Persian printing in the world began with the publication of Dāstān-I Masih in Leiden (1639). Three hundred years after the invention of movable type printing by Gutenberg (1455) and 200 years after printing the first Persian book, the first book printed with movable type in 1233 AH (1818 AD) in Tabriz (Iran). This research shows that nine books were published in Tabriz between 1233 AH (1818 AD) and 1252 AH (1837 AD) using movable type printing. Ali ibn Mohammad-Hossein al-Tabrizi, known as Amin al-Sharʿ Tabrizi, was the last printer and publisher of most of these publications (four books) in Tabriz during this period. Considering that all these publications were printed with the same typeface, this research aims to study the visual features of the "Amin al-Sharʿ" typeface by examining its formal visual characteristics. The present study is applied in terms of purpose and qualitative in terms of data nature, and library resources have been used to collect data. The results of the study were obtained through a descriptive-analytical approach, focusing on the diversity in form and use of letters. The study examined similarities and differences, developments, and letter combinations in various conditions.
The results extracted from this research indicate the use of highly diverse forms in some letter families, such as the "ک" and "ه" letters, for example, a particular form of the "ب" family alongside the "س" family, are signs of attention to the medium and the limitations of printing tools. Also, the use of common sub-forms to create other letters, for example, "ـن" in shaping "ـس, س, ـص, ص", reflects a design-based approach that emerged in the use of new tools and indicates the creativity and ingenuity of the experts of that period.
Type of Study:
Original Research |
Subject:
2 Received: 2023/06/17 | Accepted: 2024/09/12 | Published: 2025/01/4