B
BANKS, George Richard (? – 1980)
An associate of the Ontario College of Art, he successfully designed a number of municipal arms which were granted by the College of Arms or the Court of the Lord Lyon. The College of Arms granted him his own personal arms on Sept. 12, 1978. He published letters and articles in HC and prepared colourful renderings of arms to illustrate that journal from June 1979 to Dec. 1981.
Ref: Arms, HC, June 1980, p. 24; Obituary, HC, March 1981, p. 25; Campbell, Index (Bibliog.), p. 103.
BEANLANDS, Rev. Arthur John (1857-1917)
Rector, Canon and Sub-Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria, British Columbia. In 1895, he designed arms for the Province of British Columbia, which illustrated the 1896-1911 seal of the province. The shield consisted of the Union device and a chief argent with three bars wavy azure and a demi sun in splendour issuant from base. The crest was the royal crest, the dexter supporter, a wapiti stag and a mountain ram (ovis Montana), and the motto Splendor sine occasu (Splendour without diminishment). Both the crest and motto came from an earlier device used by British Columbia. In 1906, the province was granted the shield it has today with the position of the base and chief reversed, and although the motto was not mentioned in the warrant, it was present with the depiction of the arms. Nevertheless, the Beanlands design persisted on the seal which continued in use until 1911. Also, the province added, of its own initiative, the Beanlands crest and supporters to the granted arms. In 1987, a helmet, mantling, and pacific dogwood adjoining the motto scroll were added and all the elements were sanctioned by royal warrant. Beanlands seems to have been the first individual in British Columbia to obtain a grant of arms.
Ref: Swan, Canada Symbols Sovereignty (Bibliog.) p. 183-88; Robert D. Watt, “The Coat of Arms of British Columbia: A Brief History”: http://www.protocol.gov.bc.ca/protocol/prgs/symbols/coat_of_arms.htm, consulted 4 Oct., 2012.
An associate of the Ontario College of Art, he successfully designed a number of municipal arms which were granted by the College of Arms or the Court of the Lord Lyon. The College of Arms granted him his own personal arms on Sept. 12, 1978. He published letters and articles in HC and prepared colourful renderings of arms to illustrate that journal from June 1979 to Dec. 1981.
Ref: Arms, HC, June 1980, p. 24; Obituary, HC, March 1981, p. 25; Campbell, Index (Bibliog.), p. 103.
BEANLANDS, Rev. Arthur John (1857-1917)
Rector, Canon and Sub-Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria, British Columbia. In 1895, he designed arms for the Province of British Columbia, which illustrated the 1896-1911 seal of the province. The shield consisted of the Union device and a chief argent with three bars wavy azure and a demi sun in splendour issuant from base. The crest was the royal crest, the dexter supporter, a wapiti stag and a mountain ram (ovis Montana), and the motto Splendor sine occasu (Splendour without diminishment). Both the crest and motto came from an earlier device used by British Columbia. In 1906, the province was granted the shield it has today with the position of the base and chief reversed, and although the motto was not mentioned in the warrant, it was present with the depiction of the arms. Nevertheless, the Beanlands design persisted on the seal which continued in use until 1911. Also, the province added, of its own initiative, the Beanlands crest and supporters to the granted arms. In 1987, a helmet, mantling, and pacific dogwood adjoining the motto scroll were added and all the elements were sanctioned by royal warrant. Beanlands seems to have been the first individual in British Columbia to obtain a grant of arms.
Ref: Swan, Canada Symbols Sovereignty (Bibliog.) p. 183-88; Robert D. Watt, “The Coat of Arms of British Columbia: A Brief History”: http://www.protocol.gov.bc.ca/protocol/prgs/symbols/coat_of_arms.htm, consulted 4 Oct., 2012.
Old arms of British Columbia as designed by Rev. Arthur John BEANLANDS in 1895 on a pin dish by The Foley China (Wileman & Co); England. Vachon Collection, Canadian Museum of Civilization.
BEATTY, Bruce Wilbur (1922- 2011)
Born in Melfort, Saskatchewan. He showed a keen interest in medals and military insignia from an early age. His career was both in the military and the graphic arts, specializing in medals, decorations and various types of insignia. When he returned to Canada after the Second World War, he worked in the Ceremonial Graphic Arts section of the Department of National Defence, which illustrated manuals, posters and designed badges. He conceived the Order of Canada insignia and the Canadian Centennial Medal. Hired by the Chancellery of Honours in 1972, he designed the Medal of Bravery, the Star of Courage and the Cross of Valour. He also created every royal visit lapel pin for 59 years, starting in 1951. When the Canadian Forces were unified in 1968, he spent the next few years redesigning a wide variety of badges and other insignia. He was a founding member of the HSC which he served for many years as a director and as a member of Robert SALTER’s Ad Hoc Committee created in 1982 to study the possibility of establishing a CHA.* He was made a Fellow of the RHSC in 1977. His talents as a designer and artist extended to heraldry. In 1980, he designed the arms of the Right Honourable Edward Schreyer, which were granted by The CHA in 1990. He was a talented calligrapher who worked with a brush rather than a pen and an avid collector of military decorations, medals and royalty items. To anyone who sought his advice or shared his interests, he was most generous with his time, willing to share documentation and give away some of the items he had accumulated over the years. His remarkable sense of humour and minimalist approach to heraldic composition is reflected in his arms granted by the College of Arms in 1982, Or a Tau Cross Azure thereon a bee proper, in other words a bee and a T, for Beatty.
