2651: Long S Rules Mar 21, 2022

In printing, as well as handwriting since the time of the Romans, there was a so-called 'long s' which appeared ⟨ſ⟩. This was not a random variant or a font of ⟨s⟩, but has its own rules about when it is used instead. In the 17th & 18th centuries, these were the standards for printing

• Round S ⟨s⟩ was always used before ⟨f⟩, before apostrophes, and at the ends of words.

•Long S ⟨ſ⟩ was always used in the beginning or middle including when the word was broken up with hyphens or abbreviated.

• If there were two successive S's, the first would be long and the last would be round. Some letters were known to usually be preceded by a long or round s, like ⟨b⟩ that usually has a round s.