Vol I 601 pp including a 522 page index of family names, in alphabetical order, describing the crest of every name listed and where to find an illustration in the volume of plates; a glossary of heraldic terms and other words; and nearly seventy pages of family mottoes with translations of those in Latin, French or other foreign languages.

Vol II contains 130 plates, each depicting 15 family crests in b/w and a further 18 plates illustrating regalia, insignia, crowns, flags, monograms, arms of principal cities etc. also in b/w. There is a key to all the plates which, in the case of the crests, shows which families have which crest.