Armorial of the United States
Committees of political leaders and intellectuals were established by state legislatures to research and propose a seal and coat of arms.
[89] He created an annual design competition for his Christmas cards (run between 1880 and 1884), and judges included John La Farge, Samuel Colman, Stanford White, and Louis Comfort Tiffany.
[88] Some of the notable winners included Elihu Vedder, Rosina Emmet Sherwood, Edwin Blashfield,[88] Thomas Moran, and Will Hicok Low.
[97] Through his BEP work, Mitchell was also responsible for engraving the seal of the Secretary of the Navy and the Internal Revenue Service.
[99] In 1891, Mitchell was invited by the Secretary of the Treasury to join a committee to evaluate the artistic design proposals for a new issue of U.S. coins.
[100][101] In addition to being considered an expert on heraldry,[96] Mitchell was regarded as one of the best engravers[93][94] and medal designers in the United States.
[103] Common themes depicted in state arms include farming, industry, transportation (e.g., boats, trains, and wagons), and nature (e.g., sunsets and mountains).
In most instances a committee (more often than not consisting of three members)[111][112][113][114] was appointed to study the issue, seek advice from qualified artists, historians, legal scholars, etc., and report back to the authorizing legislative body with a design for their approval.
The first committee to design the Great Seal of the United States was appointed on 4 July 1776 by the Second Continental Congress and consisted of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson.
The second committee (James Lovell, John Morin Scott, and William Churchill Houston) design met with the same fate.
[111] It was the third committee (Arthur Middleton, Elias Boudinot, John Rutledge, who consulted with William Barton) that submitted a design which was approved on 20 July 1782.
[111] Individual states approached their coats of arms and seals in a similar manner (i.e., seeking direction from the statesmen and scholars of their community).
A few of those involved in the design of state arms and seals include (but is not limited to): John Jay and Gouverneur Morris (New York);[112] Francis Hopkinson (New Jersey);[116] David Rittenhouse and George Clymer (Pennsylvania);[114] and George Mason, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin West, and Thomas Jefferson (Virginia).
[117] An impression of the Great Seal of a state (or its coat of arms) has long been required on official documents ranging from deeds to legislative acts.
