what does &c mean?

Question

in letters of the 1800's

Answer 1

& = et, the Latin word for "and"

&c means the same as etc, that is, "et cetera".

Answer 2

I know some people are skeptical of wikipedia, but it can be helpful if used with care. In this case, they have some nice images of the ampersand. Alongside the one we mostly see-- & -- there is an older version in which you can clearly see the stylized combination of e and t, that is, the Latin word "et". So just add a "c" and you have "etc", short for "et cetera" ("and so forth")

See two images of the ampersand here -- note the one on the right:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ampersand.svg

And here's another:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Etlig.svg

Answer 3

et cetera (etc)