Gore Roll of Arms

While the New England Historic Genealogical Society is best known for its extensive genealogical collections, it also has a considerable body of heraldic materials. One of the heraldic treasures owned by the Society is the Gore Roll of Arms, consisting chiefly of New England arms and painted by John Gore (1718–1796), a coach painter of Boston. The Gore Roll, which was in the possession of the Gore family until the late nineteenth century, is widely considered to be the oldest surviving portfolio of American arms.

Dating from probably the mid- or late eighteenth century, the Gore Roll features eighty-four complete arms (without mottos) in pen and ink and watercolors, and fifteen uncolored drawings of arms; the earliest noted within its pages is dated 1682 and the latest 1724. The influence of the Gore Roll upon the American decorative arts has been considerable. Patterns from the roll were copied by artists in the late eighteenth century especially by schoolgirls who prepared embroidered arms.

NEHGS staff members have scanned each page of this fragile document in an effort to share these priceless works with our membership. Each image is accompanied by text written by the American heraldic scholar Dr. Harold Bowditch, who studied the Gore Roll extensively in the first half of the twentieth century. Dr. Bowditch describes the arms, wreath, crest, and legend of each image, and provides many additional details about these arms.

An article about the Gore Roll will appear in the holiday 2003 issue of New England Ancestors magazine.

The Gore Roll is part of the R. Stanton Avery Collections.

To locate additional genealogy and local history resources, search our library catalog.