LibGuides: Resources in Art and Architecture on the Web: Inscriptions, Calligraphy &amp; Typography

Inscriptions, Calligraphy & Typography

Ancient Graffiti Project
"A digital resource for studying the graffiti of Herculaneum and Pompeii."
Ancient Inscriptions from Israel / Palestine
"Free and accessible inscriptions and their English translations of Israel / Palestine from the Persian period through the Islamic conquest (ca. 500 BCE-640 CE)."
Arabian Rock Art Heritage
Rock art from Saudi Arabian sites.
Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents
Includes links to online collections. Located at Oxford.
Duke Papyrus Archive
Very old site from Duke University with images and translations.
A History of Fonts and Prints
From a commercial printing site. Discusses differences in fonts and includes links to other resources.
Johns Hopkins University: Papyri Collection
Consists of 70 papyrus fragments collected from Oxyrhynchus and Fayum. Available via JSTOR.
Letterform Archive
Online archive of non-profit center with collections in lettering, calligraphy, typography, and graphic design.
Mysteries at Eleusis: Images of Inscriptions
Images of ancient inscriptions on stone from Eleusis. From Cornell Library.
Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems & Language
Lots of information about worldwide scripts.
Paleography: Reading Old Handwriting 1500-1800
"A practical online tutorial" from the National Archives (UK).
Papyri.info
Search and browse over 50,000 ancient Greek and Latin documents preserved on papyrus and other materials
Richard Harrison Collection
Located in the San Francisco Public Library. The collection contains over 3,000 examples of contemporary calligraphy, including manuscripts, broadsides, handwritten books, fine prints, drawings, sketches, and roughs.
Robert C. Horn Papyri Collection
Thirty-six pieces of Greek papyri excavated at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt. From Muhlenberg College via JSTOR.
Robert Grabhorn Collection
Collection in the San Francisco Public Library. The collection is particularly strong in early type specimens and the work of sixteenth century French and Italian printers. Also of note are fine press editions and ephemera by contemporary letterpress printers.
San Francisco Public Library Book Arts & Special Collections
Houses important research collections on printing history, calligraphy and lettering, wit and humor, little magazines and zines, early children’s books and several smaller collections.
Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy
From the Library of Congress.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin Palmyrene Aramaic Inscription Project
"The immediate goal of the Wisconsin Palmyrene Aramaic Inscription Project (WPAIP) is to re-collate the corpus of Palmyrene Aramaic inscriptions as we are able, providing detailed photographic records and new editions of each epigraph."

Unknown Persian. Koran: Page of Kufic script. Abbasid, 8th-9th centuries. Freer Gallery of Art. Public domain.