Do you like ampersands? How do you like these ampersands?
October 31, 2017 12:49 PM Subscribe
We're transcribing a late 18th-century legal document at work, and our late 18th-century clerk seems to have used *two* different ampersands (&c.). Are they both meant to be et ceteras?
The linked image is a page from a legal form book (essentially sample forms) from the late 1790s or early 1800s, in Virginia. Most of the highlighted examples on this page are obviously meant to be an ampersand, et cetera: &c. In context, most of them seem to stand in for "To injoin the defendants their agents, attornies and all others concerned," or, in other cases, "...until such time insert date here."
But two examples on this page have an extra flourish or tail, like: &jc., which worries us that we're missing something. They seem interchangeable. Is it just a personal flourish, or some other abbreviation, all together?
The linked image is a page from a legal form book (essentially sample forms) from the late 1790s or early 1800s, in Virginia. Most of the highlighted examples on this page are obviously meant to be an ampersand, et cetera: &c. In context, most of them seem to stand in for "To injoin the defendants their agents, attornies and all others concerned," or, in other cases, "...until such time insert date here."
But two examples on this page have an extra flourish or tail, like: &jc., which worries us that we're missing something. They seem interchangeable. Is it just a personal flourish, or some other abbreviation, all together?
Is it possible that the & is a ยง instead? Alternately, when I put "&jc" into Google, I get lots of hits for "&c" but also came up with this old Latin textbook table of contents, which shows both "&c" and, at entry 59, "&e." Google also helpfully tells me that "jc" is the Latin equivalent of "x" in English, so might it be an alternate meaning? Sorry I can't help more, but maybe a local historical society would have good insight?
posted by stillmoving at 2:27 PM on October 31, 2017
posted by stillmoving at 2:27 PM on October 31, 2017
I don't know nothing about no legal ducuments, but I've encountered "&c" as "et cetera" in prose, poetry, and music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries so often that I would be surprised to find out it was anything else.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:35 PM on October 31, 2017
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:35 PM on October 31, 2017
Oh, and, yes, &c is definitely etcetera. Alternate options, per Wikipedia, are: &ca, etca, &/c., &e., &ct., &cm, etcm, &cs, and etcs. (So the &e. I posted above is equivalent--no idea why one is used in place of the other!) It does look like more than a personal flourish, though (especially for a legal document that's painstakingly hand penned) so I would vote that it's maybe &e or similar variation.
posted by stillmoving at 2:43 PM on October 31, 2017
posted by stillmoving at 2:43 PM on October 31, 2017
Given the fact that both "fancy" and "plain" versions of the ampersand are used in both contexts on that page ("defendants..." and "such time...") in different entries, it seems safe to say that there is no difference and it's just a personal flourish.
posted by Pfardentrott at 4:01 PM on October 31, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Pfardentrott at 4:01 PM on October 31, 2017 [2 favorites]
Interesting in that it is a whole extra stroke, not an elongation of a stroke, any chance of et versus et cetera?
posted by 445supermag at 4:57 PM on October 31, 2017
posted by 445supermag at 4:57 PM on October 31, 2017
The ampersand, "&", is an old-fashioned ligature for "et", Latin for "and", so "&c." or "&c" are certainly abbreviations of "et cetera".
posted by Rat Spatula at 10:26 PM on October 31, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Rat Spatula at 10:26 PM on October 31, 2017 [1 favorite]
To me it looks like a personal flourish also. Every case of this looks way more like &c. than anything else that's been suggested and they wouldn't make sense in context. There are many ways to write an ampersand.
posted by grouse at 5:40 AM on November 1, 2017
posted by grouse at 5:40 AM on November 1, 2017
Response by poster: I'm glad milk white peacock mentioned Et seq., "and the following," or "and that which follows." We tried that tack, but the phrase doesn't quite seem to fit given the context. Interestingly, given all the examples of hand-written ampersands and Et ceteras, we've yet to see how someone in the time period might have written or used "&seq." That would be interesting to compare.
The consensus here seems to confirm our thoughts: that the "fancy" et cetera is our clerk's best &c., and the more frequently-used "plain" version is simply quicker and most expedient. The fancy ampersand with the tail forms a much better — and more recognizable — ampersand.
posted by steef at 6:55 AM on November 1, 2017
The consensus here seems to confirm our thoughts: that the "fancy" et cetera is our clerk's best &c., and the more frequently-used "plain" version is simply quicker and most expedient. The fancy ampersand with the tail forms a much better — and more recognizable — ampersand.
posted by steef at 6:55 AM on November 1, 2017
Looks like there's a consensus conclusion, but if you want to noodle around for more ampersand trivia, look into the graphic derivation and variations of ampersands. As noted above, it's the word et, expressed differently throughout the history of calligraphy and typography. This writeup has examples and also explains the etymology of "ampersand" itself.
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 7:42 AM on November 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 7:42 AM on November 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
As someone who spent some time trying to write/draw ampersands... that's the level of variety I'd expect. The third on the page, and the second from the bottom, seem most likely to be "complete," and the others are missing a twist that someone writing more slowly/carefully would've left in.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:11 PM on October 31, 2017 [2 favorites]