The Gore Roll

The Gore Roll of Arms is the earliest American roll of arms. Created by Boston coach painter and heraldist John Gore chiefly in the 1750s,^[1] the Gore Roll contains 99 coats of arms of colonial Americans, many of whom are considered Boston Brahmin. Many of the arms might have been sourced by Gore from the Promptuarium Armorum while some of the English coats may have been sourced from the Chute Pedigree.^[2] The roll is held in the Harold Bowditch Collection of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

Gore Roll Armorial
New England Historic Genealogical Society
Type	Armorial
Date	1750s
Place of origin	Boston, Massachusetts, Colonial America
Language(s)	English
Author(s)	John Gore
Material	Parchment and paper
Script	Littera cursiva
Contents	Two series: 84 coats of arms in full color 15 coats of arms in black and white
Illumination(s)	84 hand-colored coats of arms

Contents

The emblazonments of the arms begin on the third page and continue for the next twenty-five pages. Of the 99 coats included in the Gore Roll are the arms of early notable Americans like Anna Richards née Winthrop, Isaac Addington, Samuel White, John Legg, and William Hutchinson.

The roll is divided into two sections:

• 84 coats of arms in full color
• 15 coats of arms in black and white

Most pages have four coats per page, while the final page has only three.

References

1. "The Gore Roll of Arms - John Gore".
2. "NEHGS Library Catalog - The Gore Roll of Arms".