Letterforms in the book production of the Guarani Reductions of the Rio de la Plata region (1640-1727)

Abstract

The aim of this proposal is to investigate the formal, technical and political aspects of typography, in the production of books in the Guarani language in the Jesuit missions in Rio de la Plata, northern Paraguay, between 1700 and 1727. In order to investigate the formal aspects of these books, the typesetting of "Arte de la lengua Guarani [&]", by Antonio Ruiz de Montoya (1724) and "Explicacion de el Catechismo em Lengua Guaraní [&]", by Nicolas Yapuguay (1724) will be analyzed. In order to study the technical and political aspects of typography in the missions, a literature search will be carried out. As a result, is expected that this research will provide a better understanding of the relationship between formal, technical and political aspects of the typography practiced in the missions and a better understanding of the early efforts of printing books in the indigenous Guarani language.