Armorial Families: 7th Edition

Buy it for... Finding your heraldic families and coats of arms

Publisher: S&N British Data Archive
w. www.genealogysupplies.com
t. 01722 716121
Price: £17.95

Though souvenir shops would have you believe every surname has a genuine coat of arms, the truth is only certain families gained such a heraldic seal. Despite this, if your family did have one, you'll find it in this 2,520 page document.

This copy from 1929 follows the same lines as the 1902 edition, although this holds more information from the intervening years. Split over two short volumes (A-H and I-Z), each entry shows the family's arms or gives a detailed description of it, with names of prominent family members, locations, dates and mottos. There's an index of London clubs that bore arms and both volumes are fully searchable.

Though not as informative as other heraldic guides such as Burke's Peerage, there's still a wealth of information to get you started, at a bargain price.