Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/415

 1868.] Heraldry. 17 times ; but, let it be founded on sound principles at all events ; and, even in a crude state, it will make its mark. Every great invention was, at first, a weak effort ; but it enlarged, and spread its suggestive influence, until at this day we look back with a certain feeling of respect and wonder on those primitive efforts whence such miracles have arisen. Architecture is, after all, the lasting monumental glory of a great Nation. But its Style must be National and expressive ; otherwise it cannot be considered that the nation has an archi- tectural claim of its own, be its struc- tures never so magnificent in outline, dimensions, and detail. In fine, let American Architects cease to transfer the designs of Europe, with all their antiquated appliances, once so useful and significant ; and, here, so absurd. Let their designs be those drawn from the school of Nature, as she abundantly presents them in the peculiarity of flower, shrub, and tree ; the sky-line of her mountains ; the stately taper of her pines ; the graceful growth of her palmettos ; the pendant beauty of her aspens ; and the thousand local lessons, which she everywhere gives. A name as lasting as the Egyptian Pj-ramids awaits him, who initiates an American Style of Architecture, truly National, and worthy of our history, with its Orders all complete. HERALDRY. THE COMPOSITE TINCTURES:-FURS. HAYING disposed of the Simple Tinctures, or those produced, either by a plain surface of bright metal, or a flat tint, we arrive at the Composite Tinctures, of which the first grand divi- sion is The Furs. These — as thej' ex- plain, from partaking of both metal and color — were great favorites with the older Heralds. It is inferrible, from the writings of all the elder practitioners of the art, though not distinctly stated by many, that Fur must not be placed upon Fur. This would leave the fundamental rule, in its entirety — Metal not upon Metal ; Color not upon Color ; Fur not upon Fur. There is not a shadow of doubt that this is the original conception ; as it is felt to be the true principle of the spe- cial adaptation of Heraldry to its pur- pose ; and known as the real source of all the brilliant chromatic beauty of Ar- morial Bearings to uninitiated observers. Clark* throws a little additional light Wormull. London. Printed by C. and G. Kearsley, 1794. upon this general subject, by observing, that " The ancients broidered their titia " [tissue], or cloth of gold or silver, with " figures in colors of silk ; and their "colored silks, on the contrary, with " gold and silver ; and hence it is, that, " there is a general rule, that metal shall " never be placed upon metal, nor color "upon color." The fact, here, is valu- able ; although the reasoning is defec- tive. If the above were the rule of the ancients, it was, because, in addition to the color contrasts, that the metallic lustre best contrasted the silken, and the silken lustre, the metallic; but the hence does not fairly transfer the rea- soning, over, to sway the minds of the pioneer heralds, who certainly arrived at their discovery of efficient color con- trasts entirely independent of the an- cients, or ancient tissues. At all times, throughout the history of the art, unthinking heralds have, in a few instances, wilfully departed from this principle ; but invariably to the great disadvantage of the symbols they in- vented. Thus, the arms of the Crusa- ders' Kingdom of Jerusalem are : "Ar-
 * Introduction to Heraldry. By Hu(?h Clark and Thos.