Reversed e, or not? How late does this appear in American writing?

Reversed e, or not? How late does this appear in American writing? This topic began as a conversation I had. My friend said it is an italic e. I told him I thought it was left over from secretary hand. I would like to write a short article on this, and I would be happy to include some opinions from others and cite other material to substantiate any claims. Please provide your opinion, or cite articles, as you wish, to explain the reversed "e" and any other unusual letters you see in this manuscript. Can you provide dates showing how late some of these features persist in American writing? Henry Ridgely, Letter to Benjamin Chew, 1773 Please do the same for this manuscript, too. Benjamin Chew, Papers, Swedish colonists, 1683 Send your responses to handwriting@davidkaminski.org If you will permit me to add your responses here, and to use them in my essay, please indicate that in your email. Thank you, David Kaminski