After John Guillim (1565-1621) English, "A Display of Heraldry" 1724 Sixth Edition Book. Subtitled "Improv'd with large Additions of many hundred Coats of Arms." Illustrated with copperplate engravings throughout. Marbled endpapers featuring a vibrant, wavy red, blue, and green pattern. This definitive sixth edition includes extensive additions of hundreds of coats of arms on copper plates, alongside a treatise on military and civil honor by Captain John Logan.
A Display of Heraldry (originally spelled A Display of Heraldrie) is a monumental book written by the English antiquarian and officer of arms John Guillim (circa 1565 - 1621). First published in London in 1610, it is widely celebrated as the first work to systematize and bring a clear, structured method to the study of English Heraldry, and It was printed by T.W. for R. and J. Bonwicke and R. Wilkin, and J. Walthoe and T. Ward in London in 1724.
Before Guillim, heraldic knowledge was treated as a chaotic, heavily guarded mystery. In his dedication to the King, Guilliim stated “I am the first who brought a method into this heroic art.”
The book is broken down into six distinct parts. It is thorough and comprehensively catalogs different types of shields, escutcheons, family names, and the social history of heraldry. Beyond standard symbols like lions and unicorns, Guillim detailed unusual heraldic features, such as emmets (ants), molehills, and body parts,
The book was immensely popular, remaining the standard authoritative reference on English heraldry for more than 150 years. It went through several expanded editions well into the 18th century, adding illustrated copper plates, portraits, and catalogs of the nobility.
While Guillim served as the Rouge Crois Pursuivant at the College of Arms in London and got full credit on the title page, some historical evidence suggests that a portion of the original framework may have been compiled by his friend, the clergyman John Barkham.
This is the sixth edition of this important work (stated on the title page), it is bound in calf, with six raised bands and a maroon label with gilt lettering on the spine, marbled endpapers, the title page has red and black letters and 1724 in roman numerals at the bottom (MDDCCXXIV), a two page Preface, then the Introduction (20 pages), a Table of the Heads and Method of Such Things (5 pages), an Introduction to the text (1 page), a one-page Table of the First Section with seventeen pages on how to display objects of heraldry; the Second Section is about escutcheons (from pages 19 - 78), the Third section is about Nature and coats of arms (pages 79 - 278), the Fourth Section is about Coats of Arms and things artificial (pages 279 - 376), the Fifth Section is on the tincture (metals, colors, and furs [furrs] on Coats of Arms - these patterns represented animal pelts such as ermine and red squirrel that were traditionally worn or used to show status and lineage by nobility and royalty (pages 377 - 413), the Sixth Section showed how to combine Diverse Coats of Arms on one escutcheon (pages 415 to 460), page 461 and onward showed observations upon the Laws and Customs of Nations, including Precedency (which is a hierarchy and ranking system used to determine social or official status, processional lineups, and the order of presentation for individuals, titles, or territories), and the rest of the book includes a Treatise on Honor and Nobility according to the laws and customs of England, an Honor Military, an Honor Civil, an honor of the King, of the Prince, of Dukes, of Marquisses, of Earls, Viscounts, the Lords Spiritual [the clergy], Barons, of the Queen Consort [the King’s wife] and of Noble Women, on Privileges of the Nobility, Nobility and Lords in Reputation only, Knighthood, Knights of the Garter or St. George, Knights Bannerets, Instructions by the King, the Creation of Baronets, a Catalogue of the Baronets of England, Knight of the Bath, Knights Batchelors, Knights of the Round Table, Knights of the Thistle, and Orders of Knighthood in Europe and around the world - in Palestine and Asia, Spain, Flanders, Portugal, France, Italy, Savoy, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Ethiopia, the West Indies, as well as Esquires, Gentry or the Civl Nobility of England, Privileges of the Gentry, and Yeomen. Following that is the Second Part of Honour Civil relating to the City of London and a Collection of Tracts relating to the Office of Arms, followed by a Dictionary Explaining the Terms Used by Heralds, in English, Latin and French, then an Alphabetical Table of Names of the Nobility and Gentry, and at the very end an alphabetical Index to the Baronets all written out by hand.
The book has 17 engraved portraits, hundreds of woodcuts, including 48 full-page plates (some with six, eight, and nine-frames on each page), and there are blank pages between sections as called for, just to provide visual breaks between sections.
Condition: Damage in the spine and loose pages. Cover faded and gouged. The binding is tight and all the pages are present, with clear pages for the most part, occasional offset, light water stains here and there, the front hinge is nearly detached, the last marbled page at the end is loose, but present, there is some separation between pages 246 and 247, wear at the crown, with rubbing on the raised bands and edges of the spine and on the front cover, wear on the bottom corner of the front cover, a small hole in one margin and a half inch tear in the margin on another page, and the book has no repairs and is in remarkable condition for its age.
Size: 10 x 15 1/2 x 3 in.
John Guillim (1565-1621) was an English antiquarian and Rouge Croix Pursuivant Officer of Arms at the College of Arms in London. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, he is best remembered for his monumental work, “A Display of Heraldry,” first published in 1610. His book went through numerous posthumous editions and profoundly shaped centuries of popular perception regarding heraldic symbolism and coats of arms. Married to Frances Denys, with whom he had eleven children, Guillim served the heraldic institution until his death in May 1621.
Damage in the spine and loose pages. Cover faded and gouged. The binding is tight and all the pages are present, with clear pages for the most part, occasional offset, light water stains here and there, the front hinge is nearly detached, the last marbled page at the end is loose, but present, there is some separation between pages 246 and 247, wear at the crown, with rubbing on the raised bands and edges of the spine and on the front cover, wear on the bottom corner of the front cover, a small hole in one margin and a half inch tear in the margin on another page, and the book has no repairs and is in remarkable condition for its age.
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