Quote:
Originally Posted by G1911
Beautiful Mayo, that's my favorite Sullivan card.
Perhaps slightly off topic, but does anyone know why "John" was frequently abbreviated to "Jno." in the late 19th century? This Mayo and many other period references to Sullivan do it. It was very common during the Civil War as well. I've never instead why, as with the period "Jno." is just as many letters as "John", and it seems nonsensical to place the "n" before the "o". It fell out of favor with time, as after the early 20th century, I've never seen it used again. Every time I see one of these cards, it makes me curious, and I've never found a satisfactory answer.
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I found this being discussed on a blog. This was given as a possible explanation:
In the 19th century and before, abbreviations were often
written with the letter following the initial letter superscripted.
Everyone has seen William abbreviated as "Wm" with the "m" in superscript.
Often under the "m" would be a small circle or a dash. Of course, a dot
(small circle) is a normal indicator of an abbreviation, thus "Wm." for
William. But remember that the old pens could not make a simple dot
(without the danger of a big blot), so a dot (period, full stop, etc.) was
often made as a small "o" or a short straight line. I think John or
Johannes was originally abbreviated "Jn." probably with the "n"
superscripted, and the "." a small "o" under the "n". The "n" dropped down,
the small "o" slipped out to the right, and, voila!, you have "Jno".