Heraldry in Las Vegas, Nevada

A week after out trip to North Carolina, we were back in Las Vegas, Nevada, where family members have lived since 1963. I didn’t have a lot of “free” time to go searching for heraldry, but did run across the following sign incorporating a coat of arms between my mother’s home and the hotel where we were going to be staying.

As many of you might recognize, these really aren’t the arms of Road Bear RV Rentals and Sales, but rather the company has simply copied the arms of the city of Berne, Switzerland. Admittedly, I can see the attraction; the arms are canting, that is to say, they are a pun on the name of both the city and the company here. That is, bär is German for bear, and sounds like the name Berne and bear. (The arms of Berlin feature a bear for the same reason.)

Still, I have to wish they hadn’t just used the arms of Berne for their heraldic logo.