Eszett In Italic

[egremont]

I've started learning German and have hit the problem of how to write the German letter eszett, also called scharfes s. It looks a bit like the greek letter beta, but seems to derive from a modified double s. The problem is how to execute this letter in manuscript and how to incorporate it into a simple modern italic hand. Does the stick descend below the line or just sit on it? Upright or leaning? How high should the curly ascender go? Are ligatures appropriate either before or after the letter?

 

It seems difficult to make the letter blend into a simple modern italic style, but I'm sure there will be forumists who know the answer. Thanks for any suggestions.

[HDoug]

This might help. These images are from this page at the Digital Scriptorium. It's a papal bull from the papacy of Leo X at which time Ludovico Arrighi was scribe. So it could be in the hand of the author of the famous handbook on italic, La Operina. It's not in his usual formal italic but in a hurried, highly ligatured hand -- something close to italic cursive handwriting I would guess:

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6142/6010639147_6b76fba87b_z.jpg

 

Anyway, double s's abound! Is this what you're looking for?

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6145/6011187364_61c535e6fb_z.jpg

 

Doug

Edited August 5, 2011 by HDoug

[egremont]

This might help. These images are from this page at the Digital Scriptorium. It's a papal bull from the papacy of Leo X at which time Ludovico Arrighi was scribe. So it could be in the hand of the author of the famous handbook on italic, La Operina. It's not in his usual formal italic but in a hurried, highly ligatured hand -- something close to italic cursive handwriting I would guess:

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6142/6010639147_6b76fba87b_z.jpg

 

Anyway, double s's abound! Is this what you're looking for?

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6145/6011187364_61c535e6fb_z.jpg

 

Doug

[egremont]

Thanks a lot Doug. This page is very helpful. The double s's certainly look very similar to the modern German eszett character. I would be interested to know if any German speaking forumists write it in this way, or whether the character has been modified in modern handwriting.

[beak]

Hi

I'm not a native German speaker, but I always wrote it as in the top example here and seemed to get away with it!

that is, with a break following. Never could make a full join to the next letter work elegantly (second example) but those native may have one. Hope this helps.

[egremont]

Thanks Beak. I think you are right about not linking to the next letter, but it seems to work well linked to the previous one. Judging from your example it goes to the same height as other ascenders.

Very helpful.

[HDoug]

From the Wikipedia entry on the subject:

 

In cursive handwriting:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/%C3%9F_handwritten_sample.gif

 

Doug

 

Edit: Almost identical to beak's example.

Edited August 5, 2011 by HDoug

[Chevalier]

Most people don't know it anymore, but the sz and ſs ligatures aren't the same letter. It was important during the Fraktur/Kurrent vs. Antiqua days, but most native Germans don't have a clue anyway. I simply wanted to make sure you don't use the wrong ligature, just in case you want to learn to write/print Kurrent/Fraktur.

 

Hey .. I got something you could try to read ...

 

Als im späten 18. und im 19. Jahrhundert deutsche Texte vermehrt in Antiqua gesetzt wurden, statt in der allgemein üblichen gebrochenen Schrift, suchte man eine Antiqua-Entsprechung für das Eszett der gebrochenen Schrift. Die Gebrüder Grimm benutzten in der „Deutschen Grammatik 1. Band“ im Jahr 1819 noch die Fraktur, 1826 allerdings die Walbaum-Antiqua. In späteren Werken wollten sie dann das Eszett durch eine eigene Form des Buchstaben ersetzen, setzen aber schließlich sz in Ermangelung des ihnen vorschwebenden Druckbuchstabens. Der Duden von 1880 empfiehlt, das Eszett in Antiqua durch ſs zu ersetzen, lässt aber ausdrücklich auch einen ß-artigen Buchstaben zu. Erst nach der Vereinheitlichung der deutschen Rechtschreibung von 1901 ist auch im Antiqua-Satz der Buchstabe ß zu bevorzugen.

Edited August 9, 2011 by Chevalier