A lot of two original copperplate engravings of Scottish coats of arms from Alexander Nisbet's A System of Heraldry, Speculative and Practical (Edinburgh) - the foundational reference on Scottish armory, peerage and family genealogy. Each plate presents twelve finely engraved achievements (shield, crest, supporters and motto) for a different set of noble and landed Scottish families, exactly as a herald or genealogist would once have consulted them.
This lot includes:
- Plate 8 (Vol. II): twelve arms including Urquhart of Meldrum, Sir George Steuart of Gairntully, Lockhart of Cleghorn and Gordon of Gordon Bank, each with its crest and motto.
- Plate 6 (Vol. I): a richer mix - the arms of Campbell of Finnab with the old circular seals of the Campbells of Craignish, plus Montgomerie of Lainshaw, Shaw of Greenock and Dalrymple of North Berwick, including two engraved seal roundels.
Each little shield is a compressed family history - the mottoes ('Sine Labe Fides', 'Weigh Well'), the supporters and crests all encode allegiances, marriages and claims to land. The old Campbell of Craignish seals on Plate 6 are especially prized, preserving matrix designs older than the book itself.
Original antique copperplate engravings on wove paper - not reproductions. Each sheet measures approx. 8 x 13.5 in. Sold as a lot of two plates.
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