2653: Decline of Long S Mar 23, 2022

Like the decline of other letters in English history, the death blow to the long-s ⟨ſ⟩ was printing. Unlike other letters like ⟨Ð,ð⟩ or ⟨Æ, æ⟩ that died in English even earlier because the first printing presses were from Flanders and Germany where those symbols weren't present, ⟨ſ⟩ was used in German and indeed most European scripts. This allowed the character to survive into the very beginning of the 18th century, but extra cost for casting more types as well as extra effort for printers both in selection and in kerning made this a less appealing choice. Around this time, casters stopped making them and many prominent publishers didn't use them which normalized the practice. In Handwriting, the practice persistent for another half-century or so, but was eventually not emphasized in schools and went by the wayside as well.