Politics and script : aspects of authority and freedom in the development of Graeco-Latin script from the sixth century B.C. to the twentieth century A.D.

First printing.
The Lyall Lectures delivered in 1957, reworked and elaborated for publication. Edited and completed by Nicolas Barker.
Contents: From the Greek inscription at Melos of the sixth-fifth century B.C. to the Latin inscription at Rome of the first century A.D. -- From rustic to half-uncial -- Second-century phyrygia to eighth-century Gaul -- From the psalm-book of St. columba, c. 561, to the gospel-book of Henry III, c. 1046 -- From the Eastern Schism, 1054, to the end of the Western Schism, 1417 -- From Martin V, 1417-1431, to Sixtus V, 1585-1590 -- From the French Academy to the industrial revolution.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-345) and index.
Maroon dust jacket over black cloth-covered boards with gilt on spine.