I have written many times about companies that sell copies of "your family's coat of arms." Anyone who has been doing genealogy for a while knows that there is no such thing. In England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as most of Europe, coats of arms are not issued to families. They are only issued to individuals. At any given time, only one person is authorized to display a particular coat of arms, and then only if he (or sometimes she) possesses written authorization to do so from the heralds in the issuing country. Anyone else who uses a coat of arms is guilty of some form of impersonation.
I was very surprised to see a vendor at the Federation of Genealogical Societies selling "your family's coat of arms."
Olde World Family Heritage seems to be a one-person company from Tyler, Texas. I talked with the owner, who admitted that he is a dealer for the infamous Hall of Names International. He seemed surprised when I pointed out that only one person is authorized to display a particular coat of arms. He reported that Hall of Names International had never mentioned that to him. He also said that he had never read any books or even done a Web search about heraldry (the study of coats of arms and related insignia). All he knew about coats of arms was what he had read in the Hall of Names International's brochures. In fact, when I mentioned the world "heraldry," he didn't seem to know what I was referring to. He said this was the first genealogy convention he had ever attended; he had previously been selling these products at highland games, various county fairs, and similar public gatherings.
I was very surprised to see someone selling this junk at a national convention of respected genealogy societies. However, I will also point out that I didn't see any buyers at the booth in the several times that I walked by. Perhaps this audience was a bit more sophisticated than what the vendor had anticipated.
