1697 to 1715
This alphabet presents a difficulty at the outset. The letter a was only used from March to May 1697, and from thence to May 1698 the letter b was used. An example is illustrated on [page 217] of this latter period. The maker, John Bodington, signs the first two letters of his surname below a bishop’s mitre.
The letter c is illustrated from a mark on a cupping-bowl, 1698, and should be compared—as should all the letters in this Court Hand alphabet—with the letter c (1640) in the series 1638 to 1657.
The letter c (1698) and q (1711) are shown [opposite]. The maker’s initials, Ke, stand for William Keith.
The letter d (1699) is given elsewhere ([page 353]).
The letter f (1701) is the mark on a sugar-caster illustrated ([page 269]). The maker, Christopher Canner, stamps the first two letters of his surname.
The letter i (1704) is unlike any modern i, and is from a Monteith illustrated ([page 135]). The maker, Louis Mettayer, uses the first two letters of his surname.
The letter k (1705) is equally unfamiliar. It is from a teapot and stand. The maker, Simon Pantin, signs the first letters of his Christian and surnames. In 1739 this was made compulsory by statute.
The letter r (1712) is shown on a caster illustrated ([page 269]).