handwritten manuscript (p. 97)

Evidence

"Muḥammad Nadīm’s memo is written in the ruqʿa style of Arabic handwriting."

Remarks

The entry refers to the 1948 manuscript memo composed by Muḥammad Nadīm, Director of the Press of Dār al-Kutub. The document concerns the 'facilitating the correct reading of Arabic via the current letter sorts' (p. 92). It details a history of Egyptian printing typefaces across three stages: (1) the 1820 founding of the first indigenous Arabic press using 900 naskh sorts under Muḥammad ʿAlī; (2) the 1902-1906 reform initiated by the Finance Ministry, which reduced the sorts to 464; and (3) Nadīm’s 1948 proposal to further reduce the count to 134 sorts (p. 93). The memo emphasizes the shift from typography (hand-selected sorts) to linotype (hot-metal casting) (p. 94).