Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. His first publication, a Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom, was updated sporadically until 1847, when the company began publishing new editions every year as Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage.
Burke's Peerage
A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, Sixth Edition 1839 (better known simply as Burke's Peerage)
A baronet or the female equivalent, a baronetess, is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th century; however, in its current usage it was created by James I of England in 1611 as a means of raising funds for the crown.
Neck decoration for baronets of the United Kingdom, depicting the Red Hand of Ulster
Coat of arms of the Agnew baronets (1629) with the badge of a Baronet of Nova Scotia (Coat of arms of Nova Scotia) in chief
Coat of arms of the Agnew baronets (1895) with the badge of a Baronet of the United Kingdom (Red Hand of Ulster) in canton