A tantalising glimpse!

[Martin Goldstraw]

A tantalising glimpse of an armorial letters patent seen on the BBC’s Flog It - series six Aylesbury ( about 28 minutes into the programme). I couldn’t get a clearer screen shot and sadly the item was not actually featured on the programme.



Click here for a larger image:

http://gallery.heraldryaddict.com/var/a ... 1366655900

[Jeremy Kudlick]

'Tis exciting that the LsP were even on screen. It would have been interesting to see what their appraisal might have been. Perhaps none of the appraisers have much experience with such items.

[Chris Green]

Letters Patent are the devil to frame. The parchment resolutely refuses to unwind from its preferred position of rolled up and the "shoe polish" tins containing the two (in my case three) wax seals mean that the frame has to be nearly 5cm/2in deep. My local (Karlstad, Sweden) framing firm built two excellent frames for my LsP but the parchment tried to roll up inside. So at the second attempt they covered the parchment with a second layer of glass. This seems to have done the trick.

The firm then, within days, went out of business. They could no longer compete with ready-made frames from IKEA. I think anyone trying to frame LsP with an IKEA frame is in for a titanic struggle that would make assembling an IKEA kitchen without the instruction leaflets look like a doddle.

Thinking of the "Flog It" programme, I would doubt that the seller, assuming he was the armiger, would recoup anything like the fees for the grant of arms plus the cost of the LsP framing. He would need to be very famous for the LsP to have any interest for non-heraldists. Most heraldists would sooner spend their money on their own grant of arms than buy someone else's.

[Peter Harling]

They appear on E Bay from time to time and usually sell! About £200, if I remember correctly. Dealers maybe; but they do make nice 'pictures' on the wall.
Regards .......... Peter

[Peter Harling]

Looking again at this picture ...... it looks rather flat. Now I have never seen a framed patent that has not crinkled! The velum which C. of A. artists use for patents is notorious for crinkling, even over such a short period as a couple of years.
Regards ........... Peter

[Chris Green]

Crinkled? My first dates from 1985 and shows no signs of age apart from being slightly darker than the 2013 one. But then it had lain in its box until a few months ago.

[Martin Goldstraw]

They appear on E Bay from time to time and usually sell! About £200, if I remember correctly. Dealers maybe; but they do make nice 'pictures' on the wall.
Regards .......... Peter

I have recently corresponded with the purchaser of an EBayed grant of arms (LsP) and he told me that he owns a small hotel and decided that he would acquire grants of arms, place them framed, one in each room, and name the room after the relevant surname. Although it is always sad to see LsP leaving the family, I thought his idea was a splendid one and a fitting rest for lost grants. At least they will be seen by some members of the public rather than languish in some private collection.

[Peter Harling]

Unfortunately my first grant of 1977 (Silver Jubilee), was framed on receipt. It has stood the test of time well regarding the artwork and calligraphy, but alas the vellum has taken to the waves, LOL. Also I detect small traces of a similar illness on my framed badge patent of 2011. But I don't feel this detracts from their beauty.
Regards ........... Peter