DIASPORA OF ARMENIAN PRINTING, 1512-2012, THE

By John A. Lane, Translated by Anna Maria Martirosjan-Mattaar

In 1512, in the city of Venice, Hakob Meghapart printed the first book in Armenian type. He inaugurated a tradition celebrated in 2012 as 'Five Centuries of Armenian Printing'. The Diaspora of Armenian Printing 1512-2012, published by the Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam, commemorates the printers, their books and their printing types. This is the first international publication in English and Armenian on the history of Armenian printing.

For technical and political reasons, all Armenian books were printed outside Armenia until 1771. The art of Armenian printing developed in major centres like Venice, Constantinople and Amsterdam, but also in many others around the world. Its history moves along highways and byways reflecting the ups and downs of the Armenian people. The book describes the diaspora of Armenian printing, highlighting the role of Amsterdam. It takes the reader on a typographic odyssey through time and space.

John A. Lane (1955) is a historian of printing and printing types. He was born and raised in the United States and has lived in Leiden (Holland) since 1990. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for his typographic research in 2006 and has published many books and articles.

Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam (2012)