> the old style -ss- written here is > indistinguishable from the letter -p- > I had this problem a few years ago (before the Internet, just imagine!) with a certificate issued by the GRO. The certificate was hand-written (not photostated). It was for a forebear of mine in the Potteries. The father's profession was given as "Potter's Preper". But I am certain, from other knowledge, that the true occupation was "Potter's Presser". I had never come across this character written in English before but I was used to it from German studies (not German genealogy!). I think that this character is still used in German (I certainly still use it) although during the German Spelling Reform of a few years ago it was replaced in many situations by "ss". I am not clear as to how exactly it came to be used for "ss" since its true origin is "sz". If you imagine, hand-written, a long "s" (that looks rather like an "f") with a (hand-written) "z" pushed right up against it, you can see the structure. The character is shown at: http://uk.ask.com/web?qsrc=1&o=312&l=dir&q=Scharfes+S&dm=all The "long s" is in essence the Roman solidus that used to appear in, for example: 1/6 (one shilling and sixpence) 2/- (two shillings) 2/6 (half a crown) 5/- (five bob) Regards, Ron S