This collection of 12 essays outlines what is now known about the origins and development of writing. The topics discussed include such precursors to writing as

A traveling exhibit on the history of writing and the alphabet, organized by the Dept. of Hebrew and Semetic Studies.

In this detailed overview of the history of the handmade book, Avrin looks at the development of scripts and styles of illumination, the making of manuscripts,

Iconography has played a central role in the development of writing systems. That all independently derived ancient scripts began as arrangements of pictograms