Brief history of western alphabet list to talk about

History of the western alphabet
Where does our alphabet originated from?
What are the ancestral forms of out alphabet and how long ago can out alphabet be tracked back?
How has it developed over the centuries?
How have specific letters developed over the centuries, as as the letter ‘A’
Use the links on study space. Start roughly putting evidence together as notes with images.

• Origins of Western Alphabet

• Ancient Middle East 3000 years ago

• Phoenician alphabet - Ancestor of Western, Hebrew, Arabic letterforms

• Ancient Greece 2200 years ago

• text is read left to right

• Ancient Rome 1800 years ago

• Carved in stone capitals similar to today

• Non capitals originate as letterforms written in ink

• Phoenicians – Syria 1050 BC

• Ancient Greece – 2200 years ago

    Rome 120 AD

• Irish Hand written Bible 750 AD

Invention of the printing press

enables mass production

Gutenberg Bible, Germany – 1470

‘Letter press’ – print on paper from a raised ink surface

• Gutenberg Bible
First printed book 1470

Gutenberg extract 1470

• England 1560
Power of the Printed Word

• Printing press used for propaganda purposes

• Government controlled Sermons for reformed Protestant religion printed out and distributed nationwide from a printing press in the Tower of London.

• Modern Numbers
introduced to Europe around 1400 from Islamic world
(Arab numbers originated from earlier Hindi forms)

• 1470-1930 Development of different Typeface styles in Europe for Print industry

Garamond 1540

(Created for the King of France)

Baskerville 1757

(Birmingham England)

Times New Roman 1930

(For ‘The Times’ newspaper, London)

• Early 20^th century newspaper metal typeset – same basic print technology as Gutenberg Bible

   Early 20^thCentury Newspaper Typeset

1970s -Photosetting

1985 –Digital type

1990s –Web Design