Alphabetic Labyrinth: The Letters In History And Imagination; Author: Drucker, Johanna; Paperback

Author: Drucker, Johanna
1st pbk. ed; Paperback; 339 Illustrations in 2 Colours Throughout
320 pages
Published: February 1999
Thames and Hudson Ltd
ISBN: 0500280681
This item non-returnable. Order may not be canceled.

The alphabet is at once familiar and mysterious. Its letters have been the object of speculation since their invention almost four thousand years ago; the symbols represent sounds, yet theyexist in their own right, often invested with quasi-magical power. Johanna Drucker, who teaches art history at Yale University, examines the imaginative and idiosyncratic ways in which the letters ofthe alphabet have been assigned value in political, spiritual, or religious belief systems over two millennia.The first book to explore fully this colorful, poetic, and frequently eccentric realm,The Alphabetic Labyrinth is richly complemented by images that have rarely or never before been reproduced. Drawing on a wide variety of little-known sources, both literary and artistic, the author adThe letters of the alphabet have been the object of speculation since their invention almost four thousand years ago. 'The Alphabetic Labyrinth' examines the religious systems over two millennia.This text examines the many ways in which the letters of the alphabet have been assigned value in many key systems over two millennia. The book also presents the more general history of lettering, printing and calligraphy, providing an informative guide for art and cultural historians.