The Making of Armenian Typefaces: Identity, Modernity and Latinization

For centuries, the Armenian script has been connected with national identity. As a small nation surrounded by and then incorporated into more powerful neighbouring empires, its written language was an important means of preserving its culture. As printing technology developed, the growth of the global Armenian diaspora based largely in the West in the nineteenth century and the emergence Soviet Armenia placed additional emphasis on the link between the written language and identity.This book is a history of Armenian text typefaces across different type-making technologies from their inception in movable type until the late twentieth century. It identifies the factors—technical limitations, typographic trends, Western culture, Armenian identity, readers' preferences—that influenced the development of Armenian fonts by assessing the most significant Armenian typefaces in their historical, social, cultural and geographical context.