Ref: * HC, Sept. 1983, p. 1; Christopher McCreery “Bruce W. Beatty, CM. CD, FRHSC” in Gonfanon (Summer 2011), p. 12-13. The following sites, which reveal many aspects of his achievements and personality, were consulted on 7 June 2013: 1) http://www.heraldry.ca/misc/bios/bio_beatty.htm; 2) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/bruce-beatty-was-the-man-behind-the-order-of-canada/article580645/?page=3; 3) http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/v2/nr-sp/index-eng.asp?id=11838.
BEAUBIEN, J.J. Édouard (actif entre 1968 et 1980)
Se joint à la SHC Canada en 1967 ou 1968; est nommé premier archiviste et bibliothécaire de la Société vers 1977, poste qu’il occupe jusqu’en 1980. Est l’auteur du premier index à L’Héraldique au Canada qui comprend les dix premières années de la revue et qui occupe entièrement le numéro de déc. 1976 de cette revue.
***
J.J. Édouard Beaubien Joined the HSC in 1967 or 1968. Was named the first archivist and librarian of the society ca. 1977 and held this post until 1980. He published the first index of the first ten years of Heraldry in Canada, which takes up the entire Dec. 1976 issue of the journal.
BEDDOE, Alan Brookman (1893-1975)
Born in Ottawa, Ontario. “He studied heraldry and was chosen to supervise the decorations in the Canadian Book of Remembrance. In 1942 he took charge of the Navy's art section and organized handicrafts with the help of Leonard Brooks and Harry Brubacker. He rose to the rank of Lt.-Commander and designed many emblems for the commissioned ships of the Royal Canadian Navy. Following his retirement from the navy he supervised the illuminations for the Book of Remembrance for World War II, the South African War and the Campaign in Korea. …. In 1957 he was appointed Heraldic Adviser to the Royal Canadian Navy. As a designer consultant in heraldry he designed and negotiated Grants of Arms for numerous Canadian municipalities, societies, colleges, other corporate organizations, badges for the Royal Canadian Legion and the Emergency Measures Organization of Canada. His designs include: Coats of Arms for: Yukon and the Northwest Territories, the cities of Victoria, Nelson and Township of Esquimalt, B.C.; Town of Uxbridge, Ont.; Township of Gloucester, Ont.; Royal Society of Canada; The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; Université de Moncton, N.B. and Arms of Canada; official flag for Province of New Brunswick. He was the first President of the HSC. Beddoe had much to do with the preliminary study for the Canadian flag.”* He was also the first editor of HC, afterwards its heraldic advisor, and author of Beddoe’s Canadian Heraldry, revised by Col. Strome Galloway (Belleville: Mika Publishing Company, 1981).
Ref: *MacDonald, Dictionary Canadian Artists (Bibliog.).
BELEY, George Mervyn (? – 1976 or1977
Born at Mount Forest Ontario, he was well known as a Brockville banker. He obtained a grant of arms from the College of Arms in 1954; was the treasurer and the third president of the HSC, of which he pioneered the creation along with Alan BEDDOE, John Ross MATHESON, and Phillips Till. He spearheaded the grant of arms and a badge to the City of Brockville in 1966, and was among the first Honorary Fellows of HSC in 1975. The traditional Friday evening lecture held during the Annual General Meetings was named as a tribute and memorial to him. He was a respected member of the HSC and had an extensive library of heraldic books.
Ref: HC, Jan.-March 1967, p. 3, 5; March 1977, p. 12-13; June 1992, p. 5; http://www.heraldry.ca/misc/bios/bio_beley.htm, consulted 8 Sept. 2012.
