Studio: international art (85.1923)

ESSENTIALS OF SEA ARMORY

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England. 1588

Qmman J -Flag —
GLtniftd dc Franct-

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FIG. 3

them appeared to mingle.* To-day the
Mercantile Z is the only signal-flag used by
British ships, in which two metals or two
colours are placed contiguously (Fig. 2). 0

The statement that the u metals " are
higher in value than the “ tinctures " is a
platitude. The statement that this was the
fact which caused the heralds to establish
their colour-rule—whatever reason the
allurements of priestcraft may have
tempted them to give out to their less
observant contemporaries—is based only
on conjecture. But this opinion may be
shared by students of poster-design or of
camouflage, if by none else. The preceding
paragraph shows, at least, how a disregard
of the simple colour-rule of heraldry may
lead to inefficiency in flag design, when
viewed from a practical standpoint—if
from no other. 0000

The carrying-power of certain colour-
arrangements was naturally a subject of
study in the late war in connection with
camouflage. When ** Da^le " camouflage
was started in June, 1917, a definite fixing
of colour-values was seen to be necessary
for the guidance of ships' painters. It is
needless here to describe the method used
by the writer in scaling these values in
order to compile a colour-book, but it may
be said that many of them were found to be
unemployable. Subtleties of colour or
value in a design were found to be even

* “ British Flags.” W. G. Perrin. 1922.

Some may remember the blue notice-board with
red lettering at Marble Arch in 1918. The confusing
—and even painful—effect was believed in this case
to be enhanced by certain spectrum qualities in the
red. It is curious that advertising firms and others
concerned with printing often disregard this im-
portant side of their business.

more difficult to appreciate in the open at
long distances than was generally believed
at the time, especially in the lower half-scale;
consequently black was the only really
dark ** colour " used. Even against the
brilliant reds and greens used in armory,
which are higher in value than the half-way
point, black will not 44 sing " as white will
sing. One suspects, therefore, that in keep-
ing black with the tincture-group and in
establishing their colour-rule, the heralds
had conducted experiments in simple
optics, the details of which they did not
impart to the world in general. The colour-
rule was rigidly adhered to, the few ex-
ceptions (u armes a enquirire ") being
usually the arms of some place or per-
sonage to whom special honour was due,
such as Jerusalem or the Pope ; and in that
new armory, which was one of the mediae-
val survivals observed in the late war, the
designs on flags, on wagons, or on uni-
forms were generally least effective which
violated the colour-rule (Fig. 5). 0 0

In the colour-page are shown some of
the earliest sea flags known in Western
Europe since heraldry commenced.
44 France Ancient," quartered in the four-
teenth century with England to form the
English Royal Arms, was altered soon after
to ** France Modern," and—whatever the
reason for the change—the later design is
an easier one to distinguish. As feudal
forces gave way to national armies, the
cross of St. George became our national
emblem. St. Edward, whose alleged arms
appear in a flag seen to-day at West-
minster, was finally ousted, as Patron of
England, by St. George in the reign of

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