American College of Heraldry

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This article is about an existing heraldic body. For the defunct organization with a similar name, see American College of Heraldry and Arms.

The coat of arms of the American College of Heraldry.

The American College of Heraldry was founded in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1972 with the aim of aiding in the study and perpetuation of heraldry in the United States and abroad. Registrations are restricted by policy to American citizens or residents, as well as to others with significant personal or business connections in America.

After the foundation of the College, it was reorganized and chartered as a non-profit corporate body by the State of Alabama. The College is directed by a Board of Governors who elect Administrative Officers and an Advisory Board. There are several types of membership in the College, including Distinguished Fellows, recognized for their eminent standing, particularly in the field of heraldry; Fellows, who are so recognized because of their faithful service to the College and to the cause of Heraldry; Members, who are persons with an interest in heraldry; and Associate Members, who are less than 18 years of age. The College's membership is composed of persons having a serious interest in heraldry and includes individuals from across the United States and from throughout the world.

Several private heraldic societies were organized through the years in the United States, but none were sufficiently strong enough to survive. It was in response to this heraldic vacuum that the College was established. The College's intent was to bring some semblance of order into the American heraldic arena and to begin meeting the erstwhile heraldic needs of the public in the United States. The first few years of the College were marked by creative experimentation and modification in heraldic modes. In time, experience led the way toward a more conservative standardized approach, compatible with heraldry existing in other nations.

PURPOSES

The College's general goal is to identify and Register legitimate coats of arms being legitimately borne in America in order to leave a cultural and historical record of armory in this country for future historians, genealogists and scholars in various academic fields.

The corporate purposes of the College are:

to educate the public regarding the history and meaning of heraldry;to initiate, promote, support and engage in scholarly, educational and informational endeavors in heraldic art and science and related fields;
to stimulate, collect, preserve and disseminate knowledge regarding heraldic arms;
to act as a resource center for those seeking learned opinions on heraldic questions;
to promote the rightful and proper use and display of heraldic arms according to the customs of heraldic art and science;
to collect, accurately document, preserve and disseminate information regarding both ancient and modern armorial bearings, especially those in current use and most especially those borne in this country;
to lend expert advice, counseling and design expertise to those desiring to establish an armorial tradition in their own families, to assist them in acquiring the proper public recognition for the design through registration of the arms with the College and publication of said arms by the College. Persons desiring to acquire new coats of arms from official offices of arms abroad are also gladly extended consultation and support in their undertaking.

The College is quite flexible in its attempt to serve the heraldic needs of the public. One may become a member and also register a coat of arms. Or, one may elect to become a member without registering a coat of arms, or indeed without even having one. Or, one may register a coat of arms without ever becoming a member. While the College's primary focus is naturally on the heraldry of America, nevertheless, the College's membership and interests are international in scope and the College continues to welcome the membership of persons residing abroad and to welcome the registration of their arms. The Armiger's News is a quarterly newsletter published by the college. It is received without cost by the membership and is available by subscription to other individuals, institutions and libraries. Those coats of arms Registered by the College are also published in both its aforementioned journal and in its roll of arms, a publication appearing in book form.

Those Registering arms with the College receive the following services:

A handsome Registration of Arms document suitable for display in one's home or office, containing the details of the Registration, the blazon or technical description of the arms, and a rendering of the coat of arms in full color.
A line drawing of the arms suitable for use on armorial stationery and the like.
Publication of the arms and biographical information regarding the armiger in The Armiger's News, the quarterly journal.
Publication of the arms and brief information regarding the armiger and the family in The Heraldic Register of America, a roll of arms of which several volumes have already been published. You can now order back issues of all editions of The Heraldic Register of America online.
The right to request that later descendants be added as inheritors of the arms in the three publication formats previously mentioned (this being done at a very minimal cost).
Deposit of one's arms and all appropriate forms and papers in the College's archives.
The right to request that the armorial document be executed for replacement should one be defaced or destroyed, or for descendants who years later are recognized in their armorial rights and wish a heraldic document (all these being available at a very modest cost).
Those persons Registering arms which have already been granted, matriculated, or otherwise recognized in an official office of arms abroad benefit by the heraldic community in America coming to know of these official arms and of the specifics of their right to bear the arms.