Title: Armorial Manuscript of Various Noble Families, by Edgar de Prelle De La Nieppe, 1888 to 1892
Author: Edgar de Prelle De La Nieppe
Condition: Poor
A late 19th century armorial manuscript, created by one Edgar de Prelle De La Nieppe. The armorial manuscript contains 423 brilliantly drawn coats of arms in red and black ink, drawn on individual pieces of paper and pasted to the main pages, each captioned with their respective family. There is also an individually written table of contents, naming the families and coats of arms to each leaf. Families include that of de Bois, du Hody, du Pottr,, du Wyels, and more. Tipped into an envelope are a small collection of rough coats of arms that de Prelle likely was working on for the manuscript, discarding and editing designs as best as he could. Nestled into a second envelope are a collection of 24 notes and letters exchanged between himself and one Colonel Oscar de Patoul, concerning the armorial manuscript, between the years of 1888 and 1892. Some of the letters appear to be of a jovial nature, exclaiming with glee the various coats of arms, with lines such as “Ouf ! C'est fini van Ertborn avec de nombreux Pipenpoy et autres Pos. faut-il avoir assassiné ses meilleurs amis pour porter pareille armoirie”
Of de Prelle, he was a member of the Prelle de la Nieppe family, an old surviving noble family from the county of Hainaut, in the Netherlands, dating back to the first half of the 15th century.
One manuscript in folio, 106 leaves, With 24 notes and letters along with some rough coats of arms unceremoniously nestled in two envelopes, and a two leaf table of contents
This manuscript is in poor shape, with some rubbing and wear to the binding, and the spine heavily damaged, with clear gaps showing. There are small tears to the page edges.