Augustan Society Roll of Arms
The Augustan Society, Inc., periodically publishes the arms registered by the Arms Registration Committee in hardcover books with the title The Augustan Society Roll of Arms. At present, due largely to the disinterest of the Heraldry Department, responsibility for this has been assigned to the Communications Department.
Volumes I, II, and III have been published; all are now out of print. Each has included somewhat fewer that one hundred registrations, including the full blazon, citation to the original grant or registration, and a black & white emblazonment. A few registrations in Volume III were in full color. Technology is now to the point where publishing all in color is a trivial additional effort and cost.
There appear to be ample registrations to publish a fourth volume, and perhaps soon a fifth (exact numbers will require substantial additional research).
The challenge to such publication is that many of the unpublished registrations do not include an emblazonement of the arms, and some do not include a full blazon! Where emblazonments do exist, they are often in black & white. Thus publication will require a substantial amount of research, considerable effort to create emblazonments, and in some cases correspondence with the registrant or his heirs. Some registrations may prove impossible to publish.
The current proposal is that Volume IV include 100 registrations, with a bias toward current members, then members, then non-members. However, the existence of full documentation and an emblazonment will trump this bias.
It is proposed to print the body of this work in house, in full color, with pages 5.5x8.5", and to hire hardcover binding done in small batches. In this way, no great investment will be needed, the work can remain "in print", and corrections may be made as the are discovered.
Once Volume IV is published (and Volume V, should sufficient material be found), it is proposed to reprint the first three volumes in color, using the same system.
