Open Collections

[Bookplate]

A coat of arms with mantling: Quarterly, 1st and 4th azure, 2 bars dancetty or, in chief 3 bezants ; 2nd and 3rd azure, a fess engrailed argent, surmounted by another, not engrailed, gules, charged with 3 roses argent, between as many swans, proper. Above the coat of arms are two crests: left is a swan gorged, wings displayed and inverted, on a wreath ; right is a bull at gaze, gorged and on a wreath. Below the coat of arms is a ribbon containing the Latin motto.

Heraldry

Prints

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This is likely a bookplate belonging to one of the Rivers baronets of Chafford, Kent or some male member of the immediate family. The title was created with the rise of the Rivers family to the baronetcy in 1621. The baronetcy continued until 1870. Some confusion exists in that the Rivers baronets used as their coat of arms only what appears here in the first and fourth quarters, with the bull crest. The full coat of arms as it appears here is described as the coat of arms of the River's family of River's Hill, but they were not baronets, though they may be the ancestors of the Rivers baronets. It is possible that this bookplate and related coat of arms belonged to a later son of the family whose father married an heiress, resulting in a merged coat of arms.
References:
1) Betham, William. The Baronetage of England: or the History of the English Baronets, and Such Baronets of Scotland, as are of English Families; with Genealogical Tables, and Engravings of Their Coats of Arms, Volume 1. Ipswich: Burrell and Bransby, 1801. Accessed at http://books.google.ca/books?id=5ikwAAAAYAAJ. p. 217-9.
2) Ireland, William H. Englands Topographer: or a New and Complete History of the County of Kent, Volume 3. London: G. Virtue, 1829. Accessed at http://books.google.ca/books?id=CBtSAAAAcAAJ. p. 433-4.
3) The Manual of Heraldry: Being a Concise Description of the Several Terms Used, and containing a Dictionary of every Designation in the Science. 7th Edition. London; Virtue Brothers & Co., 1866. p. 40.

RBSC Bookplates

2026-04-22

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