BIGGAR, Edgar J. (Act. 1919)
Canadian professor of geography at the Instituto Nacional de Panamá and artist. Around 1915, he was commissioned to paint large metal shields of the principal nations of the world, which were hung around the colonnade of a spacious recreation patio on the campus. Among the shields was that of the Dominion of Canada, an agglomerate of provincial arms. This design was criticized by observers who apparently had some knowledge of the field. This made Biggar vow that he would work at promoting proper arms for his country when he returned to Canada. In 1919, he was living in New Toronto and submitted at least seven designs to the committee that was created to produce a suitable coat of arms for Canada. Five of his designs were published in the Mail and Empire. He had obviously acquired the basics of heraldic design and blazonry, although what he produced was not convincing as national arms.
Ref: The Mail and Empire, 15 February and 2 April 1919.
BIRK Hans Dietrich (1916-1997)
Was born in Nagold, Wuerttemberg, Germany. One of his maternal ancestors, the archivist Otto von Alberti, authored the work "Wuerttembergisches Adels und Wappenbuch" (1889-1898). He served as an air communications officer in the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. After the war, his talent helped him survive with his family by painting town shields and regimental badges for the British occupation troops in Stade, Germany. In 1947, he opened a graphic arts studio in Nagold, but the war-torn economy could not support his artistic career. Having immigrated to Canada in 1952, he worked as a real estate broker, but filled any spare time by painting municipal arms in oil, which he used to illustrate lectures in schools and libraries. As this drew media attention, demand for his heraldic work was boosted. In the 1970s, he co-authored a newspaper column "Your Name" (with the late Rev. James S. McGIVERN) in the Toronto Telegram, the fore-runner to the Toronto Sun. The publication "Your Name and Coat of Arms" was produced in 1971 from this weekly series. In 1973, the federal government promoted a number of multi-cultural programmes, some of which were initiated at the National Archives of Canada. At that time, Hans Dietrich Birk was hired on contract to document the arms of families of European origin other than those from the British Isles or France, and to ensure that this information was preserved for posterity. His efforts were published in the work entitled Birk’s Armorial Heritage in Canada published in 1984. Besides the rendering of the arms (over 500), the work contains family history and the place of residence of the family claiming the arms at the time of publication. In every case, he has verified these claims using many printed sources and, in some cases, from the actual granting document still existing in the family, all of which information is preserved at Library and Archives Canada. This archival collection is a tribute to Mr. Birk’s persistence and to his artistic talent as he was able to paint arms from many European countries in their traditional style and colour tone. In 1983, he established the Armorial Heritage Foundation to continue his efforts on behalf of armigerous families. With Peter B. Mérey he produced the "Heraldic/Genealogical Almanac" (1988). His work has greatly helped to show the multicultural reality of heraldry in Canada, a fact that was of considerable weight in convincing the government to create a CHA. Many of the armorial bearings which belong to families from other countries can now be registered or granted by CHA, if necessary with proper differences making them unique to the grantee. His own arms were granted by the CHA in 1989. Mr. Birk’s work is recognized internationally, as witnessed by the 18 renderings reproduced in the work of the well known history of art scholar, Carl-Alexander von Volborth, The Art of Heraldry, p. 153-55. His international status is also given recognition by numerous honours, among which: Member of the Académie internationale d’héraldique (1985); Fellow of the HSC (1981); Distinguished Fellow, American College of Heraldry (1980); Silver Medal, Heraldic Art & Research, Duke Phillip v. Wuerttemberg (1971); Pro Merito Genealogias, Zentralstelle f.Pers.& Familiengeschichte (1979).
Ref: Biographical information and the methodology he followed to compile the multicultural armorial collection, in Library and Archives Canada is found in Hans Dietrich Birk, Armorial Heritage in Canada (Toronto: The Armorial Heritage Foundation, 1984), p. ix-xii. See also: http://www.heraldry.ca/misc/bios/bio_birk.htm, consulted 7 Sept. 2012.
BLOMFIELD, James J. [originally James Jerris Bloomfield] (1872-1951)
Born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, son of Henry Bloomfield artist and engraver. The father opened the first art glass business in British Columbia where James worked along with his brother Charles. For Henry Bloomfield & Sons of Vancouver, heraldry was an essential extension of their work in stained glass. As a talented and trained artist having studied art in England and Belgium and art glass in the United States and England, James was the most prolific in this field. A number of architectural monuments of British Columbia are witness to his heraldic creations in stained glass: the Rossland Court House, Government House in Victoria, the Courthouse in Greenwood, and Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral in New Westminster.* See John CRAIG for other heraldic stained glass designs.
Ref: MacDonald, Dictionary Canadian Artists (Bibliog.); Robert D. Watt, Rainbows in Our Walls: Art and Stained Glass in Vancouver, 1890-1940 (Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association, 1980), p. 5-8, 11-12; *Idem, Symbols of Splendour: Heraldry in British Columbia 1778-1983, an exhibition at the Robson Square Media Centre, Vancouver, 23-26 September, 1983 (B.C. and Yukon Chapter of the Heraldry Society on Canada, 1983), exhibits 19-22 and 25.
