Excerpt from Primer of Heraldry for Americans It is usual to commence American books on heraldic and genealogic matters with a half-apology for introducing such subjects to the notice of the citizens of a republic. The writer believes apologies to be entirely unnecessary. Such topics deserve their due share of attention (though it may not be a large share) in a country which contains millions of descendants of good families of England and the Continent. General George Washington inherited a coat of arms from reputable English ancestors, and used it on appropriate occasions. Benjamin Franklin applied for and obtained a grant of armorial bearings, and his motto was, Exemplum adest ipse homo ("Conduct marks the man"). Where two such Republicans led, Americans need not fear to follow. The writer began his heraldic studies as a school-boy with Scott's novels and Froissart's Chronicles. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.