WHITFIELD. Armorial Bookplate of John Whitfield, Surgeon, 18th Century

WHITFIELD, A handsome engraved armorial bookplate John Whitfield, Surgeon named beneath his arms, the corners rounded later, 123 X 82 mm The arms are those of the family of Whitfield of Hamsey House near Lewes in Sussex. The ornate Chippendale style treatment of the arms suggests a date of the mid 18th century and on the right the artist has incorporated the serpent of the caduceus symbolic of the medical profession. The crest of a buck’s head rises from a rather unusual crown known in heraldry as a crown pallisado [referring to the high stakes forming a sort of pallisade]. F 31624.    feb10/10