Inspired by a recent thread in the new International Heraldry Society, I was wondering ... is there a distinctly American style of heraldic illustration/emblazoning? One can can see historical trends local to specific European nations (sometimes obvious ones, such as the use of the sallet in Scotland).
I’ve not been exposed enough to historical American heraldry - most of what I’ve seen has been illustrated in the past 50 years. What - if anything - does the American style of heraldry consist of generally?
Jeremy Keith Hammond;99872 wrote:
... is there a distinctly American style of heraldic illustration/emblazoning?
Until and unless convinced otherwise, I’m going to go with "no".
Kenneth Mansfield;99875 wrote:
Until and unless convinced otherwise, I’m going to go with "no". Unless poorly used clip art from Fox-Davies and out-of-copyright sources counts as a style.
I’m thinking before the advent of the internet. I have a book on heraldry by Marvin Pakula, an American artist. The Gore roll was illustrated by an American. The roll of arms I posted in another forum area published by the National Society of Colonial Dames of America features arms emblazoned by an American. Etc. Etc.
Perhaps there isn’t any consistency in American style - I’m just wondering if someone has already done this sort of analysis, or if perhaps it warrants more attention.
The United states is such a melting a pot I don’t know that you can pin us with any one particular style. Especially when a lot of people who are now adopting arms, are adopting arms that have the style of their nation of origin. So while a particular person may be a fifth generation American…his arms look Spanish because he has a Spanish surname. I would say most "American" arms have a very English look though, not surprising since of all the European nations we’ve taken from England the most.
J. Stolarz;99879 wrote:
".... I would say most "American" arms have a very English look though, not surprising since of all the European nations we’ve taken from England the most…."
I would agree. As a layman when you think of arms, "British" is the first thing that comes to mind.
hollywood1765;99883 wrote:
I would agree. As a layman when you think of arms, "British" is the first thing that comes to mind.
You know how I know you’re not from the former Spanish or French colonies that now form part of the US?
The armory of various regions seems to have more in common stylistically with other regions from the same time period than with that same region at a later period.
Perhaps armory behaves more like fashion in the global sense… in one generation, every country wears blue jeans.
Jeff—:)
If there’s anything distinctly American, as opposed to Pennsylvanian or Virginian or New Amsterdamish (I made that up) or whatever local variations based on settlement patterns, it hasn’t IMO been what’s included or how it’s drawn, but rather what’s been generally excluded, as reflected in our Guidelines regarding Best Practices.
We have generally viewed heraldry as a subset of the overall values of the society. In our case (American), our overall society is a melting pot, or mish-mash for the more cynical, of peoples and customs from elsewhere with our own modifications, additions & deletions over time, but most distinctively reflected in what old-world customs etc we have shed with independence and our own history since; ditto heraldry.
Jeremy Keith Hammond;99876 wrote:
The Gore roll was illustrated by an American.
More accurately, the Gore roll was illustrated by at least two Americans, one of whom couldn’t hold a candle to the other in terms of artistic ability.
David