The Writing as a system of signs, used to express graphically the language, is one of the most important conquests of the humanity. Since the first known signs, the writing undergo several changes until reaching our alphabet system. In this evolution we can distinguish two essential phases: the ideograph writing and the phonetic writing. In the first stadium the writing was composed by pictorial signs, representing objects or ideas with a simple ideograph valour. To express ideas and objects was necessary to apply for equal signs. In a second stadium the signs started to represent, not yet objects or ideas, but sounds.

The signs beyond the ideograph valour started to have also a phonetic valour according to the words in which they were rised. The ancient writing vestiges came from Sumer (Law Mesopotamia) which old reaches approximately 5.500 years.

Like the Sumer writing, the Egyptian writing (hieroglyphs), is at the same time ideograph and phonetic. For example, the Sumer writing had almost 20.000 simple and composed ideograms.

The greatest writing conquest was the creation of the Alphabet, word that has a Latin origin (alfabetum). The two first words are from the Greek alphabet "Alfa" and "Beta". The Phoenician alphabet, perhaps based in Proto-Sinai writing (before the 15th century BC) was the perfects and ancients alphabet. With 3.000 years, this alphabet is composed of more or less twenty two signs, that permits to write any word. The alphabet simplicity was the key to his rapid expansion. It was adopted for the Aramaeans from the beginning of the 10th century BC and transmitted to the Nabataens, Sirius, Persians and Hebrews. The Arabic alphabet seams to came from the Phoenician, although it is difficult to determine how and when this transformation began.

For our civilisation the most important fact was the adoption of the Phoenician alphabet for the Greeks, in the middle of the 8th century BC. The Greeks introduced the notation of vocalic sounds. The first inscriptions, lined themselves from the right to the left, seamed to be similar to the Phoenician signs. The classical Greek Alphabet of the 6th century BC is composed of 24 vowels and consonants letters.

From this writing other non-Hellenic kind of writing appeared (the Etruscan or the Lician). In the Middle Ages, the Gothic and the Slavian alphabet also had a strong Greeck influence. The Latin Alphabet come from the Etruscan alphabet and other Italic writings. First documents are dated from final 7th century BC and the beginning of the 6th century BC. In 1th century BC the Latin alphabet was perfectly composed of 23 words. With the Roman Imperium and the domination of the Occidental world, the Latin alphabet imposed itself in all colonies.

What we intent to divulge here is only a small part of the great course that writings went through. We present here some texts with a short explanation about the beginning of the writing and his development. Some of these alphabets were during the years casted in metal for famous founders like Claude Garamond (16th century). His intention was offer to Europe, Greek and Latin editions. The puncheons used in the realisation of this alphabets are considered today "historical monuments", because they constituted an important mark of the writing and civilisation evolution.

Available Types