The Government of Egypt’s Press (Matba’at Bûlâq): Historical Analysis

Abstract

The article is an account of the history of the Government of Egypt’s Press. With two-hundred year of service, this press stands as one of the oldest and largest presses in the Near East. The article outlines the purpose of its establishment and places the press within a larger framework of the plan to modernize Egypt and the history of Arabic printing in Egypt, as well as its link to Italy. With European training and domestic hands, and facing some challenges, the press has played an important role in military publications first, and later in government publications from the start of its production in 1822 until today. Unlike in Europe, the printing of religious texts by the press was proscriptive. An analysis of some of the early works printed by the press shades some light on the reasons behind the prohibition of the printing of books with religious contexts.