BRASSARD, le frère Gérard, né Joseph-Henri Brassard (1906-1991)
Héraldiste et auteur prolifique, le frère Gérard Brassard avait assemblé quelque 5 000 photographies d’armoiries d’évêques catholiques à travers le monde et en avait fait un album en 1936, laquelle servit de documentation pour son ouvrage canadien le plus important : Armorial des évêques du Canada, Montréal, Mercury Publishing Co. Ltd., 1940, 404 p. Il est aussi l’auteur de Armorial of the American Hierarchy: The Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America, Worcester, MA, Stobbs Press, 1956, 3 vol.
Réf: http://www.assomption.org/Presentations/Biographies/bibliographie.php?id=204, consulté 10 janv. 2012.
***
A prolific writer and heraldist, Brother Gérard Brassard assembled a collection of some 5,000 photographs of the arms of catholic bishops throughout the world from which he made an album in 1936, which became the basis of his major Canadian heraldic work: Armorial des évêques du Canada ( Montreal: Mercury Publishing Co. Ltd., 1940), 404 p. He also authored: Armorial of the American Hierarchy: The Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America (Worcester, MA: Stobbs Press, 1956), 3 vols.
BRODEUR, Maurice (1894-1959)
Héraldiste québécois et l’un des rares Canadiens à être reconnu comme spécialiste gouvernemental de l’héraldique avant la création de l’AHC en 1988. Dans les années 1950, il signait ses lettres : « héraldiste, Chef du Service héraldique, Secrétariat de la province [de Québec] ». Il a été le principal promoteur des changements de couleurs apportés aux armoiries du Québec en 1939 et a conçu des armoiries et drapeaux pour de nombreux organismes et municipalités au Québec. Etienne-Eugène TACHÉ ajouta la devise « Je me souviens » aux armes du Québec, aussi la couronne royale et les branches d’érable.
Réf : Lettre de Madeleine Lamothe, archiviste aux Archives nationales du Québec, à Auguste Vachon, le 22 nov. 1988, accompagnée de nombreuses photocopies à partir du fond Brodeur (E4); http://www.archivescanada.ca/english/search/ItemDisplay.asp?sessionKey=999999999_142&l=0&lvl=1&v=0&coll=0&itm=164344&rt=1&bill=1, consulté le 18 avril 2013.
***
A Quebec heraldist, Maurice Brodeur was among the rare Canadians to occupy a government position as a specialist in heraldry before the creation of the CHA in 1988. The titles which accompanied his signature on his 1950’s attest to this: “Heraldist, Chief of Heraldic Services of the Province [of Quebec]” (see French above). He promoted the changes made to the arms of the Province of Quebec in 1939, and has designed numerous armorial devices and flags for many Quebec institutions and municipalities. It was Etienne-Eugène TACHÉ who added the motto “Je me souviens” to the arms of Quebec and evidently also the royal crown and the branches of maple.
BROWNE, H. F. (Act. 1880s)
Designer on staff of the Montreal Star. Conceived a coat of arms for the Dominion of Canada in 1882. “In view of the heterogeneous mass of emblems which are crowded into the national shield of the Dominion, and of the want of a simple, yet distinct coat of arms, together with the proper accessories to the shield according to strict heraldic rules, Mr. H. F. Browne, of the Montreal Star newspaper, has recently designed a coat of arms for the Dominion of Canada. The shield consists of three golden fleur-de-lys, or lilies, upon a blue ground, these being the ancient arms of France, surmounted by a chief (the upper part of the shield) gules, or red, upon which is a Lion of England. The crest is a mural crown with a beaver, holding a maple leaf in his paw, rising from the crown. The supporters in Mr. Browne's design are an Indian and an early settler. The motto is “Honour to Canada.”*
Ref: Harper, Early Painters and Engravers (Bibliog.), p. 47. *Henry James Morgan, The Dominion annual register and review 1883, Toronto: Hunter Rose & Company, 1884, p. 242.
BUADE, Louis de, comte de FRONTENAC et de PALLUAU (1622-1698)
Gouverneur général de la Nouvelle-France de 1672 à 1682 et de 1689 à 1698. En 1673, il proposait, au ministre des Colonies, des armoiries pour la ville de Québec : les fleurs de lis sans nombre au chef d’or chargé d’un castor de sable … avec deux orignaux pour supports et le bleu et le blanc pour les livrées de ville.* Pour une raison ou une autre, le ministre des Colonies préféra ignorer cette proposition. Sur la médaille nommée Kebeca Liberata célébrant la victoire de Frontenac sur la flotte de l’amiral sir William Phips, devant Québec en 1690, le castor figure aux pieds d’une allégorie représentant la France.** Cette médaille reconnaît ce rongeur, pour la première fois, dans un contexte officiel, comme emblème de la Nouvelle-France. Le bateau de René-Robert CAVELIER de LA SALLE, le Griffon, a été nommé en l’honneur des armes de Frontenac, son patron.
