Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Museum Staff Attend ICHF Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland

Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library staff members Aimee Newell, Hilary Anderson Stelling, and Catherine Swanson attended the ICHF conference in Edinburgh, Scotland from May 24 through May 26, 2013.  This was an extraordinary opportunity to hear the latest scholarship on the history of Freemasonry.  The location was  ideal--being held in Edinburgh, Scotland this year. 

Papers were delivered at the Grand Lodge of Scotland (as seen above).  Aimee Newell, Director of Collections, and Hilary Anderson Stelling, Director of Exhibitions, gave papers.  All three attended lecture sessions and networked with colleagues from around the world. 

Newell and Stelling presented their papers on the first day of the conference as part of a session focusing on American Freemasonry. 

Newell's paper was entitled, "A Ludicrous Affair:  Harmonic Lodge and Boston Freemasonry in the 1790s."  Using Harmonic Lodge as a case study, Newell explored how the internal dissent in Boston Freemasonry during the 1790s.  In 1797, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts voted to revoke the charter of Harmonic Lodge because of improper behavior, with Grand Master Paul Revere (1734-1818) voting "Yes" and Isaiah Thomas voting "No."  During the 1790s the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was trying to establish its authority and this act can be seen as an attempt to maintain a sense of order within the fraternity. Newell gave convincing evidence of this during her presentation. For two years after the incident with Harmonic Lodge, starting in 1798, no new lodges were chartered in Massachusetts. 

Stelling's paper was entitled, "Elucidating the Various Masonic Emblems:  The Influence of Jeremy Cross and Amos Doolittle's Engravings on Nineteenth Century American Masonic Material and Visual Culture."  She examined the creative collaboration between Jeremy Cross (1783-1860) and Amos Doolittle (1754-1832) in making The True Masonic Chart or Hieroglyphic Monitor and the influence their work had on shaping visual expression in America.  Through extensive analysis of objects, Cross's diary, correspondence, and Masonic publications from the 1800s, Stelling gave a compelling argument for Cross and Doolittle's long-term impact.

The highlights of the conference for Swanson were attending keynote addresses on "The Rise and Fall of Empires: Britain's and the UGLE's Compared" by J. W. Daniel (United Kingdom) and "The Rituals of the Union" by Jan Snoek (Netherlands).  Among the sessions she attended were "The Royal Arch and the 1813 English Union," "Freemasonry in Scotland," and "Enlightenment Visions of Masonry" which were all illuminating.  She enjoyed meeting scholars including Diane Clements, Director, Susan Snell, Archivist, and Martin Cherry, Librarian, from the Library and Museum of the United Grand Lodge of England.

 

 

 

Astronaut John Glenn's Scottish Rite Ring

2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Scottish Rite’s Northern Masonic Jurisdiction (see these posts for more information on the history of the Scottish Rite). The Jurisdiction’s Supreme Council founded the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library in 1975. To celebrate, we are presenting a new exhibition, “A Sublime Brotherhood: Two Hundred Years of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.”

Opening June 15, 2013, the exhibition uses more than 100 objects and images to tell the story of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. While most people assume that the Scottish Rite began in Scotland, it was actually founded in France in the mid-1700s. Early groups met in the West Indies, eventually taking root in New York, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.

Among the objects on view is the 33rd degree ring originally owned by astronaut and Freemason John H. Glenn Jr. (b. 1921). The first American to orbit the earth, in 1962, Glenn circled the planet three times in the Mercury capsule Friendship 7. After retiring from the Marine Corps in 1965, Glenn pursued his interest in politics. Starting in 1974, he served Ohio for four consecutive terms in the United States Senate. The Grand Master of Ohio made John Glenn a Mason at sight in 1978. In 1998, soon after Glenn received the Scottish Rite’s 33rd degree, conferred on selected members as a high honor, he wore this ring when he returned to space in the shuttle Discovery.  On the journey he became the oldest American to participate in a NASA mission.

Starting Saturday, June 15, 2013, the exhibition will be open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. On June 15, 2013, at 2 p.m., Aimee E. Newell, the museum’s Director of Collections and curator of the exhibition, will give a gallery talk. Please visit www.nationalheritagemuseum.org for more information.

