The ubiquitous, iconic at symbol has a mysterious historical trail. It was included on typewriters as early as 1885, and the roots of the symbol may go back to 16th century Europe. There was no place for @ in traditional typesetting, and there was no nook for the character in the California Job Case.
I had always associated the @ symbol with retail sales and accountancy. It suddenly entered my world when I started using e-mail in the mid ’90s. It was then that the esoteric work of Ray Tomlinson became as familiar to me as as the common octothorpe.