Réf : *Auguste Vachon, « Un projet sans lendemain » dans HC, sept. 1982, p. 34-35; **Jos. Leroux, Le Médailler du Canada/The Canadian Coin Cabinet, Montréal, Beauchemin et Fils, 1888, p. 16-17; Une autorité héraldique canadienne, des symboles d’une nation souveraine : Mémoire présenté par la Société héraldique du Canada au Secrétaire d’État du Canada, juin 1986, annexe B.
***
Governor of New France, 1672-82 and again 1689-98. In 1673, Louis Buade de Frontenac proposed arms for the City of Quebec to the minister of colonies, which are blazoned as follows: Azure semy of fleurs-de-lis, on a chief Or a beaver Sable, with two moose for supporters and blue and white as the city’s livery colours. A medal titled Kebeca Liberata celebrating Frontenac’s victory over Admiral Sir William Phips’ fleet, which laid siege to Quebec in 1690, displays a beaver at the feet of an allegorical figure representing France. For the first time, this rodent is featured in an official context as the emblem of New France. The Griffon, René-Robert CAVELIER de LA SALLE’s ship was named in honour of Frontenac’s arms.
Born in Melfort, Saskatchewan. He showed a keen interest in medals and military insignia from an early age. His career was both in the military and the graphic arts, specializing in medals, decorations and various types of insignia. When he returned to Canada after the Second World War, he worked in the Ceremonial Graphic Arts section of the Department of National Defence, which illustrated manuals, posters and designed badges. He conceived the Order of Canada insignia and the Canadian Centennial Medal. Hired by the Chancellery of Honours in 1972, he designed the Medal of Bravery, the Star of Courage and the Cross of Valour. He also created every royal visit lapel pin for 59 years, starting in 1951. When the Canadian Forces were unified in 1968, he spent the next few years redesigning a wide variety of badges and other insignia. He was a founding member of the HSC which he served for many years as a director and as a member of Robert SALTER’s Ad Hoc Committee created in 1982 to study the possibility of establishing a CHA.* He was made a Fellow of the RHSC in 1977. His talents as a designer and artist extended to heraldry. In 1980, he designed the arms of the Right Honourable Edward Schreyer, which were granted by The CHA in 1990. He was a talented calligrapher who worked with a brush rather than a pen and an avid collector of military decorations, medals and royalty items. To anyone who sought his advice or shared his interests, he was most generous with his time, willing to share documentation and give away some of the items he had accumulated over the years. His remarkable sense of humour and minimalist approach to heraldic composition is reflected in his arms granted by the College of Arms in 1982, Or a Tau Cross Azure thereon a bee proper, in other words a bee and a T, for Beatty.
Ref: * HC, Sept. 1983, p. 1; Christopher McCreery “Bruce W. Beatty, CM. CD, FRHSC” in Gonfanon (Summer 2011), p. 12-13. The following sites, which reveal many aspects of his achievements and personality, were consulted on 7 June 2013: 1) http://www.heraldry.ca/misc/bios/bio_beatty.htm; 2) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/bruce-beatty-was-the-man-behind-the-order-of-canada/article580645/?page=3; 3) http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/v2/nr-sp/index-eng.asp?id=11838.
BEAUBIEN, J.J. Édouard (actif entre 1968 et 1980)
Se joint à la SHC Canada en 1967 ou 1968; est nommé premier archiviste et bibliothécaire de la Société vers 1977, poste qu’il occupe jusqu’en 1980. Est l’auteur du premier index à L’Héraldique au Canada qui comprend les dix premières années de la revue et qui occupe entièrement le numéro de déc. 1976 de cette revue.
***
J.J. Édouard Beaubien Joined the HSC in 1967 or 1968. Was named the first archivist and librarian of the society ca. 1977 and held this post until 1980. He published the first index of the first ten years of Heraldry in Canada, which takes up the entire Dec. 1976 issue of the journal.
