The Printing press of Saint Antonius in “Quzhayya” is the first printing press in the Middle East. It is located in a monastery in the Valley of the Saints in the mountains of the north Kaza of Lebanon. According to historians, a movable type printing press was imported from England to the Saint Antonius Monastery in 1585. The first publication was the book of “Mazameer” dated from 1610, and now present in the University of the Holy Ghost in Kaslik, Jouniyé, Lebanon.
Saint Antonius press did not print with Arabic letters but with Syriac letters. The books where in Garshuni or Karshuni (Syriac alphabet: ܓܪܫܘܢܝ, Arabic alphabet: كرشوني). Books were in Arabic writings using the Syriac alphabet. The word “Garshuni” was used by George Kiraz to coin the term “garshunography”, denoting the writing of one language in the script of another. Nowadays we still use the word ”karshouné” only to signify that a person is talking nonsense or that he is not being clear in his/her pronunciation.
The press was renewed in the beginnings of the 19th century and a special place called “al ma’rama” was reserved for it in the monastery. In the year 1854 the work of the press was stopped due to the situation back then, to be renewed again in 1871 and then to stop completely in the beginning of the Second World War.
Nowadays the printing press in Saint Antonius monastery is not as well preserved as the printing press of “Al Zakher” in “Khinshara”. There are only the English printing press displayed, some books around it, a few Syriac metal letters typeset in a matrix, and some printing tools that were used in the press.
Keep note that Saint Antonius Press in Quzhayya is the first printing press in the Middle East (using Syriac letters), while the printing press of “Al Zakher” in “Khinshara” was one of the first Arabic printing presses in the Middle East after the Arabic printing presses in Turkey and Syria that preceded it a few years earlier.
When setting up to establish 29LT digital type foundry in 2013, Lebanese designer and educator Pascal Zoghbi aspired to explore the diversity and potential of the Arabic script. Zoghbi envisioned 29LT with a cross-cultural approach. Having evolved, studied and worked in a multicultural and largely bilingual environment, he embraced multilingualism. Coming into contact with more than one language in his everyday life, he has developed an exceptional ability to think global and to reflect the various technical, conventional, and cultural writing systems into his work. Accordingly, he has excelled in creating innovative, high-quality contemporary multiscript type families, each of which is unique in its design approach and responds to regional and international market needs. Staying true to his culture, he worked on turning traditional Arabic script into contemporary type. Always on the lookout for new ideas and harmony between scripts, he explores various tools and techniques and regularly partners with a team of professional designers specialized in specific scripts to create multiscript typography.
Not only is he heavily involved in the practice of Arabic type design and typography, but he has also contributed to the field as an educator. Between 2007 and 2017, he taught at various design schools in Lebanon (American University of Beirut, Lebanese American University, and Notre Dame University) and in the UAE (American University of Sharjah). Besides lecturing at universities, he takes part in a range of design events worldwide and provides trainings and workshops on Arabic typography at universities, conferences, and agencies.
Zoghbi has gained an international reputation for his work and has received throughout his professional career prestigious design awards and honors, such as TDC Typographic Excellence, Granshan, AIGA, and was nominated to Jameel Prize 3. His work encompasses an outstanding collection of contemporary Arabic and multilingual typefaces. He co-authored and edited the “Arabic Graffiti” book published in 2010.
Zoghbi started his academic journey at Notre Dame University in Lebanon where he grew interest in Arabic typography. He further developed his type design skills at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK), the Netherlands, where he obtained in 2006 a Master of Design in Type & Media.
In 2018, he relocated to Madrid where he is currently based. Since then, his interest in a vast number of Spanish historical and cultural topics, especially those that showcase the merging of Arabic and Spanish cultures, grew keener. 29LT expanded accordingly, shifting from supporting only Arabic and Latin scripts to a global multiscript approach tapping into other world scripts.
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1 Comment
Dear Pascal
Hi my name is Eskandar. I am editor of ME Printer magazine in Dubai. We have been covering printing industry news and views since 20 years ago. I would like to publish your article in our website and magazine.Please let me know if it is OK with you.
29LT BLOG 
Dear Pascal
Hi my name is Eskandar. I am editor of ME Printer magazine in Dubai. We have been covering printing industry news and views since 20 years ago. I would like to publish your article in our website and magazine.Please let me know if it is OK with you.