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H O M E

NEWS - October 1, 2008

Internal Letter AE114 (October 1, 2008) is now available - 
Commentary is due:
Items 1-40: October 31, 2008
Items 41-80: November 15, 2008.

VERSIONS: HTML PDF DOC
All versions now contain both the color and the black-and-white images.
WARNING: The October DOC /PDF files is 38 pages long!
Commentary may be sent to:
Alheydis von Körckhingen, GarnetHerald:
Commentary may also be sent to the Æthelmearc College of Heralds list-serve at:
To subscribe to the Æthelmearc College of Heralds list-serve, visit:

Esteemed Colleagues!

At last, the Pennsic submissions are presented for your commenting pleasure. I had truly hoped to have them published by September 15th, but mundane life intervened. Sadly, my mother passed from this life on September 9th, and needless to say, my time and attention were drawn away from my heraldic duties for much of the time in the days and weeks immediately before and following her death.

This month's letter is especially large, even for a Pennsic letter - 80 numbered items, most of them name and device!! Because of that, I am giving six weeks of commentary time. I will make every effort to finalize the XLoI by the end of November. To that end, if commenters can prepare their comments on the first 40 items by October 31, it will be a huge help. If there is a consensus within the college that more commenting time is in the submitters' best interest, let me know and I will extend the commenting deadline.

In service always!
Alheydis


E-CONSULTATIONS
Electronic Consultation Deputy:
The kingdom College of Heralds has a new deputy position! Dame Elsbeth Anne Roth, Jewel of Æthelmearc Herald, is now the Deputy for Electronic Heraldic Consultation. The Garnet office has received an increasing number of requests for direct consultation from submitters who find it easier, or simply preferrable, to work on their submissions consult via e-mail. What is the advantage to an e-consult? E-mail consults allow the submitter more time to reflect on their decisions, and allow the consulting herald more time to do research. Both parties may work on the submission at their leisure. Everybody wins.
Would you like to be an e-Herald? If you are interested in helping with electronic consults, please contact Dame Elsbeth at jewelherald [at] aeheralds [dot] net. As requests for e-consults increase, we will need more people willing and able to consult via e-mail.
How does an e-consult happen? An e-consult is exactly the same as a face-to-face consult, with ideas and research notes being sent to the submitter by the herald via e-mail. For device ideas, a graphic file mock-up or a scan of a sketch can be sent as an attachment. Once the submitter has made their decisions, the herald should fill out the paperwork and send it via snail mail to the submitter for signature. The submitter may then return it (with payment, if required) to the consulting herald who will then forward it to Garnet, or the submitter may simply forward the forms and payment to Garnet directly. (I find that including a SASE with the paperwork helps to keep things moving quickly.)
A note on color emblazons: Color emblazon hard copies should be prepared by the herald, so as to ensure that correct tinctures and appropriate inks are used. Please do not send color files for the submitter to print and sign, since the submitter's printer may not use appropriate inks or reproduce the tinctures accurately.


NOTES ON SUBMISSIONS

REMINDER - The fee for all heraldic submissions  to the AEthelmearc College of Heralds is now $7.00 per item, NOT $10.00.

Markers - Please use markers, rather than colored pencils or crayons to color your submissions forms. Both colored pencils and crayons have wax, which can present problems for the scanners and photocopiers. Also, the color is not deep enough to scan well. Laurel has returned such items in the past. The crayola brand markers are preferred by the College of  Arms.

Computer Images - I am very much in favor of using computer generated armory forms, provided that several conditions are met.

Firstly, the inks you use in your printer MUST be archival quality and lightfast. Most archival inks are pigment-based media, rather than true inks. Unfortunately, most computer printers that are affordable do not use such inks. (I use a Canon Pixma MP-500, which is not super expensive and does use pigment-based "inks" which are waterproof, lightfast, and are rated for archival quality up to 75 years.)

If you are considering using computer generated forms, please test your printer's inks first. I recommend printing out swatches of the heraldic colors and hanging them outside in direct sunlight. If there is any fading or color shift, do NOT use those inks on submission forms!

The second condition that computer-generated forms must meet is to match, as closely as possible, the hues of the Crayola marker set. It may take an hour or so of experipenting to see what on-screen colors will yield the right hue when printed on a particuar printer, but it is time well-spent. For example, I need to use a rather icky pink on screen to get a good printed match for the Crayola red. It doesn't matter what it looks like on screen. What matters is the print-out.

Color Photocopies - Color photocopies are notorious for color shifting over time. Some color-copied submission have had their purples shift so much between the time that they were printed and the time that they were reviewed by the College that they have been returned. If you want to use color photocopies, please do a lightfastness test. Make a page of color samples using Caryola markers and have it color photocopied. Hang the copy in direct sunlight (NOT through UV filtering glass!) and check for fading or color shifting. If all looks good after a few weeks, then you know that that particular color copier in okay to use. Another model of color copier might not use the same toners, so if your copy center changes color copiers, do another test.

Timeliness - PLEASE, turn in your submissions within a few weeks of receiving signatures and payment. I have had several clients contact me wondering why their items have never been published on an ILoI, only to find out that the forms were simply never mailed by the consulting herald.  I have received some items up to six months after the date of submission. If you have submission forms and are having trouble finishing up the drawing, coloring, photocopying or documentation, please contact me. I am happy to help! I would much rather receive an incomplete submission within a month than a complete submission six months after it was submitted.


The Award, Guild & Officers' Badges of Æthelmearc - WORK IN PROGRESS

I am putting together a webpage showing all of the currently registered award, guild and officer's badges as used in our glorious Sylvan Kingdom. You can view the current version at www.aeheralds.net/badges.html

Please send any corrections, suggestions and comments to Alheydis


CONSULTATION TABLES

Consult tables are a great way to hone your consult skills and enjoy the company of fellow heralds. Be sure to volunteer!

If your group event is planning a consult table, let me know and I will post it here. If your group would like to have a consult table at an upcoming event, contact your regional deputy herald to make arrangements.



This is the recognized website for the Kingdom of AEthelmearc College of Heralds of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. and is maintained by Mistress Alheydis von Körckhingen mka Kimberly Frodelius. This site may contain electronic versions of the group's governing documents. Any discrepancies between the electronic version of any information on this site and the printed version that is available from the originating office will be decided in favor of the printed version. Copyright © 2006-2008 Kingdom of AEthelmearc College of Heralds. The original contributors retain the copyright of certain portions of this site. For information on using photographs, articles, or artwork from this website, please contact the web minister at webministress[AT]aeheralds[DOT]net. She will assist you in contacting the original creator of the piece. Please respect the legal rights of our contributors. All external links are not part of the AEthelmearc College of Heralds website. Inclusion of a page or site here is neither implicit nor explicit endorsement of the site. Further, SCA, Inc. is not responsible for content outside of www.aeheralds.net.

This site is maintained by Mistress Alheydis von Körckhingen
mka Kimberly Frodelius
Last updated on: October 1, 2008