BEDDOE, Alan Brookman (1893-1975)
Born in Ottawa, Ontario. “He studied heraldry and was chosen to supervise the decorations in the Canadian Book of Remembrance. In 1942 he took charge of the Navy's art section and organized handicrafts with the help of Leonard Brooks and Harry Brubacker. He rose to the rank of Lt.-Commander and designed many emblems for the commissioned ships of the Royal Canadian Navy. Following his retirement from the navy he supervised the illuminations for the Book of Remembrance for World War II, the South African War and the Campaign in Korea. …. In 1957 he was appointed Heraldic Adviser to the Royal Canadian Navy. As a designer consultant in heraldry he designed and negotiated Grants of Arms for numerous Canadian municipalities, societies, colleges, other corporate organizations, badges for the Royal Canadian Legion and the Emergency Measures Organization of Canada. His designs include: Coats of Arms for: Yukon and the Northwest Territories, the cities of Victoria, Nelson and Township of Esquimalt, B.C.; Town of Uxbridge, Ont.; Township of Gloucester, Ont.; Royal Society of Canada; The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; Université de Moncton, N.B. and Arms of Canada; official flag for Province of New Brunswick. He was the first President of the HSC. Beddoe had much to do with the preliminary study for the Canadian flag.”* He was also the first editor of HC, afterwards its heraldic advisor, and author of Beddoe’s Canadian Heraldry, revised by Col. Strome Galloway (Belleville: Mika Publishing Company, 1981).
Ref: *MacDonald, Dictionary Canadian Artists (Bibliog.).
BELEY, George Mervyn (? – 1976 or1977
Born at Mount Forest Ontario, he was well known as a Brockville banker. He obtained a grant of arms from the College of Arms in 1954; was the treasurer and the third president of the HSC, of which he pioneered the creation along with Alan BEDDOE, John Ross MATHESON, and Phillips Till. He spearheaded the grant of arms and a badge to the City of Brockville in 1966, and was among the first Honorary Fellows of HSC in 1975. The traditional Friday evening lecture held during the Annual General Meetings was named as a tribute and memorial to him. He was a respected member of the HSC and had an extensive library of heraldic books.
Ref: HC, Jan.-March 1967, p. 3, 5; March 1977, p. 12-13; June 1992, p. 5; http://www.heraldry.ca/misc/bios/bio_beley.htm, consulted 8 Sept. 2012.
BIGGAR, Edgar J. (Act. 1919)
Canadian professor of geography at the Instituto Nacional de Panamá and artist. Around 1915, he was commissioned to paint large metal shields of the principal nations of the world, which were hung around the colonnade of a spacious recreation patio on the campus. Among the shields was that of the Dominion of Canada, an agglomerate of provincial arms. This design was criticized by observers who apparently had some knowledge of the field. This made Biggar vow that he would work at promoting proper arms for his country when he returned to Canada. In 1919, he was living in New Toronto and submitted at least seven designs to the committee that was created to produce a suitable coat of arms for Canada. Five of his designs were published in the Mail and Empire. He had obviously acquired the basics of heraldic design and blazonry, although what he produced was not convincing as national arms.
Ref: The Mail and Empire, 15 February and 2 April 1919.
BIRK Hans Dietrich (1916-1997)
Was born in Nagold, Wuerttemberg, Germany. One of his maternal ancestors, the archivist Otto von Alberti, authored the work "Wuerttembergisches Adels und Wappenbuch" (1889-1898). He served as an air communications officer in the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. After the war, his talent helped him survive with his family by painting town shields and regimental badges for the British occupation troops in Stade, Germany. In 1947, he opened a graphic arts studio in Nagold, but the war-torn economy could not support his artistic career. Having immigrated to Canada in 1952, he worked as a real estate broker, but filled any spare time by painting municipal arms in oil, which he used to illustrate lectures in schools and libraries. As this drew media attention, demand for his heraldic work was boosted. In the 1970s, he co-authored a newspaper column "Your Name" (with the late Rev. James S. McGIVERN) in the Toronto Telegram, the fore-runner to the Toronto Sun. The publication "Your Name and Coat of Arms" was produced in 1971 from this weekly series. In 1973, the federal government promoted a number of multi-cultural programmes, some of which were initiated at the National Archives of Canada. At that time, Hans Dietrich Birk was hired on contract to document the arms of families of European origin other than those from the British Isles or France, and to ensure that this information was preserved for posterity. His efforts were published in the work entitled Birk’s Armorial Heritage in Canada published in 1984. Besides the rendering of the arms (over 500), the work contains family history and the place of residence of the family claiming the arms at the time of publication. In every case, he has verified these claims using many printed sources and, in some cases, from the actual granting document still existing in the family, all of which information is preserved at Library and Archives Canada. This archival collection is a tribute to Mr. Birk’s persistence and to his artistic talent as he was able to paint arms from many European countries in their traditional style and colour tone. In 1983, he established the Armorial Heritage Foundation to continue his efforts on behalf of armigerous families. With Peter B. Mérey he produced the "Heraldic/Genealogical Almanac" (1988). His work has greatly helped to show the multicultural reality of heraldry in Canada, a fact that was of considerable weight in convincing the government to create a CHA. Many of the armorial bearings which belong to families from other countries can now be registered or granted by CHA, if necessary with proper differences making them unique to the grantee. His own arms were granted by the CHA in 1989. Mr. Birk’s work is recognized internationally, as witnessed by the 18 renderings reproduced in the work of the well known history of art scholar, Carl-Alexander von Volborth, The Art of Heraldry, p. 153-55. His international status is also given recognition by numerous honours, among which: Member of the Académie internationale d’héraldique (1985); Fellow of the HSC (1981); Distinguished Fellow, American College of Heraldry (1980); Silver Medal, Heraldic Art & Research, Duke Phillip v. Wuerttemberg (1971); Pro Merito Genealogias, Zentralstelle f.Pers.& Familiengeschichte (1979).
