בידספיריט | The Story of Writing Jackson, Donald Published

The Story of Writing Jackson, Donald Published by Studio Vista, London, , 1981 - hardcoverwith DJ ; red boards with gilt spine titling; 176pp., colour and monochrome illustrations.  The process by which man learned to embody his language in writing is one of the great miracles in the history of human civilisation, and lies at the heart of his success as a species. It is the method whereby collective memory could be maintained and information stored; it is the medium for story-telling; and it provides the essential means by which men could build empires and administrate them. It has also at various times and places, assumed the qualities of art and become an object of great beauty. This book relates the story of the 'magic art' from its earliest beginnings in the cuneiform script of the Sumerians nearly six thousand years ago up to the present day. The author shows how the shape of particular alphabets grew out of the predominant material - the clay tablets of the Sumerians, the papyrus and reed pen of the Egyptians, the stone carving of the Romans and how these almost haphazard circumstances were turning points. A full account in the history of calligraphy as a fine art reaching its apogee in the medieval and renaissance illuminated manuscripts, including the life and work of the medieval scribe. The effect on writing of the invention of printing and the development of all modern writing devices are discussed. Donald Jackson was a noted international calligrapher.