The collector of copper and brass takes an interest in metal-work other than that which he can collect, and admires works of art with which the architects of olden times enriched their chief buildings. It is true a considerable portion of the exterior metal-work attached to the freehold, and of the gates and palasades surrounding the more important erections, are of iron. There are enough examples of copper-work, however, to show us the skill of the old craftsmen who worked on years after the Charter granted by James II to the Braziers' Company had become a dead letter. One of the most conspicuous and at the same time decorative examples of copper-work on the loftier buildings is found in the weather-vanes, which were sometimes gilt, at others painted. In the earlier days the emblems selected had some bearing on the ownership of the building or the purposes for which it was to be used. There were well-known rules, too, governing the type of weather-vane. These are recognizable in the older examples. They have been neglected, however, in later years, and the nondescript designs chosen by builders and modelled according to the whim of the designer at the present day show little regard for the principles laid down by those early builders and metal-workers. The etiquette of the weather-vane was simple enough to observe. On towers, castles, and secular buildings a banner was the correct device, whereas on ecclesiastical edifices it was the barn-door fowl. It is said by an old authority that the cock was the emblem of clerical vigilance, not unassociated with the Biblical story of St. Peter; others more sceptical as to the origin tell us that the large tail of the barn-door fowl was well suited to turn truly to the wind. From these simple principles evolved established rules which ordered that the coat-of-arms or crest of the owner of a building should be incorporated in the design of the weather-vane, and on ecclesiastical buildings the symbol of the patron saint was to take the place of the weather-cock. As typical examples to be seen in London streets the weather-vanes on the four turrets of the White Tower of the Tower fly the Royal Arms in the form of miniature Royal Standards. In Tudor days the emblem was usually represented sitting on a slender pedestal, carrying an upright rod on which the flag or decorated plate of metal which acted as the weather-vane was attached. In the accompanying illustrations three types of symbolical weather-vanes are shown. Fig. 13 represents one of the copper vanes on Billingsgate Fish Market, symbolical of the occupation of those who frequent that famous mart. In Fig. 14 is seen the fabled dragon of the City of London, and in Fig. 15 the copper cock vane, one of the four fixed over Smithfield Market.