I also readily acknowledge many hours poring over a book on knights, targeted at children, entitled The Illustrated Book of Knights by Jack Coggins (Grosset & Dunlap, January 1, 1957), published a little over a year before I was born. I believe I wore its pages out (and I would not be surprised if many of our members also had or read same). Through that research, one of my maternal lines strayed into the Bourchier family, which is where I first ran into armorial bearings. The next step is one which is too-often leapt upon by the novice heraldist – I took all 4 of my primary lines (maternal and paternal grandparents), grabbed a copy of Burke’s General Armory, looked them up, and began furiously researching and rendering a quartet of arms which I painted and presented to my parents (who displayed them in their home for years afterward). How I decided which of the specific arms to latch upon out of each surname escapes me, but I’m sure my logic followed that of most arms-hungry neophytes who happen upon Burke’s and say to themselves, “Aha! My name is Smith. I’ve found my arms! Now which one looks the handsomest? That’s the one I’ll use…”

Thankfully for me, the American College of Heraldry was ultimately established in response to an obvious growing curiosity about all things heraldic. The College later had the advantage of being listed in Stephen Friar’s A Dictionary of Heraldry, which became a bible, of sorts, for those who could find it – usually in the reference section of most larger public libraries. It was here that I first ran across the American College of Heraldry, during my furious heraldic “research,” and decided to write to them to register arms, which I (naively) was quite certain would be easily recorded in my name. I had the fortune of meeting – through correspondence – Dr. Johnson, the then-President and life blood of the organization, who politely pointed out the error of my ways, and directed me in the correct course to a final registration of arms.

That being said, I invite you to visit the pages in the dropdown list above showing the myriad of ways armorial bearings may be used, emblazoned, and stylized.