The Ampersand

If I read German, I would order this.

signa

According to Google Translate, this page actually says:

Jan Tschichold †: shape wall of the lungs Et symbol (Reprint of the essay “form changing face of Et character” of 1953)
Andreas Stötzner: Anatomy and the example of the metamorphosis Et mark

With passenger and heading Register

This edition contains a total of 528 individually shown and proven examples of Et characters, spanning the period from 79 AD to the present. It will also late epigraphic examples.

Shape wall of the lungs? I suspect Google Translate is not perfect. Damn, I wish I spoke German. Nina does. Thank you for sending this in.


Categorised as: ampersands I like, writing about ampersands


3 Comments

  1. sehsucht says:

    Haha! The word in question is “Formenwandlungen”, which is a compound meaning something like “Shape Conversions”. Of course, you could also split the word into “Formen”, “Wand” and “Lungen”, which would then translate to Shapes, Wall and Lungs. 😀

    So to make the translation clear, it actually means something like this:

    Jan Tschichold†: Metamorphoses of the “Et” Symbol (Reprint of the essay from 1953)
    Andreas Stötzner: Anatomy and Metamorphosis by example of the Et Symbol

    With person and typeface indices

    This edition contains 528 individually pictured examples of Et symbols with sources, designed between 79 AD and today. Also shown are late antique epigraphical examples.

    SIGNA Nr. 2, 2001
    48 pages with numerous figures
    ISBN 3-933629-06-3
    Single copy: €7,90

  2. akrodha says:

    Actually, Google Translate is kinda right: “Formen-wand-lungen” could mean “lungs of the wall shapes.”

    Lungs on walls? Yeah, German feels like that sometimes…

  3. andrewski says:

    Mine’s not great, but Formenwandlungen translates roughly as “Form metamorphosis” (via the best DE dictionary I know). I’d guess a good translation would be “The Evolution of the Ampersand”.

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