By Samuel Ryan   >   Design   |   Comments

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Tracing back to the first century, the ampersand began as a combination of the letters 'e' and 't' to spell "et" (meaning "and" in Latin). Although its form evolved over the centuries, you can still see the "et" in many modern forms. Nowadays, it's a part of every designer's toolbox as one of the most distinct elements in typography.

Below are 20 of my favorite ampersands -- the first ten are actual type faces, and the second ten are individually designed.

Type Face Ampersands

All these ampersands belong to a typeface and can be easily downloaded (some free, some paid).

Trajan

Margarita Ville

Piron

Quicksand

Edelsans

Agostina

Otama

Ronda

Bookmania

Paris

Hand-Crafted Ampersands

Here are ten more beautiful ampersands. You won't find these in any typeface as they are individually created.

Michael Spitz

Hyun Auh

Joshua Hibbert

Joe Prince

Drew Hamlet

Coffee and Cigarettes

Maarten Dijk

Michael Spitz

Sandra Mrkšic

Nick Slater

Know of some great ampersands? Let people know below.