Shady Characters

36 comments on “About”

1. Comment posted by khushboo Salian on February 22, 2011 at 12:37 pm

   love the design of your blog :)

2. Comment posted by Alan Peel on March 8, 2011 at 4:41 am

   Fascinating and nicely written. Get an editor and a publisher and work a book deal. You know, in your spare time.

3. Comment posted by Jim Forest on March 9, 2011 at 4:22 pm

   Gorgeous type (what font is it?), splendid writing, fascinating articles.

   1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on March 9, 2011 at 4:25 pm

      Hi Jim — thanks! The font will depend on what you have installed on your computer, but Shady Characters will try to use, in order, one of the following: Hoefler Text, Constantia, Palatino, Palatino Linotype, Book Antiqua, Georgia or a generic serif font. The Colophon gives a bit more detail.

4. Comment posted by Levi Montgomery on March 10, 2011 at 2:41 am

   Recommended here by either Language Hat or Language log (don’t remember which), where it was said that “the typography is lovely.”

   I have to agree. Just my two cents on the typeface issue.

5. Comment posted by Prem Rao on March 11, 2011 at 1:44 am

   Pleasure being here, Keith. Like many others awfully impressed by the neat and clean look. Great use of open spaces and the fonts stand out so well.

   Came here following Laurie Abkemeier’s tweet. Will visit frequently and follow your tweets.

6. Comment posted by Bill Westerman on June 21, 2011 at 5:31 pm

   Just found this site. What a treat! Always have loved the ampersand, so great to learn the back story.

7. Comment posted by Sascha F Zeller on June 30, 2011 at 9:24 pm

   Dear Keith,

   I was wondering if you could perhaps help me out with the following characters seen on a commemorative stamp for Heydrich, in which the usual characters for born (*) and died (+) are rendered as follows:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heydrichmarke.jpg
   Never seen anything like this before and am wondering where they came from (my guess is some form of Runen).
   Thanks for your time.

   1. Comment posted by Lora Jacobs on December 8, 2011 at 3:31 pm

      jr@coastalcg.com told me this: “These are Norse runes that were adopted by the T.R. The traditional symbols which these replaced for birth and death were * and +.

      The T.R. extensively used Norse runes for emblems or symbols for some of its military divisions, and sometimes the same symbol was used for multiple divisions.

   2. Comment posted by Keith Houston on December 14, 2011 at 4:35 pm

      Hi Lora — thanks for the comment. It’s interesting to see Norse runes used as punctuation in roman script, but it’s unfortunate that the context is so distasteful. It does rather discourage further investigation!

8. Comment posted by Michael Evamy on September 15, 2011 at 7:15 pm

   Hello Keith. I’m very, very excited about finding your website. It’s a wonderful place to spend some time.

   1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on September 16, 2011 at 4:28 pm

      Hi Michael — thanks! It’s been a pleasure to write, and I’m glad you’re enjoying reading it too.

9. Comment posted by Denis Waugh on October 18, 2013 at 9:08 am

   Ah , the pilcrow! A joy to see it’s return the the mainstream, well, sort of, but at least a recognition and some of it’s history. I was alerted to it by the great book designer Derek Birdsall and his typography for the Church of England’s more recent publications. It’s such a cheeky but tasteful little icon. I love it.

   1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on October 18, 2013 at 10:17 am

      Hi Denis — I recall reading John Morgan’s “Account of the making of Common Worship”, and Derek Birdsall (and his pilcrows!) make an appearance in there.

      Thanks for the comment!

10. Comment posted by Denis Waugh on October 18, 2013 at 1:24 pm

    Keith,
    Ah yes, it was John Morgan who was assisting Derek Birdsall when they were designing my “Searching the Thames” book. A great team, both of them. Have you seen Derek’s “Notes on Book Design”. It’s all good stuff. As is your beautifully designed “Shady Characters” book. It gives great joy.

    1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on October 19, 2013 at 10:53 am

       I’ll have to have a look for your book! Thanks for the kind words, and I’m glad you’re enjoying Shady Characters.

11. Comment posted by athena anders on February 13, 2014 at 3:14 am

    Hi Keith,

    As an expert in punctuation, I was wondering if you know why we use a colon in the salutation and a comma in the complimentary closing? I live in Canada and this is the standard punctuation we use in business letters.

    Who invented business letter punctuation?

    I look forward to your reply.

    A. Anders

    1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on February 18, 2014 at 10:51 am

       Dear Athena,

       I’m afraid I haven’t looked into business letter punctuation at all, and so I can’t shed much light on your questions. This article suggests that we’ve been writing business letters in English since the 15^th century, but unfortunately I don’t have access to the journal to read more. Sorry I can’t be of more help! Might a Google search on the subject may help get you started?

       Thanks for the comment!

12. Comment posted by Iain on May 24, 2016 at 8:34 pm

    Keith,

    Listened to ‘Word of Mouth’ today. Outstanding programme. Well done. Hugely interesting. We are currently listening to it again and will be purchasing the book.

    Iain

13. Comment posted by A. M. Parker on August 30, 2016 at 8:54 pm

    Hi

    Happened on your website when ABEBOOKS and B&N websites were devoid of indicators for desired topic (below). Happy to find you.

