http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/13/washington/13heraldry.html
Reprinted in the International Herald Tribune (no password required):
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/13/news/arms.php
NY TIMES
June 13, 2006
A Federal Office Where Heraldry of Yore Is Only Yesterday
By ERIK ECKHOLM
FORT BELVOIR, Va. — "A wives’ tale," scoffed one official. "An urban myth," said another.
They would know. The officials were from the Institute of Heraldry, the government’s chief guardian of insignia and heraldic tradition, and they were dismissing an oft-repeated canard about the presidential seal.
According to legend, the eagle in the seal faced the arrow-holding talon in times of war and switched its stern gaze toward the olive branch in times of peace.
The eagle’s glare did indeed get reversed — just once, by President Harry S. Truman in 1945. But only, it turns out, to correct the grievous heraldic error that President Rutherford B. Hayes had made 65 years before, when he designed the first seal to adorn White House invitations.
"In point of fact, the viewer’s left is the dexter side, the honorable side on any shield," said Joe Spollen, head sculptor at the heraldry institute, which among its other duties nurtures rules and terminology from the Middle Ages. "The sinister side, on the viewer’s right, is the less honorable."
And so Truman, after learning the truth from the director of the heraldry office at the time, switched the gaze from sinister to dexter, where it remains today.
The Institute of Heraldry, located for historical reasons within the Army, has a budget of $2.3 million and 24 employees, including four well-schooled "heraldic designers." But the handiwork of this little office has had an outsize influence on the public face of the military and the government.
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In the United States, European-style coats of arms, with lions and Latin, have been especially popular with universities, but several presidents were also "armigerous," as the American Heraldry Society describes them, including Washington and both Roosevelts.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower called on the heraldry office to invent his — featuring an anvil, a crest of five stars and the motto "Peace Through Understanding" — because he needed family arms in order to receive the Order of the Elephant from the Kingdom of Denmark.
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When he heard that the institute directorship was coming open, Mr. Mugno said, he could not resist applying, even though it meant he had to retire from his beloved Marines. He has a dream for this office, he said, which could play a far more systematic role in overseeing the nation’s insignia.
"Should there be a National Institute of Heraldry?" he asked. "One office overseeing the symbolism of the country and setting the standards?"
cool. it would’ve been neat if they had contacted joe and quoted him as well…oh well…still very cool.
Here’s the relevant quote:
Quote:
In the United States, European-style coats of arms, with lions and Latin, have been especially popular with universities, but several presidents were also "armigerous," as the American Heraldry Society describes them, including Washington and both Roosevelts.
The article ends quite abruptly causing one person on rec.heraldry to ask if the print version also ended abruptly—or if something was cut from the on-line article. I’ve a hardcopy of the NY Times article and it is word-for-word the same as the on-line article.
Regards,
Please tell me that someone has contacted Mr. Mugno and asked him to join our forums or at least become a member. Or at the very least, can I contact him. Making contact with him could definately be an asset to our organization.
Dave Shorey
We have received several emails from their staff regarding the AHS Design Award in the last weeks and we have responded. We will be contacting them in the future when we are ready to write an article about what they do or to invite them for membership.
Hmm.
Does anyone know exactly what he is refereeing to in the last paragraph of the article?
I wonder how such a thing would work. Would it include, or exclude, organizations like the American College of Heraldry, or, cooperate with them? Etc.
It is an interesting idea none the less.
Guy Power wrote:
Here’s the relevant quote:
The article ends quite abruptly causing one person on rec.heraldry to ask if the print version also ended abruptly—or if something was cut from the on-line article. I’ve a hardcopy of the NY Times article and it is word-for-word the same as the on-line article.
Regards,
The author sent me an email saying that it ended where it was supposed to, with a speculation.