The Meaning of the Cleveland Archival Roundtable Coat of Arms
On December 16, 1997 the Planning Committee of the Cleveland
Archival Roundtable (CAR) approved the design of a coat of arms proposed
by member former treasurer Anthony W. C. Phelps. [Tony
Phelps obituary] This new logo for CAR was first presented to the
membership at the December 17, 1997 meeting held at the Cleveland Museum
of Art. The arms were accepted and registered by the Committee on Heraldy
of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts,
on June 25, 1998.
BLAZON (description in heraldic terms): Gyronny of eight argent and sable,
an annulet conterchanged, on a chief per pale of the second and the first
three billets counterchanged.
SIGNIFICANCE: The "gyronny" (the eight divisions of the main background
field) and the "annulet" (ring) symbolize the wheel of a car and its steering
wheel; or alternatively, a round table withe the alternating black and
white showing the interchange of persons and ideas flowing into and out
of gatherings.
The "chief" or upper portion of the shield is also black and white and
is charged with three "billets" or briefs/sheets or stylized archive boxes.
These billets symbolize the preservation, conservation and accessibility
of records in archives; shedding light on the past and at the same time
keeping records safe from light, and the recores coming out the the dark
into the light of day.
The coat of arms is flexible. This is one of the advantages of tradtional
herladry. It can be placed on any type of shield (see the two examples
above), and the colors or individual design elements can be used individually
in other designs.
[Above text from "A Guide to Archives in Northeastern Ohio, 2nd Edition,"
Helen Conger, editor, Cleveland Archival Roundtable, 1998.]