    Background: I enjoy books on words/usage/derivation and punctuation, especially wittily written (aware of great reviews of your former book – it is on order – softcover signed volumes not in much demand). Old guy here – remember Linotype (*or equivalent) operators had-setting lead-based type for student publications for which I was editor.

    INQUIRY: Am also interested in author-signed first editions (preferably hard-copy when available) – especially on this preferred topic – but I cannot find a resource for signed 1st’s for “The Book”. Any resource suggestions would be appreciated (maybe an independent bookman near you?). Look forward to reading it!

    Thanks for your time and interest … and ‘bon chance’

    A. Mark Parker

    Metairie/New Orleans, LA

    1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on August 30, 2016 at 9:33 pm

       Hi Mark — thanks for getting in touch! Waterstones in Edinburgh’s West End may have some signed copies, or you might want to try emailing Emily Cary-Elwes at W. W. Norton, whose details are on the Contact page. Good luck in your search!

14. Comment posted by Gale Dunn Kaufmann on December 10, 2016 at 8:55 pm

    “The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration…”
    By Keith Houston
    2016 Norton
    This is a wonderful book, but terribly hard to find online. The one review I recall reading did not do it justice. Even the paper has a special, smooth feel, and the binding and raw-cardboard cover are unusual and appropriate. To me, it would be the perfect gift for a book lover, but it has gotten lost this holiday season. Be sure to read all the way to the end, even if you find there are sections where the material may be familiar. I hope it will turn up on special discount tables like the one at the LOC shop. The book deserves more attention than it is getting.

    1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on December 10, 2016 at 11:43 pm

       Hi Gale — I’m glad you enjoyed The Book. I’d love to see more coverage online too, but there has been a respectable amount already — you can find links to some reviews here.

       Thanks for the note!

15. Comment posted by Isaiah Jackson on June 19, 2017 at 8:49 pm

    Extraordinary work you’re doing! Many thanks from your newest fan.

    1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on June 20, 2017 at 11:15 am

       Thanks! Glad to be of help.

16. Comment posted by Emma Park on July 6, 2017 at 7:18 am

    Dear Keith,

    Re: ‘Shady Characters’ – a beautiful book, beautifully typeset. Thoughts:

    1. As a Classicist, I was delighted to see the development of punctuation traced back to the Greeks and Romans. But what about in other cultures and scripts, e.g. the Arabic and Chinese?
    2. The interrobang: should it be written in longhand as ‘!?’ or ‘?!’. I note that ‘digital catalogues’ prefer the former (your BOOK, p. 29). Does not bewilderment, however, sometimes precede incredulity?

    Yours parenthetically,

    Emma Park
    London

    1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on July 7, 2017 at 10:30 am

       Hi Emma — I’m glad you enjoyed the book! In answer to your questions:

       1. This was purely down to lack of time and lack of knowledge. Were I to write Shady Characters today, I’d definitely take a broader view.
       2. If I have to type a “deconstructed” interrobang, I tend to prefer “!?”, but to each their own.

       Thanks for the comment!

17. Comment posted by Michael Olivier on October 24, 2021 at 11:22 pm

    Late to the party, but love this website and your Shady Characters book Mr Houston! It hath inspired me to look more closely at the characters I read, and use, as well as look for other interesting such printed symbols.
    Michael
    Toronto

    1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on October 25, 2021 at 8:01 am

       Hi Michael — thanks for the comment, and I’m glad you’re enjoying the book and the blog!

18. Comment posted by Laura Ciccinati on November 10, 2023 at 5:51 pm

    Professor, I’m trying to find the origin of the exclamation mark (!), but I’m seeing many different versions of it. Can you tell me your thoughts on this subject? I heard that the Latin io origin was just fancy and true, but that it came from the Latin imperative (:). Could the exclamation mark have an English or Arabic origin? Did medieval Arabs use punctuations since they also wrote a lot? I heard also that it also came from Italian humanists in the 14th century.

19. Comment posted by Robin Maconie on January 5, 2024 at 12:45 am

    Hello. Love the book. Western classical music notation is related to punctuation and serves similar functions of standardizing inflection and timing in order to preserve meaning. In the 18th century it took on a life of its own as a means of organizing large numbers of musicians in abstract pattern-making.

    1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on January 6, 2024 at 8:44 pm

       Hi Robin — thanks for the note! I’m glad you enjoyed the books.

       I’ve often wanted to look into musical notation, but I feel that I’d need more familiarity with it to do it justice.

20. Comment posted by New Fan from New York on March 9, 2024 at 9:26 pm

    I just discovered you, thanks to Alan Alda’s podcast. you’re AMAZING! love your interesting work.

    1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on March 9, 2024 at 9:34 pm

       Thanks! Very kind of you to say.

21. Comment posted by Kathy McBride on August 6, 2024 at 12:25 am

    I too just discovered you, thanks to Austin Kleon’s 14-Jun-2024 newsletter. While I was grateful the library had a copy, I ended up buying one of my own for marginalia; parts of Shady Characters had me laughing out loud and had to be commented on! I look forward to reading more of your work.

    1. Comment posted by Keith Houston on August 6, 2024 at 2:04 pm

       Hi Kathy — I’m glad you enjoyed the book! Thank you for stopping by to leave a comment, and let me know what you think of the other books.