Siebmachers Wappenbuch refers to two heraldic

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

 multivolume book series of armorial bearings or coats of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 of the nobility within the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

 (including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.).

The Old Siebmacher
The Alte Siebmacher was compiled 1605-1806. First two volumes were started by Johann Sibmacher, engraver from Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

. His work was continued to six volumes with additional supplements by Paul Fürst, Wolfgang Gottlieb Fürst, Rudolf Johann Helmers, Christoph Weigel the Elder

Christoph Weigel the Elder

Christoph Weigel the Elder was a German engraver, art dealer and publisher.-References:...

 and Gabriel Nikolaus Raspe. It has also been called Fürstsches Wappenbuch or Weigelsches Wappenbuch.

The New Siebmacher
The Neuer Siebmacher, Siebmachers großes und allgemeines Wappenbuch was compiled 1854-1967 by Adolf Matthias Hildebrandt, Maximilian Gritzner

Maximilian Gritzner

Adolf Maximilian Ferdinand Gritzner was a German expert on heraldry and a herald in the Ministry of the Interior in Berlin. His reference book on orders of knighthood was still in print in 2000...

, and Gustav A Seyler. The General-Index of the whole work has been edited by Hanns Jäger-Sunstenau. Later Ottfried Neubecker

Ottfried Neubecker

Ottfried Neubecker was a German vexillologist and heraldist.-Early life and education:He was born 22 March 1908 in Berlin-Charlottenburg in Germany, into the family of a university teacher...

 has published all burgher arms

Burgher arms

Burgher arms are coats of arms of commoners in heraldry of the European continent, and, by definition, the term is alien to British heraldry....

 of the Siebmacher without the text as a sort of illustrated glossary according to the charges.

External links

• On line version of Johann Siebmachers Wappenbuch von 1605
• Supplement volume to the New Siebmacher - Gründsätze der Wappenkunst verbunden mit einem Handbuch der heraldischen Terminologie by Maximilian Gritzner
  Maximilian Gritzner
  Adolf Maximilian Ferdinand Gritzner was a German expert on heraldry and a herald in the Ministry of the Interior in Berlin. His reference book on orders of knighthood was still in print in 2000...
  
  
• Annotated Heraldry Bibliography by François Velde about Siebmacher
• Original XVIIth Century B&W version Johann Siebmachers Wappenbuch. Contains six volumes, 1,200 pages, 15,000 names, completely cross-referenced; thousands of corrections to the original Index.