Sir William Johnson Coat of Arms DeBruhl Engraver

In the Johnson Papers there is no further mention of a coat of arms until January 10, 1763
In a letter from William Darlington of New York, to Johnson of that date the former writes
"Mr. Weyman seems not to understand the directions in Regard to the Coat of Arms and directed me to One Debrul's Engraver.  Enclosed is a letter from him about it.

The letter from DeBrul's is as follows:  Mr Darlington hath Aquainted me Your commands concerning your coat of arms, the Engraving of the Same will cost four pound.  The printing
and coloring the same proper will cost two pound per hundred or Twenty Pound per Thousand.

Your Most Obed
Serv
Michael DeBruls  ( DeBruhl)

In Johnson's reply to this letter, which Johnson addressed not to DeBruls but to Darlington, on January 29, 1763, he objected to the price, said he could get the prints of them for less in London and finally commissioned Darlington to offer 5 pounds for my Coat of Arms only printed and 4 pounds for your plate which is to be mine.

Other letters on the subject have unfortunately been burned, but the Calendar of the Sir William
Johnson Manuscripts shows (p. 160,169) that Darlington wrote further about them on February 21, 1763, and that on May 6, 1763, he mentioned sending the copper plates, and denounced DeBruls for his charges.

In some of Johnson's library books that have come down to us there are his bookplates bearing his coat of arms, an illustration of which appears in this volume.  It would seem probable that these represent the order for one thousand copies which Johnson placed with DeBruls (DeBruhl) through Darlington.

The use of his arms on his bookplate would explain the quantity of prints ordered.  None of these plates which we have seen are in color, seeming to indicate that Johnson lived up to his intention of refusing to pay a price which he regarded as exorbitant.
At what time Johnson had drawn the design of his coat of arms from which DeBruls made his engraving we have no exact information.  It may have been previous to the date of his brother Warren's letter, but it seems probable that it was between 1755 and 1762, for in the former year he received his baronetcy, giving him the right to have the red hand of Ulster in his coat of arms, and in the latter year appeared a plan or Map of his Niagara campaign on which the same coat of arms appears as on the bookplate ( Johnson Papers, lll: vii 81) We know DeBruhl engraved maps of Niagara and Fort Ticonderoga The Fort Niagara map has the coat of arms of Sir William Johnson signed by Michael DeBruls and Son Godart DeBruls (DeBruhl)source New York Iconography)  The only marked difference between the two is that on the map the red hand of Ulster does not appear in the small escutcheon which is left blank and the panoply of flags appears on a standard apart from the coat of arms.

Plan of Fort Niagara and vicinity in 1759
From a map published in 1762, now in possession of Peter A Porter of Niagara Fall, N.Y.
Only the western half of the map is known to be in existence.
Drawn by Michael Samuel DeBruhl and son Godard DeBruhl leading engravers in New York
in that time period.   Both the map and Sir William Johnson's family coat of arms on the map
were the work of Michael Samuel DeBruhl and son Godart DeBruhl.


Sir William Johnson papers
E 195
J 62 Vol 3
The Seven Years War