Anon. Album Héraldique Crests & Mottos in Linear Grid Design

Prix ordinaire: £16.00

Prix soldé: £16.00
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View the full Collection: Album Héraldique Decorative Crests

An original mid-19th-century sheet of colour-engraved printed crests laid down on backing paper, with hand-drawn setting design.

The collecting of crests in albums, known as Albums Héraldiques, was a popular Victorian pastime from around 1862. The small colour printed crests, arms and monograms would be cut from 'crested stationery' (letterheads, notepaper and envelope flaps), which made its appearance in England after the introduction of uniform penny postage in 1840. Crests also began to be produced specifically for collectors, with series and sets on particular themes, such as army regiments and ships of the royal navy, arms and crests of peers and bishops, arms of schools, universities and city companies.

This colourful sheet deviates from a usual Victorian Album Héraldique sheet in that the setting designed for the printed crests is entirely hand-drawn; the resulting image therefore has particular hand-crafted charm and a much more personal connection to its collector/maker. This sheet would be an interesting addition to a decorative scheme, whilst also being a fascinating artefact in relation to British heraldry and Victorian crafting.

Album Héraldique Decorative Crests

This picture derives from an interesting collection of works that we have for sale associated with Maj-Gen Alexander Hadden Lindsay CB (1830–1887), who was an Indian Army officer. A number of the pictures in the collection are by Lindsay himself, depicting views in India and also in Scotland at Aberdeenshire, to where Lindsay returned with his two children in 1874 after the death of his wife, Isabella Harris.

Lindsay was born at Kandy, Ceylon, where his father, Colonel Martin Lindsay CB, 16th of Dowhill, was stationed. He was educated at Wimbledon and at Addiscombe, for which he was nominated by his uncle, General Sir Alexander Lindsay KCB (1785–1872). He served in the Bengal Horse Artillery and was a lieutenant during the Indian Mutiny 1857–8. He later served in the 2nd Afghan War and was awarded the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB).

There are also connections with the Yarker family of Conynger Hurst in Ulverston, Lancashire—possibly through the Harris side of the family (a Sarah Harris married Robert Yarker in the 18th century). Robert Francis Yarker (1804–1870), was a gentleman solicitor who was prominent in Ulverston, and there are pictures of the Lake District in the collection which likely relate to the Yarker family.