The Oxbridge Pursuivant: Oxford Colleges

Showing posts with label Oxford Colleges. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

COATS OF ARMS | Talk to OUS London on April 16, 2018

THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY SOCIETY

LONDON BRANCH

Coats of Arms of the Oxford Colleges

John Tepper Marlin

Monday 16^th April 2018

The Oxford and Cambridge Club, Pall Mall

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Postscript: Report on the talk is here

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Dear OUS-London member,

JT Marlin’s fascination with coats of arms started when he was sent to Ampleforth College and took his meals in a Yorkshire castle dining room surrounded by marvellous stained-glass windows featuring these curious shields with stylized symbols and fantastical creatures. It has remained a life-long interest.

John has been in the business of writing since a student at Harvard, where in 1961 he wrote and edited the first edition of The Let's Go Guide to Europe. He read PPE at Trinity, Oxford, and whilst earning a Ph.D. in economics in the US, he served as a Federal Government economist in Washington, D.C. and then was appointed Chief Economist for the New York City Comptroller. Heading the Council on Municipal Performance for 20 years, he wrote eight books comparing U.S. and international cities. He is now a full-time writer on historical subjects.

In 2015, John wrote an article on coats of arms for the alumni publication Oxford Today which attracted valuable comment and insight from readers. Based on the feedback and further research, he commenced work on a new book investigating, explaining and illustrating college coats of arms.

This evening John will delve into the coats of arms of our Oxford colleges, drawing comparisons between paired coats of arms, highlighting examples of shared heritage, some interesting curiosities and the key to understanding their symbolism and conventions.

We very much hope that you will be able to join us in the suitably august and stately surrounds of the Oxford and Cambridge Club. Following the talk, drinks and canapés will be served providing the customary OUS-London opportunity to meet with fellow alumni and guests. Your non-Oxonian friends and family are welcome.

Coats of Arms of the Oxford Colleges

Monday 16^th April 2018

Tickets : £35 6:30pm : Arrival 7:00pm : Talk followed by Reception Dress : Lounge Suit

PLEASE NOTE 1) In the event that your application is unsuccessful, please enclose a S.A.E. IF YOU REQUIRE NOTIFICATION that you will NOT be receiving tickets, and for return of your cheque (otherwise cheques will be destroyed).

2) Sorry, refunds cannot be made after the closing date (April 9).

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PLEASE COMPLETE & RETURN THE BELOW APPLICATION FORM c/o Cheryl-Lisa Hearne-McGuiness, PO Box 44137, London, SW6 4WH. ( Tel : 07976 706152 )

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PLEASE NOTE : E-TICKETS will be E-mailed by the 10^th April 2018

** CLOSING DATE for APPLICATIONS - MONDAY 9^th April **

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For a taste of the issues: Heraldry, Oxford Superlink.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

HERALDRY: "What's Your Blazon?" in "Oxford Today" (Updated Mar 8, 2017)

Cover of The Michaelmas 2015 Oxford Today.

Sent to a quarter-million Oxonians: The Michaelmas 2015 issue of Oxford Today.

On p. 66, note the fine obit of Dan Topolski, about whose life and death I have posted.

My article, "What's Your Blazon?" is on pages 45-50. I am grateful to Ian Senior, who emails out a newsletter about Oxford, for alerting his readers to what he calls a "very interesting" article.

Special thanks to Windsor Herald, William George Hunt, TD, BA (Southampton, UK), FCA, for giving me a tour of the College of Arms in London when I visited in February. I add more acknowledgments at the end of this post.

The College of Arms is, especially for an American, an amazing institution. The traditions go back to Edward III and 1364, 651 years ago. It is the ancient predecessor of something most Americans think they invented – brands and trademarks.

To show my gratitude to the College of Arms for keeping alive the heraldic traditions, I made a contribution to their U.S. foundation and I urge other Americans to do the same. The College has managed to survive for six-and-a-half centuries, mostly from fees and contributions from private sources. But in inflation-adjusted money its revenues have not been keeping pace. Americans can make gifts deductible from taxable income to support the College of Arms through the College of Arms Foundation, administered by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

The rich topic of the Oxford and Cambridge college coats of arms is ripe for greater enjoyment. Heraldry is too much fun to be restricted to specialists, although I am determined to keep learning as much as I can. We don't want to go to the other extreme either, of the mass-produced "family" coats of arms.

Anyone with greater expertise or imagination, please share comments with me here and I promise to email back my appreciation for any feedback, any further required contrition and of course I will correct anything I have posted online that needs to be corrected.

Last month I spent a day at the Society of Genealogists (SOG) in London (they have an excellent heraldry section in their library) and I have become a member.

On Monday in New York City I will be going to the next heraldry committee meeting of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYGBS), which I have joined and where Windsor Herald will be speaking.

Exonerating anyone else from any shortcomings as a heraldry expert, I would like to acknowledge the help of a number of sources, for which there is little space in Oxford Today articles. The heraldry holdings of the British Library and New York Public Library were helpful (although I wish more of the NYPL holdings were open-stack, as they are at the British Library), as well as genealogical societies in New York (NYGBS) and London (SOG). The library at the College of Arms was under reconstruction when I visited, so I wasn't able to use it much. The new Weston Library of the Bodleian in Oxford has a small but helpful open-stack collection.

Several people read drafts of my article. My wife Alice Tepper Marlin, of course, read it at an important juncture. Marlene Rehkamp, with whom I worked in the New York City Comptroller's Office, kindly gave it a thorough read and as usual came up with excellent suggestions. The Editor of Oxford Today, Richard Lofthouse, saw the potential for the article at an early stage and deserves huge credit for turning Oxford Today into a forum for general discussion among alumni around the world, both in print and online. I think we are increasingly finding out that print and cyberspace have a lot to offer each other.

Other Posts on the Arms of Oxford Colleges and PPHs: Original Article in Oxford Today . Heraldry as Branding . Heraldry as Fun . Coat of Arms vs. Crest . Sinister Questions . Visit to the College of Arms . Windsor Herald Talks to New Yorkers . Shaming of Harvard Law Crest :: Rapid Expansion of Oxford's Colleges and Halls . Oxford Stars . Links to Heraldry, Oxford, GW . Harris Manchester College . Linacre College . St Catherine's . St Cross College . St Edmund Hall . Trinity College :: Regent's Park College . St Benet's Hall .