions from a panel of practice-oriented young scholars, offers a well-founded synthesis of the typographic history and development of Arabic script. The more comprehensive second part complements these historical foundations with a concise guide to Arabic typography. Inspired not least by Jost Hochuli’s definitive work Detail in Typography, all relevant microtypographic parameters are vividly addressed.

Sections include: Emanuela Conidi: An Approach to the study of Arabic foundry type; Borna Izadpanah: Persian and Arabic printing with movable type in Qajar Iran (1818-1900); Onur Yazicigil: The Genealogy of Ottoman naskh printing types (1729-1928); Titus Nemeth: The Typography of the Nahdah & Foundations of Arabic typography.

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