Lot 344: "At" Symbol (@) Paperweight Or Decorative Object
Estate Auction: Mid-Century Modern Furniture, Fine Art, Lenox Porcelain, Vintage · Sold
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- Auction
- Estate Auction: Mid-Century Modern Furniture, Fine Art, Lenox Porcelain, Vintage
- Lot Number
- 344
- Status
- Sold
- Hammer / Price
- Sign in to view realized price
- Opening Bid
- $5.00
- Accepted Bids
- 1
- Closed
- 4/26/26 8:37 PM PT
Description
An at symbol (@)paperweight or decorative object. It is a character that has evolved from a 14th-century merchant's shortcut into the universal icon of the internet age. The symbol's origins are a blend of commerce and convenience. It likely began as a handwritten mashup of the Latin word ad (meaning "at" or "to") used by monks to save ink. In the 16th century, Florentine merchants used it to represent an amphora, a clay vessel used for shipping wine and grain. By the 19th century, it was known as the "commercial at," used in accounting to mean "at the rate of" (e.g., "10 jars @ $2"). In 1971, computer scientist Ray Tomlinson chose the little-used symbol for the first email because it was a preposition already on his keyboard and wasn't used in people's names. While English speakers simply call it "at," other cultures have more imaginative names based on its spiral shape. Animal-inspired: "Monkey's tail" (German, Polish, Dutch), "Snail" (Italian, French, Korean), "Little Dog" (Russian), and "Elephant's trunk" (Danish, Swedish). Food-inspired: "Strudel" (Hebrew, Yiddish), "Rollmops" (Czech), and "Cinnamon roll" (Swedish). Other unique names: "Moon's ear" (Kazakh) and "Small duck" (Greek) 3"H x 3"L Good condition.