Background:

The German Coat of Arms prints shown here are from Konversations-Lexicon, a "dictionary of general knowledge" published in Germany in the 1800s.

The prints are noteworthy for their detail, richness in coloring through the chromolithograph printing process, and diversity of subjects including mammals, birds, insects, anatomy, anthropology, geology, meteorology and astronomy.

These Coat of Arms prints, in particular, demonstrate the high quality of German printing through the use of metallic gold and silver inks in the Coat of Arms and heraldry that are portrayed..

The dictionary was originally published by Joseph Meyer (1796-1856) who founded the Bibliopgraphisches Instituit in 1826.  His aim was to publish a universal encyclopedia for a broad audience including people with a general knowledge of many subjects as well as businesspeople, technicians and scholars.