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Grand Designs…
“Or, a Liver Bird (or Cormorant) Sable,
holding in the beak a branch of Laver (or Seaweed) Vert, on a Chief
of the third a Grasshopper of the first”. The
Coat of Arms is printed in its correct colours {on the cover of this
booklet}. (ABOVE,
LEFT)
On the Bank's stationery it is printed
in black and white, {the various dots and lines representing the colours, so
that it is possible to "read" the colours by having knowledge of
the printer's black and white interpretation which is, of course, standard. There is, therefore, a great deal of
history behind Martins iconic coat of arms, and of all the many mergers in
Martins’ 400 year history, it is the union of the grasshopper and the liver
bird that is deemed most important, and gives is Martins’ magnificent Head
Office building at No 4 Water street Liverpool. Martins is the only national
bank to dare to conduct its business outside London. The coat of arms is a feature of cheques
and some other stationery items and publications until the end of Martins in
1969: x
… well, almost… |
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Bye bye Birdie… |
(…or Liverpool is airbrushed out) |
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It’s all a bit strange really, the tale of Martins
Bank begins with the sign of the grasshopper,
and ends with it too – joined in
between by the liver bird, together
they are a strong symbol of the Bank from 1928 onwards: - its rapid
expansion, and its mission to go to extremes to be helpful. It is however, almost as if the Liver Bird
is off guard when the spread eagle of Barclays swoops down and suddenly only
the grasshopper remains. And maybe she
was asleep, as Martins’ corporate image appears to drop her completely
around the time of the merger talks…
The
Emblems that came and went: The Grasshopper and the Liver Bird in various
incarnations, before making way for the Spread Eagle of Barclays: The (Spread) Eagle
has landed…
Is it perhaps an embarrassment to suitors that Martins
has been such a successful bank, despite being based outside London? Is a successful image of Liverpool
too much? As we have seen, the very
word “Liverpool” is a bone of contention at the time of the merger with the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank. Our
Liver Bird does however have one major advantage over all future brandings –
Barclays included – as she is seen more often than not carved into the
stonework on many former branches up and down the land, whether or not they
are nowadays still run as banks, or fulfil new roles as wine bars, betting
shops and beauty salons. Now that’s a REAL legacy…
m |