[caipre]

"Most apparent is the backwards 'Q', which Samarskaya surmises might have been an accident due to _painting the lettering from inside._"

[teddyh]

All the letters are painted from the inside; what, then, is special about the ampersand?

[caipre]

I suppose just that it can be difficult to get an ampersand right drawing it straight-on, let alone in reverse. The painter accidentally painted the "Q" backwards (forwards, relative to them); it probably took some concentration to get the ampersand correct.