Iowa Territorial Seal
The state seal supplanted the Iowa Territory seal (1838–1846), which consisted of a Federal eagle holding an arrow in its mouth and a bow in its talon. "The Seal of Iowa contains the following simple device: An Eagle In the attitude of flight grasping in its dexter talon a Bow and holding in its beak an arrow. Around the border of the seal are the words, SEAL OF THE TERRITORY OF IOWA." The territorial seal was the basis for other state seals, including the first seal of the University of Iowa and the State Historical Society of Iowa, as well as the Civil War Arms of Iowa; these later seals had the bow held in the left talon, rather than the right.
The Territorial seal was well-liked as a simple image of the state and was used on state documents well into the 1860s, even after it had been officially replaced. "It is regarded as perfectly expressive of a distinct idea, intimately associated with the history of the delightful country which we have the happiness to inhabit... The slightest examination of the seal will disclose to the Honorable Council the eagle, the proud and appropriate emblem of our national power, bearing in its beak an Indian arrow, and clutching in its talons an unstrung bow; and while the idea thus delicately evolved is so well calculated to make the eye glisten with patriotic pride, and cause the heart to beat high with the pulsations of conscious superiority, it nevertheless presents a touching appeal to our manly sensibilities."
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Iowa Territorial Seal, 1838.
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University of Iowa seal mosaic, ca. 1908, based on 1847 seal.
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Original seal of the State Historical Society of Iowa, 1857.
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Stylized Civil War arms of Iowa, ca. 1861.
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