The Heraldic Bookplate of John Altobello

I wanted to find an imaginative way of showing my arms, something more than the traditional emblazonment. And so I came upon the idea of a bookplate as an appropriate medium which would offer artistic license and freedom.

In a search of artists, I looked on the Web. The work of Neil Bromley impressed me because he seemed to be not locked in a particular stylistic mode, but open to the client's comments and suggestions.

When I contacted him, this proved to be the case. I asked him if he could represent the shield in a traditional angled orientation, whilst positioning the helm and the crest to the side of it, with mantling mediating amongst the elements. This he rendered conceptually with sketches which satisfied my requirements, and from there we jointly developed the idea.

Ultimately he produced a work which respects the traditional heraldic representations, but adds to it his own artistic character infused with my commentary and predilections.