Dog Heraldry: The Official Collection of Canine Coats of Arms

By Mia J Martin and Mia Martin

Book Overview

A collection of coats-of-arms that take the reader on a journey through the history of 150 breeds of dog. The author uses traditional heraldic devices in the coats-of-arms to exemplify each dog's historical and current talents.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0876055323
• ISBN13: 9780876055328
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Howell Book House
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 0.5" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

description of "Bar Sinister is totally wrong"

Whoever wrote the description on heraldry for canines about "Bar Sinister" is out in left field and probably knows absolutely Nothing about the charges, ordinaries, metals, etc. If he/she did the person would know that a bend is an honourable ordinary and the bend sinister is the same thing and does not represent a "bastard". That person should know that a regular bend with a baton on the bend is the actual meaning of one of illegitimate birth. How do I know. I've studied the subject for over 25 years. I personally think it is an act of stupidity to put something down like a "bar sinister" as there is no such derivation in any research volume on heraldry. Bill Wendeborn

A real "sleeper" of a book

This is a truly astonishing book, a sleeper if there ever was one. The concept itself reminds one that creativity is a wondrous thing. The idea of creating coat of arms for dogs is not something that comes to everyone, but once conceived is irresistible to dog lovers. This small book contains not only the concept but is also the obvious distillation of years of painstaking research into the background of the145 breeds of dog, the arcane world of heraldic art, and the integration of both into meticulously prepared and highly detailed full color coat of arms for each. Each portrays the most significant aspects of the dogbreed's history by the subtle use of tiny drawings and symbols included in the coat of arms. They must be studied carefully, and each viewing reveals something new. Accompanying each drawing is a brief entertaining and often amusing text explaining the coat of arms and the dog's history. In addition, adding to the artistic achievement are the drawings on each of a prime example of the breed. To cap it all off there is even a coat of arms for the mutt, which contains within it a rendering of the very crown worn by illegitimate sons of the Kings of France, as well as the Bar Sinister, which has been used from the earliest days of heraldry to indicate bastadry, which was not looked down upon by the nobility