Specimens of crested letter and notepaper
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Many of the early Greek and Roman coins bear the monograms of rulers or of the town in which they were struck. The Middle Ages saw the invention of all sorts of ciphers or monograms, artistic, commercial, and ecclesiastical. Every great personage had his monogram. The merchants used them, the "merchant's mark" being the merchant's initials mingled with a private device and almost invariably a cross, as a protection against disaster or to distinguish their wares from those of Mohammedan eastern traders. Early printers used monograms, and they serve to identify early printed books.
A famous monogram is the interlaced "H.D." of Henry II and Diane de Poitiers. It appeared lavishly upon every building which Henry II erected. It was also stamped on the bindings in the royal library, with the bow, the quiver, and the crescent of Diana.
Monograms and crests on stationery, after a period of disuse, seem to be coming into favor again. The monograms in the best taste are the small round ones, though very pleasing designs may be had in the diamond, square, and oblong shapes. They should not be elaborate, and no brilliant colors should be used. The stamping is best done in black, white, dark green, dark blue, gold, or silver. The crest or monogram may be placed in the centre of the sheet or on the left-hand side about three quarters of an inch from the top. The address may be in the centre or at the right-hand side. But, as noted above, to use both addressed and monogrammed or crested paper is not good taste. The best stationery seems to run simply to addressed paper.
Crests and monograms should not be used on the envelope. In the matter of crests and heraldic emblems on stationery and announcements, many families with authentic crests discontinued their use during the war in an effort to reduce everything to the last word in simplicity. However, there are many who still use them. The best engravers will not design crests for families without the right to use them. But the extreme in "crests" is the crest which does not mean family at all, but is a device supposed to give an idea of the art or taste of the individual. For example, a quill or a scroll may be the basis for such a "crest."
Really no good reason exists why, in default of a family with a crest, one should not decide to be a crest founder. The only point is that the crest should not pretend to be something it is not—a hereditary affair.