Jeffries end stamps and the reversed 'N'

[Sprunghub]

Note "CJ" impress as per posters.  So, intentional and a bit anarchistic rather than archaic ?

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by Sprunghub

[Rod Thompson]

My Jeffries has the reversed Ns in KILBURN, N.W. 6, but also has what looks like a stamping error. It looks as though it was stamped "12 ALDESHOT ROAD"  , and then SHOT has been overpunched with "RSHOT". The correct spelling is the heaviest punching, but the original letters are visible (but don't show well in a photo).

[Tiposx]

[Paul Woloschuk]

On 10/2/2020 at 3:02 PM, Sprunghub said:

Note "CJ" impress as per posters.  So, intentional and a bit anarchistic rather than archaic ?

 

 

Like yours Sprunghub, my JD also has a 'C' stamped ahead of the Jeffries Bros stamp in the original oval.

[Paul Woloschuk]

Just to add to the evidence of reversed 'N' on inscriptions.

This photo is of a stone plaque in Calne in Wiltshire.

 

[Little John]

18 hours ago, Paul Woloschuk said:

Just to add to the evidence of reversed 'N' on inscriptions.

This photo is of a stone plaque in Calne in Wiltshire.

 

Absolutely consistent use of the "reversed" N. Similarly the consistent use of V for U. Also I for J in John, as is frequently seen in old paintings. (Especially of Christ, where there is often a plaque or scroll reading "INRI" as an abbreviation for "Jesus of Nazareth, King (Rex) of the Jews".

[Wolf Molkentin]

John, re "INRI" it's just the spelling of the Vulgata (John 19, 19), where there is no "J":

 

"scripsit autem et titulum Pilatus et posuit super crucem erat autem scriptum

Iesus Nazarenus rex Iudaeorum"

 

Best wishes - 🐺

[Little John]

A visit to Portchester Castle today reminded me of this topic. This graffito has "VINCENT" with both Ns reversed, but just below to the right is what looks like the start of another "VINC"(ENT) with the normal N.

 

[Mikefule]

Maybe it was a gimmick: a way of showing it was genuine. Fake goods are common today. 

 

Maybe it was just their way of doing it, like the modern logo for the band Nine Inch Nails.

 

Maybe it was like the grocer's apostrophe: a mistake so common as to be almost an accepted usage.

 

There is no doubt it is an N whichever orientation it is in. Maybe the accepted definition of an N was based on the shape rather than the "handedness" of the symbol.

 

I suspect it was the "deliberate mistake" to prove authenticity.

[Clive Thorne]

4 hours ago, Mikefule said:

I suspect it was the "deliberate mistake" to prove authenticity.

 

or (being mischevious here) it's a non deleiberate mistake by a forger!

[Anglo-Irishman]

This reminds me of the admonition - common in my young days - to "mind your p's and q's," meaning to make really sure that you act correctly in a critical situation. Apparently this originated in the printing trade when printers were using moveable type. When you look at a typeface letter, it is the mirror image of what will appear on the paper after printing. And "p" and "q" are mirror images of each other, so a type-setter needed to be especially careful with these letters. WIth the upper-case "N", however, there's no problem. 

Cheers,

John