[ANSTHRLD] Device help

[Tim McDaniel]

On Sat, 23 Oct 2004, Paul Matthews <pem1968 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> A client would like a gold bulldog standing on a red and black
> checkered field

"Insta-boing" is the technical term for what's up with the field.
Rules for Submission VIII.2.b.iv:

    iv.  Elements evenly divided into multiple parts of two different
         tinctures must have good contrast between their parts.

         For example, "checky argent and gules" is acceptable, but
         "checky azure and gules" is not.

If you've ever heard of "no metal on metal, no color on color", that's
an example of not good contrast.  Both gules and sable are colors, so
checky of the two is right out.

(Note: "multiple parts" above doesn't mean ALL divided fields:
subpart iv above covers the other cases not specifically permitted by
iii and v.)

> Can you designate a bulldog or do do you need to use the generic
> term?

In the September 2000 LoAR is

    Connor Wulfric MacNeill. Name and device. Or, a bulldog's head
    cabossed gules and a ford proper.

registered without comment.  "Bulldog" as a word dates to circa 1500,
says the OED first edition.  So I'd be astonished if "bulldog" were
returned.

> Third, will it pass?

I've not conflict-checked it, but I'd be mildly suprised if a simple
dog statant in a single tincture were to pass.  For purposes of
conflict, dogs are dogs are wolves are foxes are canines.

> If not, any suggestions for the client to help it pass?

His instincts are good: when there were two significant colors on the
field, one was usually gules -- because while gules is a color, in
practice it has the best contrast against other colors than any other
color.  A red bulldog (with a checky sable and argent field) might hit
the Red Dog Beer trademark, if I remember it aright.  The field looks
like a victory flag -- not that that's cause for return, mind you;
it's just something that a submitter should consider (like whether
large quantities of green and red makes something look Christmasy, or
stripes of gules and argent makes something look like the field of the
American flag).  "Checky gules and argent, a bulldog statant sable"
looks like Purina Bulldog Chow -- again, not returnable per se, but
just a possible consideration.

A field parted of two parts, per saltire, or quaterly can be gules and
sable (one of the exceptions I mentioned above to the "multiple parts"
rule above).

Daniel de Lincolia
-- 
Tim McDaniel; Reply-To: tmcd at panix.com