[MR] Wikipedia: Bata Shoe Museum Heraldry

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, Especially Heralds:

Today Wikipedia had a reference to the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, so
curiosity led me to their page on this museum at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bata_Shoe_Museum .

Imagine my surprise to discover that the Bata Shoe Museum Foundation has
its own arms. The blazon is "Per chevron Or and Azure in chief two keys
wards upwards to the dexter Azure and in base a boot Or." For those of us
who aren't heralds, there is an image at the end of the article.

Wikipedia also notes that the arms have a crest depicting an animal skin
defaced with a knife. Supporters are "Two griffins per fess Gules and
Ermine winged Argent", and the foundation's motto is *Per Saecula Gradatim,
*rendered in English as "One Step at a Time". Wikipedia does not show these
features.

The arms are recorded by the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of
Canada: https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/528 . You can
see the crest here, but no supporters.

This is all pretty cool to someone who loves heraldry.

And as for the Bata Shoe Museum itself, their web page is
https://batashoemuseum.ca . There are several online exhibitions to
explore. While the Bata collection claims to include European medieval
shoes, I saw none on their web site. Like many museums, their collection
itself is not searchable online, probably for security reasons. Wikipedia
mentions a theft from the Bata, though the items were later recovered.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