The letter S is derived from a rough version of S and similar letters in early Greek and Latin inscriptions. The Phoenician W, and Hebrew '3' are relatives of "s" with the phonetic value of 'sh.' The long S can be seen in early Roman graffiti and hastily written documents on wax and papyrus. It made its way into formal writing around 6th century and was used, often along with the 'S' in many scripts and printing types, until the 19th century. It was phased out after 1795 when John Bell, a British printer and type designer, discarded it in his own work, and the change became universally accepted. (Rose Folsum)Tuesday, January 27, 2009
S
The letter S is derived from a rough version of S and similar letters in early Greek and Latin inscriptions. The Phoenician W, and Hebrew '3' are relatives of "s" with the phonetic value of 'sh.' The long S can be seen in early Roman graffiti and hastily written documents on wax and papyrus. It made its way into formal writing around 6th century and was used, often along with the 'S' in many scripts and printing types, until the 19th century. It was phased out after 1795 when John Bell, a British printer and type designer, discarded it in his own work, and the change became universally accepted. (Rose Folsum)
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2 comments:
Thank you for the lovely lesson in lettering. As I was a sign painter in a former life, letter forms are always a big fascination for me.
Thanks also for visiting my Photoshop tips! I'm so happy you're finding them useful.
How interesting... a sign painter. I'm glad you liked this info... I'll be doing more letters soon. As a lover of calligraphy, letter forms are fascinating to me as well. Thanks for stopping by!
~Brenda
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