1863 Early Victorian Nobility Antique Vintage Crests Album Scrapbook Royal Crest

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

For your consideration a collection of 164 Nobility, Naval, Military & British Commoners Crests from 1863. Collected by Emily & Jane O'Brien. All are original from the Victorian ERA. Please view photos for condition of each. Most are in very good to near mint condition considering their age with very few having flaws. More photos here: 1863 Crests Album Shipping is always SAFE and sent same day or next morning. This package will be included A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HOBBY OF CRESTCOLLECTING. Crested stationery made itsappearance in England after the introduction of uniform penny postage in 1840. Prior to that date letters usually took the form of a sheet of paper which was folded to letter size for posting and sealed with sealing wax, often impressed with the writer's arms or crest. The crests embossed and printed on the flap of envelopes after this date were a continuation of the earlier procedure though lacking any practical use. So the new postal arrangements provided two collectibles: postage stamps and crests. It appears to have been about 1862 that albums commenced to be produced for crests and offered to collectors; almost at the same time sets of crests were being produced for the collector. It is possible that these commercial ventures were catering for an existing hobby. I have a plain notebook watermarked 1861 which contains a contemporary collection. Most of the earliest crest albums were very plain with each page printed in a single colour to create 12, 16 or 20 squares for the reception of crests. However, at least one of the early publishers produced an album incorporating designs. By 1867 Marcus Ward & Co., of Belfast were producing superbly designed and printed albums of a quality not to be surpassed. The four major album producers were Marcus Ward & Co.; Stafford Smith & Co. (in conjunction with Marlborough & Co. and D Appleton & Co. of New York); William Lincoln (subsequently William Simpson Lincoln); and Stanley Gibbons & Co. All produced a series of albums over a number of years. Other publishers were Acton Griffith; Johnson & Rowe; William Johnson & Sons; A Lenègre (Paris); De La Rue & Co.; W Mack; Gale & Polden; and Ernest Nister. Crested stationery was widely available: probably any competent printer would have been capable of producing this line of the trade, having the dies engraved by specialist die-cutters. However, the production of sets for collectors was largely in the hands of just a few firms for the trade was only worthwhile if a certain volume of sales could be generated. Known producers/vendors of sets include: T Culleton; Stafford Smith & Co.; William (and William Simpson) Lincoln; Gale & Polden and Stanley Gibbons & Co. See also Heraldic on the Topics page for further information on some of the above firms and on others involved in the trade. Large numbers of sets were produced, including crests of the army regiments and of the ships of the royal navy, arms and crests of peers and bishops, arms of schools, universities and city companies. Whilst the pastime was very firmly centred on the United Kingdom it was pursued elsewhere, notably by the British population in India, but also in France, Australia and America. Apart from crests issued in sets, and those gracing private stationery, they were also to be found on the letterheads and envelopes of gentlemen's clubs, hotels, masonic lodges, civic authorities and a multitude of trading and commercial houses. The hobby continued into the twentieth century but appears to have more or less ceased with the First World War, when a generation of youth had other matters to occupy their time. -Edward Law Crest Collecting read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.