Stammbuch
A Stammbuch, or friendship album, compiled by Kurt von Knöringen in 1587 and held by Heidelberg University Library, kept by a young German nobleman to collect coats of arms and inscriptions from companions. The painted heraldic achievements are hand-coloured in red, blue, gold and grey with flowing mantling and crests, and a designer might borrow their scrolling acanthus-like foliage, layered shield divisions and heraldic animals for ornamental emblems.
