A SYSTEM OF HERALDRY SPECULATIVE AND PRACTICAL WITH THE TRUE ART OF BLAZON, ACCORDING TO THE MOST APPROVED HERALDS IN EUROPE; ILLUSTRATED WITH SUITABLE EXAMPLES OF ARMORIAL FIGURES, AND ATCHIEVEMENTS OF THE MOST CONSIDERABLE SIRNAMES AND FAMILIES IN SCOTLAND, &c. TOGETHER WITH HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL MEMORIALS RELATIVE THERETO

Author: Nisbet, Alexander
Title: A SYSTEM OF HERALDRY SPECULATIVE AND PRACTICAL WITH THE TRUE ART OF BLAZON, ACCORDING TO THE MOST APPROVED HERALDS IN EUROPE; ILLUSTRATED WITH SUITABLE EXAMPLES OF ARMORIAL FIGURES, AND ATCHIEVEMENTS OF THE MOST CONSIDERABLE SIRNAMES AND FAMILIES IN SCOTLAND, &c. TOGETHER WITH HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL MEMORIALS RELATIVE THERETO
Publication: Edinburgh: Printed for J. MackEuen. 1722

Description: Leather-bound. Folio. 13.5 in. x 8.6 in. 451pp + appendices etc. Illustrations include many pages at rear of Coats of Arms. Contemporary full calf with a dim and delicate double gilt frame to front and back. Hinges recently strengthened and spine label replaced by conservator. Title page in red & black. One inch closed tear along hinge of title page. Some browning, but other pages very white, implicating the ink. Pages clean and supple.

Twenty-four full pages of various armorial identifiers, additional pages with shields. Sections include: The Lines, The Pale, The Fess, The Barr, The Chief or Chef, The Bend, The Bar with the French, of the Cross and it's Accidental and Proper Forms, The Saltier or Sautoir, The Cheveron, The Sub-Ordinaries, The Coelestial Figures, The Sun, Moon and Stars, Fourfooted Beasts, Of Fowls and Birds, Of Fishes, of Flowers and Leaves, of Artificial Figures, Artificial Things, Of Several Blazons. Very Good.

Alexander Nisbet (bapt. 23 March 1657; died 7 Dec. 1725) was a Scottish lawyer and antiquarian. He is remembered for his works on heraldry which are considered to be some of the most complete and authoritative produced in the UK.... Around the turn of the century, he set out to create a comprehensive treatise on heraldry. He initially intended to obtain funding via subscription, but found that this would not produce enough money. He appealed to the Scottish Parliament for help. Though they promised him £248 6s 8d, this was never delivered, and the passing of the Act of Union put paid to any chance of further parliamentary assistance. Nisbet's System of Heraldry was finally published in 1722, over twenty years after he had first set out to write the work. He died three years later, likely in poverty. (from Wikipedia).

Seller ID: 82783

Subject: History – European