Hyphens & Hashtags*: *The stories behind the symbols on our keyboards

'Elevates what could have been a nerdy primer into something grander, and at various moments, the book becomes meditative, poetic, philosophical and funny, as well as scholarly.' - The Spectator

'Scribes, typesetters, editors and publishers have had as much impact on these symbols as writers and thinkers themselves. … A lovely gift for a type or word-lover in your life, or a present for yourself, of course.' - shinynewbooks.co.uk

'As well as being a really interesting read, there was much I learned which I didn’t know before! … This is a lovely book and a fascinating read – highly recommended!' - Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings

The punctuation marks, mathematical symbols and glyphs which haunt the edges of our keyboards have evolved over many hundreds of years. They shape our understanding of texts, calculations and online interactions. Without these symbols all texts would run in endless unbroken lines of letters and numbers. 

Many hands and minds have created, refined and promulgated the symbols which give form to our written communication. Through individual entries discussing the story behind each example, Hyphens & Hashtags reveals the long road many of these special characters have taken on their way into general use. In the digital age of communication, some symbols have gained an additional meaning or a new lease of life – the colon now doubles up as the eyes of a smiling face emoticon and the hashtag has travelled from obscurity to an essential component of social media. Alongside historical roots, this book also considers ever-evolving modern usage and uncovers those symbols which have now fallen out of fashion. 

Hyphens & Hashtags casts a well-deserved spot-light on these stalwarts of typography whose handy knack for summing up a command or concept in simple shorthand marshals our sentences, clarifies a calculation or adds some much-needed emotion to our online interactions. 

CLAIRE COCK-STARKEY is the author of over a dozen non-fiction books on a variety of subjects but all united in their aim to tell fascinating stories.

• Hardback
• 192 pages, 184 x 118 mm
• ISBN: 9781851245369
• Publication March 2021
  

GENERAL

We aim to dispatch your purchases within 3-5 working days. Orders to within the UK usually arrive 2-3 working days after dispatch. Orders to EU and international addresses via Royal Mail usually take 4-8 weeks. Orders to EU and international addresses via DHL usually take 1 week.

All delivery prices include handling, packing and insurance where appropriate. All prices quoted are for delivery to one address only.

Prices shown include all applicable UK taxes. International orders, including the EU, may be subject to local customs duties, taxes and delivery charges, which are levied once a shipment reaches your country. The customer is responsible for any additional duty, taxes or fees applicable in their country. Customs policies vary widely from country to country and we advise you to contact your local customs office for further information.

Our standard delivery charges (exclusions apply*) are:

*excluding alcohol, artist work, furniture, heavy items and custom prints that will be courier delivered. Please see below and item pages for more details.

Age Restricted Items

Please note that age restricted products are available to be shipped in the UK only and will incur an additional shipping fee.

Heavy Items - Standard delivery charges do not apply to the following heavy items due to weight and volume:

• The Bodleian Curators' Chair
• The 'Baby Bod' Curators' Chair
• Bodleian Readers' Chair
• Radcliffe Camera Model
• Radcliffe Camera Bookends

These items will be shipped via courier and the shipping charges include relevant insurance. Please contact customerservice@bodleian.ox.ac.uk for more information and for a shipping quote.

PICKUP

Our Pickup service is a convenient way for you to order online and collect your purchase in person at the Library. We aim to have your order ready for collection within 72 hours. You will be notified when your order is ready for collection. Please don't come to the library to collect until you have received the email notification. 

Custom Prints

Please note that a separate, additional delivery charge applies for Custom Print orders. Custom Prints are made and dispatched by a third party (Museoteca) on behalf of the Bodleian Libraries. Custom prints are dispatched separately from other products from the Bodleian Libraries Shop.

How to Cancel 

To cancel an order with us, please contact us as soon as possible after placing the order. If your order has already been dispatched, you will need to await its receipt and then return the goods to us (should you still wish to cancel) unopened and in a re-saleable condition in order to receive a full refund of the purchase price. We will refund the standard cost of outbound delivery, but please note that you must arrange for and pay the costs of returning the goods to us. 

For more information about cancelling your order, including your statutory right to cancel and what to do if your goods are damaged or faulty, see: https://www.bodleianshop.co.uk/pages/terms-conditions

Our "Goodwill" Refund Policy 

In addition to your statutory right to cancel, we offer a "goodwill" refund policy. This does not affect your legal rights.

Under our "goodwill" refund policy, we will refund or exchange any goods purchased from us when they are returned in a re-saleable condition and accompanied by proof of purchase within 28 days of purchase. We will also refund the standard cost of outbound delivery. Return delivery charges are non-refundable unless your order is faulty or incorrect. Please note that pierced earrings, personalised items including bespoke prints, artist works and any item with a security seal where the seal has been broken, are excluded from our "goodwill" refund policy. The refund will be paid as soon as possible, but in any event within 14 days, following receipt of the returned goods. We recommend that you use a recorded delivery service to return any goods to us, as we will not be able to refund any goods that have been lost or damaged in transit.

If you wish to discuss returning or cancelling an item please press here or email customerservice@bodleian.ox.ac.uk with your order number and item details and we will respond as soon as possible. 

Our returns address is: