The use of the “Long S” in early American printing.
Early American sign makers and painters were for the most part untrained artisans. Sign painting usually didn’t provide enough of a living, so they found additional employment in house, ship, coach, and other ornamental painting. They referred to house painters’ guides for color mixing specifications and printers manuals for period lettering styles.
This re-creation of the tavern sign for John Nash illustrates an interesting example of the use in signs and printed materials of what was called the long “s”. This appears on the word “horse”, and “Nash”, in which the “s” looks like an “f”. The long “s” originated in the German hand script. Early German type founders attempted to reproduce handwriting as closely as possible. In the attempt the long “s” was evolved and adopted by the first English printers who learned their trade from the Germans. As early American printers learned their trade from the British, they continued this practice. The long “s” remained in general use until about the year 1800. It was always used at the beginning and in the middle of a word, but never to terminate a word.
This re-created signboard was made on reclaimed wood, with the pediment and skirt (top and bottom) hand-sawn. The lettering is period in style, and hand-drawn and painted.
As one of the original proprietors of lands in Amherst, Massachusetts, John Nash resided in the settlement there in 1731. He was the first precinct clerk, and was among the early tavern-keepers. During the Revolutionary War, the residents of Amherst who were loyal to the Continental cause were troubled by the Toryism of some of their neighbors. Apparently there was skepticism regarding certain individuals and their continued loyalty to the Crown, of whom John Nash was mentioned as one “unfriendly to his country”. It was resolved by the “Committee of Safety” and Militia officers of the town of Amherst, that these individuals be confined to the house of John Fields under a sufficient guard, but they would be allowed to attend public worship services and funerals within their town limits.
In 1785 John Nash kept a tavern near where the house of Mrs. Edward Tuckerman now stands. Some of these taverns or inns had more than a local celebrity and were closely connected with public events of great importance. —Adapted from The History of the Town of Amherst, Massachusetts, 1896, and The Printer in Eighteenth Century Williamsburg, Williamsburg
Craft Series.
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