Empty Arabic Upper Case

This typecase configuration matches an Arabic Upper case in the collection of St. Bride's Library in 2006, and originally from Oxford University Press in the late 1980s. The case dimensions are approx 35¾ x 14½ inches. It has 8 rows of boxes, and 186 boxes in total. Compare this with, e.g., two Arabic 1st and Arabic 2nd cases from the Lebanon in the 1970s (and now in the U.S.A.), which have the same number of rows, but 169 and 145 boxes. Arabic has 28 letters (29 with alif lam in combination), most of which can take 4 different forms, depending upon their position in a word. In addition there are 6 diacritic marks and signs, plus numerals, etc., and thus for example the Monotype Naskh (series 549) fount comprises some 470 characters.

An alternative style of case uses one to two Outer and Upper, eg Figgins Upper, plus a standard Lower case.

Other empty cases ie with the boxes left blank		Other type layouts ie with characters assigned to boxes
Full Index of layouts	Glossary of terms used	Sources of the layouts	Introduction
Quantities in a fount of type		Quantities in a case of type
Notes about Job and Double Cases	Notes about Upper cases	Notes about Lower cases	Alembic home page

This page was written in 2006 by David Bolton and last updated 22 February 2006.