Ref: Biographical information and the methodology he followed to compile the multicultural armorial collection, in Library and Archives Canada is found in Hans Dietrich Birk, Armorial Heritage in Canada (Toronto: The Armorial Heritage Foundation, 1984), p. ix-xii. See also: http://www.heraldry.ca/misc/bios/bio_birk.htm, consulted 7 Sept. 2012.
BLOMFIELD, James J. [originally James Jerris Bloomfield] (1872-1951)
Born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, son of Henry Bloomfield artist and engraver. The father opened the first art glass business in British Columbia where James worked along with his brother Charles. For Henry Bloomfield & Sons of Vancouver, heraldry was an essential extension of their work in stained glass. As a talented and trained artist having studied art in England and Belgium and art glass in the United States and England, James was the most prolific in this field. A number of architectural monuments of British Columbia are witness to his heraldic creations in stained glass: the Rossland Court House, Government House in Victoria, the Courthouse in Greenwood, and Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral in New Westminster.* See John CRAIG for other heraldic stained glass designs.
Ref: MacDonald, Dictionary Canadian Artists (Bibliog.); Robert D. Watt, Rainbows in Our Walls: Art and Stained Glass in Vancouver, 1890-1940 (Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association, 1980), p. 5-8, 11-12; *Idem, Symbols of Splendour: Heraldry in British Columbia 1778-1983, an exhibition at the Robson Square Media Centre, Vancouver, 23-26 September, 1983 (B.C. and Yukon Chapter of the Heraldry Society on Canada, 1983), exhibits 19-22 and 25.
BRASSARD, le frère Gérard, né Joseph-Henri Brassard (1906-1991)
Héraldiste et auteur prolifique, le frère Gérard Brassard avait assemblé quelque 5 000 photographies d’armoiries d’évêques catholiques à travers le monde et en avait fait un album en 1936, laquelle servit de documentation pour son ouvrage canadien le plus important : Armorial des évêques du Canada, Montréal, Mercury Publishing Co. Ltd., 1940, 404 p. Il est aussi l’auteur de Armorial of the American Hierarchy: The Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America, Worcester, MA, Stobbs Press, 1956, 3 vol.
Réf: http://www.assomption.org/Presentations/Biographies/bibliographie.php?id=204, consulté 10 janv. 2012.
***
A prolific writer and heraldist, Brother Gérard Brassard assembled a collection of some 5,000 photographs of the arms of catholic bishops throughout the world from which he made an album in 1936, which became the basis of his major Canadian heraldic work: Armorial des évêques du Canada ( Montreal: Mercury Publishing Co. Ltd., 1940), 404 p. He also authored: Armorial of the American Hierarchy: The Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America (Worcester, MA: Stobbs Press, 1956), 3 vols.
BRODEUR, Maurice (1894-1959)
Héraldiste québécois et l’un des rares Canadiens à être reconnu comme spécialiste gouvernemental de l’héraldique avant la création de l’AHC en 1988. Dans les années 1950, il signait ses lettres : « héraldiste, Chef du Service héraldique, Secrétariat de la province [de Québec] ». Il a été le principal promoteur des changements de couleurs apportés aux armoiries du Québec en 1939 et a conçu des armoiries et drapeaux pour de nombreux organismes et municipalités au Québec. Etienne-Eugène TACHÉ ajouta la devise « Je me souviens » aux armes du Québec, aussi la couronne royale et les branches d’érable.
Réf : Lettre de Madeleine Lamothe, archiviste aux Archives nationales du Québec, à Auguste Vachon, le 22 nov. 1988, accompagnée de nombreuses photocopies à partir du fond Brodeur (E4); http://www.archivescanada.ca/english/search/ItemDisplay.asp?sessionKey=999999999_142&l=0&lvl=1&v=0&coll=0&itm=164344&rt=1&bill=1, consulté le 18 avril 2013.
