I think it is actually a nice ampersand. The tail to the ampersand seems to be an afterthought which is interesting to me.

This is kind of an overgrown monster of an ampersand. It is kind of beautiful and ugly and interesting in the way a kudzu-choked tree is. Or maybe it actually reminds me of those mutant pesticide frogs with the extra legs. Anyways, it kind of defies the “ampersands I like” and “ampersands I dislike” categories I set up.

There is also a special bonus ampersand from some sort of banner also in front of the store. I am pretty sure it was lottery-related.

For those interested, this was found in the tenderloinon Larkin street.

This unusual looking ampersand comes from a shoe & bag repair shop near the Stockton tunnel in San Francisco. Note the bottle of Jack Daniels wedged into that pipe.

The first two are from the amazing old-school butcher shop called Little City.

Roast & Stew

Aged & Tender

Another one from down the street. I like the drop shadow. (by Arrón Quiñones)

There were hand painted Ampersands

A local deli. I really like this one. Hand-painted and chubby.

Coffee & Donuts. Another old-school hand-painted sign.

Some clean sans-serif ones

The old classic Helvetica ampersand from the Crate & Barrel logo. Helvetica always looks great giant and 3-D like that.

Your standard sans-serif ampersand. From a deli/liquor store awning.

A curly one

Probably a law firm.

Some odd ones

nice and square. “Et” style ampersand, appears to be based on a “B.”

This one is absolutely horrible. Notice the “8″ shape.