ampersand

i tried to draw it many many times in photoshop before i left work. here are a few of them.




the ampersand is probably the single most interesting character in the english language. actually, it isn't a character at all -- it's actually logogram, or (as i'm learning) a word, a la hieroglyphs or characters in many asian languages.

it was first seen in the manuscripts of Cicero's secretary, dating back to the first century a.d. It evolved from the ligatures of the letter E and t blending into eachother. Et in latin, of course means "and"

a myth: inventor Linus Amper did not develop it. (Amper's and). There are also many forms! I had no idea that the "+" and the little thing that looks like a cursive E crossed with a cent symbol are also considered ampersands. FASCINATING!

Here is a blog dedicated to the lovely letter. And some of my favorites featured there: