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Shady Characters - Ampersands, Interrobangs And Other Typographical Curiosities (Paperback) Loot Price: R327
Discovery Miles 3 270
You Save: R73 (18%)

Shady Characters - Ampersands, Interrobangs And Other Typographical Curiosities (Paperback)

Keith Houston

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List price R400 Loot Price R327 Discovery Miles 3 270 You Save R73 (18%)

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A charming and indispensable tour of two thousand years of the written word, Shady Characters weaves a fascinating trail across the parallel histories of language and typography.

Whether investigating the asterisk (*) and dagger ( ) which alternately illuminated and skewered heretical verses of the early Bible or the at sign (@), which languished in obscurity for centuries until rescued by the Internet, Keith Houston draws on myriad sources to chart the life and times of these enigmatic squiggles, both exotic (

) and everyday (&).

From the Library of Alexandria to the halls of Bell Labs, figures as diverse as Charlemagne, Vladimir Nabokov, and George W. Bush cross paths with marks as obscure as the interrobang (?) and as divisive as the dash ( ). Ancient Roman graffiti, Venetian trading shorthand, Cold War double agents, and Madison Avenue round out an ever more diverse set of episodes, characters, and artifacts.

Richly illustrated, ranging across time, typographies, and countries, Shady Characters will delight and entertain all who cherish the unpredictable and surprising in the writing life."

General

Imprint: Penguin Books
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Release date: 2015
Authors: Keith Houston
Dimensions: 200 x 130 x 28mm (L x W x T)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 340
ISBN-13: 978-0-7181-9388-1
Categories: Books > Arts & Architecture > Industrial / commercial art & design > Typography
Books > Language & Literature > Language & linguistics > Palaeography
Books > Sport & Leisure > Humour > General
Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Encyclopaedias & reference works > Reference works > General
LSN: 0-7181-9388-1
Barcode: 9780718193881

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