The International Association of Amateur Heralds

Just saw this on Reddit, "The Coat of Arms That Could Have Been - William Barton's Great Seal of the United States."
According to Wikipedia, " In May 1782, Barton, who had a reputation for his knowledge of heraldry, was consulted by the Third Great Seal Committee to contribute to the design of a national coat-of-arms for the United States. He drafted what he called Device for an Armorial Atchievement for the United States of North America, blazoned agreeably to the Laws of Heraldry."

The arms themselves aren't too bad, though I expect that the "singed chicken on a pole" charge would have come in for some ridicule.

The crest is another matter: a displayed eagle balancing by its tail-feathers from what appears to be an up-turned flower-pot or an Ottoman fez of indeterminate tincture. Oh dear. I suppose the sword, with laurel wreath (?) hanging from its tip, and the national flag on a pole, help the poor bird to balance. The helm was clearly intended for a small child.

Now what is needed is a talented heraldic artist to emblazon these arms really well. Who might that be Mark?

Chris, I actually did give thought to doing my version of the arms. Perhaps, if I have the time.

Mark Henderson wrote:Chris, I actually did give thought to doing my version of the arms. Perhaps, if I have the time.

Place the result with the original in the right media and you could get some good publicity.

My initial reaction is "you can put lipstick on a pig, but..."

I suppose it might have been possible that a better emblazonment might have carried the day, but IMO we dodged a bullet.

The actual seal, while not particularly well emblazoned at first, was a sound design which is now quite beautiful.

Though I'm sure Mark coul do do s good job!

Kind of makes me wonder what might the arms of British North America might have looked like if America had of stayed loyal.

I would think that if there had been no Revolution, or if it had failed, the earlier royal or proprietary seals for each colony would likely have continued in use, updated for each successive monarch or proprietor.

There would have been no reason to consolidate the thirteen colonies, or to create a new coat of arms - divide (remain divided) and conquer...

And without a successful revolution in the 13 colonies, with the influx of Loyalists in Canada and the unifyong threat of American invasion, the development of Canada as a federated dominion would not have occurred in the way it did.

Please stick to heraldry!