***
A Quebec heraldist, Maurice Brodeur was among the rare Canadians to occupy a government position as a specialist in heraldry before the creation of the CHA in 1988. The titles which accompanied his signature on his 1950’s attest to this: “Heraldist, Chief of Heraldic Services of the Province [of Quebec]” (see French above). He promoted the changes made to the arms of the Province of Quebec in 1939, and has designed numerous armorial devices and flags for many Quebec institutions and municipalities. It was Etienne-Eugène TACHÉ who added the motto “Je me souviens” to the arms of Quebec and evidently also the royal crown and the branches of maple.
BROWNE, H. F. (Act. 1880s)
Designer on staff of the Montreal Star. Conceived a coat of arms for the Dominion of Canada in 1882. “In view of the heterogeneous mass of emblems which are crowded into the national shield of the Dominion, and of the want of a simple, yet distinct coat of arms, together with the proper accessories to the shield according to strict heraldic rules, Mr. H. F. Browne, of the Montreal Star newspaper, has recently designed a coat of arms for the Dominion of Canada. The shield consists of three golden fleur-de-lys, or lilies, upon a blue ground, these being the ancient arms of France, surmounted by a chief (the upper part of the shield) gules, or red, upon which is a Lion of England. The crest is a mural crown with a beaver, holding a maple leaf in his paw, rising from the crown. The supporters in Mr. Browne's design are an Indian and an early settler. The motto is “Honour to Canada.”*
Ref: Harper, Early Painters and Engravers (Bibliog.), p. 47. *Henry James Morgan, The Dominion annual register and review 1883, Toronto: Hunter Rose & Company, 1884, p. 242.
BUADE, Louis de, comte de FRONTENAC et de PALLUAU (1622-1698)
Gouverneur général de la Nouvelle-France de 1672 à 1682 et de 1689 à 1698. En 1673, il proposait, au ministre des Colonies, des armoiries pour la ville de Québec : les fleurs de lis sans nombre au chef d’or chargé d’un castor de sable … avec deux orignaux pour supports et le bleu et le blanc pour les livrées de ville.* Pour une raison ou une autre, le ministre des Colonies préféra ignorer cette proposition. Sur la médaille nommée Kebeca Liberata célébrant la victoire de Frontenac sur la flotte de l’amiral sir William Phips, devant Québec en 1690, le castor figure aux pieds d’une allégorie représentant la France.** Cette médaille reconnaît ce rongeur, pour la première fois, dans un contexte officiel, comme emblème de la Nouvelle-France. Le bateau de René-Robert CAVELIER de LA SALLE, le Griffon, a été nommé en l’honneur des armes de Frontenac, son patron.
Réf : *Auguste Vachon, « Un projet sans lendemain » dans HC, sept. 1982, p. 34-35; **Jos. Leroux, Le Médailler du Canada/The Canadian Coin Cabinet, Montréal, Beauchemin et Fils, 1888, p. 16-17; Une autorité héraldique canadienne, des symboles d’une nation souveraine : Mémoire présenté par la Société héraldique du Canada au Secrétaire d’État du Canada, juin 1986, annexe B.
***
Governor of New France, 1672-82 and again 1689-98. In 1673, Louis Buade de Frontenac proposed arms for the City of Quebec to the minister of colonies, which are blazoned as follows: Azure semy of fleurs-de-lis, on a chief Or a beaver Sable, with two moose for supporters and blue and white as the city’s livery colours. A medal titled Kebeca Liberata celebrating Frontenac’s victory over Admiral Sir William Phips’ fleet, which laid siege to Quebec in 1690, displays a beaver at the feet of an allegorical figure representing France. For the first time, this rodent is featured in an official context as the emblem of New France. The Griffon, René-Robert CAVELIER de LA SALLE’s ship was named in honour of Frontenac’s arms.
Les trois pattes d’or sur les armoiries de Frontenac sont celles de griffon. Il ajoutait parfois deux griffons comme supports. / The three gold legs on Frontenac’s arms are those of a griffin. He sometimes added two griffins as supporters of his arms. Illustration: George Richard BANKS. HC, 3 (1979), p. 35.
BURLAND, George Bull (1829-1907)
Born in Wexford, Ireland; emigrated to Canada in 1840. Established Burland Desbarats Lithographic Co. in 1874 and remained its president and general manager until 1886. Was also president of British-American Bank Note Co. The companies with which he was associated won prizes for engraving on copper, maps, seals, crests, etc.
Ref: Harper, Early Painters and Engravers (Bibliog.), p. 52.
Born in Wexford, Ireland; emigrated to Canada in 1840. Established Burland Desbarats Lithographic Co. in 1874 and remained its president and general manager until 1886. Was also president of British-American Bank Note Co. The companies with which he was associated won prizes for engraving on copper, maps, seals, crests, etc.
Ref: Harper, Early Painters and Engravers (Bibliog.), p. 52.