The Gauntlet - December 2009

A Publication of Armorial Gold Heraldry Services

No special projects are planned other than bolstering the Blazon site with more blazons.

We will be available for assistance over the holidays however we may be a little slower off the mark.

From all of us at Armorial Gold Heraldry we take this opportunity to wish you and yours a Heraldry Christmas, with the promise of a prosperous 2010. Thank you for your faithful support of our little company. "Heraldry is alive and well".

HERALDRY RAMBLINGS

The answer to last month's Heraldry contest is :

gules, two chevrons fretted, couched and couped, or and argent.

The Winners are:

Jack Wildon
Betty Lyndon
David Songer
Ron Perkins
Dr. Leslie Read

To collect your prize contact the office to arrange for delivery. Thank you to the 72 AG folks who participated.

------------------------

THE WAY OF THE DODO BIRD

In modern heraldry, you might see the Dodo bird in canting arms for surnames such as Dodds, Dodington, Dodier, Dodson, Döderlein and the like. Oddly, we have received numerous requests for this unusual and extinct bird.

The Dodo was characterized by their very large size and massive build, accompanied by a total incapacity for flight. A native of Mauritius, the Dodo was somewhat larger than a swan, with rudimental wings and a tail composed of short curly feathers. The Beak was very large and hooked, the body remarkably heavy and the legs and feet short and stout.

Said to have been discovered by Admiral Van Neck in 1598, and was still abundant in 1601, although by 1691 it appears to have been exterminated.

DON'T FORGET TO UPGRADE YOUR COLLECTION

BORDURES

We have added and will be adding many new bordures over the next little while, including collections like the Vairy, Componee, Rope or Corded, and Leaf or Laurel. The Bordure was frequently adopted as a "difference" between relatives bearing the same arms and also used as an augmentation of honour bestowed on a person often in Royal favour by their Sovereign.

------------------

DID YOU KNOW?

The spur was one of the prominent tools a knight possessed as an equestrian, and they became one of the ascendant symbols of knighthood. Said also to signify preparedness for military engagement or readiness for an encounter of consequence; impulsiveness. If shown with wings it has the added symbolism of covertures or protection, and wings are hieroglyphics of celerity (Swiftness of action).

THE WORLDS LARGEST PROVIDER OF HERALDRY ART

We are leaving this help tip up, as more and more of you are upgrading

your Corel Draw software to X3 or X4

Corel Draw has changed some default settings in X3 and X4 that can render your vector images black, do the same for your F9 preview and in the case of X4 display your image excessively dark.

Fixes:

Top Command Bar/View Select “enhanced” and not “enhanced with overprints”;
Top Command Bar/Tools/Color Management Color Mode for Effects-should be set at RGB (not CMYK);
Top Command Bar/Tools Select “Save Settings as default” ;
When importing AG graphics into X4, make sure you first group your image before using the F9 full screen preview (X3 imports the graphic already grouped).