Eszett (ß)

…is a German lower-case letter, originally formed by merging an “s” and a “z”, hence its name. An upper-case version doesn’t exist, because a word seldom begins with a double-s.

An “ß” must not be confused with a “B”!

In modern German an “ß” means a sharp “s”.
As far as I know the Swiss don’t use it, and write a double-“s” instead.

In this country, there has been a dispute in the late 1990s when to use the ß and when the ss in case a sharp-s has to be written (normal vs. reformed orthography).

The depicted octavo manual presents a collection of 400 “ß” in different fonts. On the left side of the photo it’s printed in the “Raleway” font.

One of my favourite books.