lithographic printing

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The text details the adoption of 'cheap lithographic printing' (p. 220) and 'lithography or stone printing' (p. 230) in the 19th-century Islamic world. This method was specifically favored because it 'enabled the creation of printed texts that looked like manuscripts' (p. 230), preserving traditional layouts where the matn (original text) is ringed by marginal commentaries (p. 231). The transition involved early lithographs from India (Nawal Kishore press) and later typeset or 'hot type' (linotype) works produced by Egyptian firms like Maktabat 'Isa al-Babi al-Halabi (pp. 219, 223).

Evidence

"Advances in print technology, particularly the invention of the lithographic steam press and later linotype in the early twentieth century, revolutionized the accessibility of knowledge among Muslims."

Remarks

The 'Ink of Excellence' refers to the intellectual and material transition from manuscript to print in East Africa. The study highlights the Maalim Idris Collection in Zanzibar, which contains over 300 manuscripts and printed books dating from before 1950 (p. 219). Lithographic prints like the 'Syair' poems from Cermin Mata (1858-1859) shown in Figures 3-6 illustrate how print functioned as an extension of the manuscript tradition, rather than a break from it (pp. 212-215, 219).