Heraldry by Ottfried Neubecker & J.P. Brooke-Little

Heraldry (Illustrated Heraldry Reference in Dust Jacket)

A richly illustrated history of the system, art and craft of heraldry, from its sources to its symbols and meaning

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning
• Authors: Ottfried Neubecker & J.P. Brooke-Little
• Editor: Floyd Yearout
• Publisher: Black Cat (Macdonald & Co (Publishers) Ltd), London
• Publication Date: 1988
• ISBN-13: 9780748101986
• ISBN-10: 0748101985
• Edition Details: Black Cat reprint, 1988, of the work first published in Great Britain in 1977 by Macdonald and Jane's Publishers. Edited by Floyd Yearout.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated hardcover boards with a heraldic shields design and green cloth spine, issued in a pictorial dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Large illustrated quarto-size volume, with many colour illustrations of coats of arms and family trees. Includes a bibliography and an index.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
• Exterior / Boards: The printed illustrated boards are clean and bright, with a green cloth spine and cover design matching the jacket. The corners are sound and the fore-edge and lower edge are clean.
• Interior: The pages are clean and bright, with crisp colour illustrations and no visible marks or foxing. The binding is tight. No inscriptions, bookplates or stamps.
• The Dust Jacket: Present. The pictorial dust jacket is clean overall, with a small tear and chip with a nick at the head of the spine and light wear at the head. Protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning is a thorough, richly illustrated history of heraldry as a system, an art and a craft, tracing the tradition that grew from the honoured office of the herald.

The volume examines the origins and sources of coats of arms, shields, marks of difference and the arms of families, princes and states. Its chapters range across subjects such as the chivalric code, the decline of jousting, the origin of the bar sinister and the emblems of the Crusader era. A final chapter by J.P. Brooke-Little treats the modern uses of heraldry.

With its many colour plates of arms and family trees, it serves both as a visual reference and as a readable history. A useful companion for collectors of Africana, genealogy and militaria, where heraldic insignia and family arms frequently appear.

Author Profile: Ottfried Neubecker & J.P. Brooke-Little

Ottfried Neubecker (1908-1992) was a German heraldist and vexillologist. He served as Director of the German General Roll of Arms, sat on the board of the International Academy of Heraldry, and was a past President of the Federation Internationale des Associations Vexillologiques. His other works include Heraldik, Fahnen und Flaggen and Grosses Wappen-Bilder-Lexikon.

J.P. Brooke-Little, Richmond Herald of Arms at the College of Arms, contributed the closing chapter on the modern uses of heraldry.

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