Scottish Rite 33rd Degree Ring, 1998, Irons and Russell Company, New York, NY, gift of John H. Glenn Jr. in memory and honor of Vern Riffe, a good friend, 33° Mason, and the longest serving Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives in history, 2000.018a. Photographs by David Bohl.

New Book: Curiosities of the Craft Available Now!

The Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts and the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library have partnered to produce Curiosities of the Craft: Treasures from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts Collection.

On July 30, 1733, Henry Price (1697-1780), appointed by the Grand Lodge of England, gathered his Masonic brothers at a Boston tavern and formed what would become known as the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts.  Over the following 280 years, the Grand Lodge withstood wars, anti-Masonic sentiment and fires.  At the same time, the Grand Lodge amassed a collection of Masonic and historic objects, mementos and documents that tell not only its story, but also the story of Boston, New England and the United States.

Drawing on new research by authors Aimee E. Newell, Hilary Anderson Stelling and Catherine Compton Swanson, the book includes over 130 highlights from the Grand Lodge collection of more than 10,000 items acquired since 1733.  These objects represent the rich heritage of Freemasonry in Massachusetts and tell stories of life in the fraternity, in the state and around the world.  Some items were made or used by Massachusetts Masons, while others have associations with famous American Freemasons, such as George Washington (1732-1799) and Paul Revere (1734-1818).

Introduced with a history of the Grand Lodge collection, the catalog treats the themes of Traditions and Roots, Ritual and Ceremony, Gifts and Charity, Brotherhood and Community, and Memory and Commemoration.  Through the treasures of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts collection, this publication explores the ordinary men, craftsmen and extraordinary leaders who built and sustained Freemasonry in Massachusetts for centuries.

To purchase the catalogue for $44.95 (plus sales tax and shipping), contact the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts at 617-426-6040 or order online at www.massfreemasonry.org.

 

1863 Charter for Boston Council, Princes of Jerusalem

This charter, one of many in the collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, created the Boston Council, Princes of Jerusalem, on March 11, 1863. While the Boston Council was successful, it existed for less than a decade. Why is that?

In 1871, just eight years after they were founded, the Boston Council united with the Giles F. Yates Council, also of Boston. Members of the Boston Council were received as full members and the charter seen here was surrendered. The years immediately following the "Union of 1867" - which united two previously competing Supreme Councils in the Northeast, and forming the present-day Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction - saw the consolidation of a number of subordinate bodies as the harmony that came with the union also brought with it the existence of multiple subordinate bodies in close proximity. This was especially true in cities such as Boston, where both previously competing Scottish Rite organizations flourished.

The charter is signed by both Winslow Lewis (1799-1875), in his capacity of Secretary General for the Supreme Council, and Killian H. Van Rensselaer (1800–1881), in his capacity as Sovereign Grand Commander.

Among the founding members listed on the charter is Nathaniel B. Shurtleff (1810-1874), who served as Mayor of Boston from 1868-1870, and who was an early trustee of Boston Public Library.

The charter contains a vibrant, red wax seal (at right - click on the image for greater detail), which reads Supreme Council XXXIII - Deus Meumque Jus [a Latin phrase which is the motto of the Scottish Rite's 33rd degree and which translates to "God and My Right"]. In the center is the familiar image of the double-headed eagle, below which is the latitude coordinate 42° 21' 22", which refers to the Van Rensselaer-led Supreme Council's "Grand East" being in Boston, Massachusetts.

Caption:

Charter, Boston Council, Princes of Jerusalem, 1863. Signed by Killian H. van Rensselaer, Boston, Massachusetts. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, SC 038. Photograph by David Bohl.

Call for Papers - April 2014 Symposium - Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library announces a call for papers for its symposium, “Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism,” to be held on Friday, April 11, 2014, at the Museum in Lexington, Massachusetts.

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library is an American history museum founded and supported by Scottish Rite Freemasons in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States. As the repository of one of the largest collections of American Masonic and fraternal objects, books and manuscripts in the United States, the Museum aims to foster new research on American fraternalism and to encourage the use of its scholarly resources.

The symposium seeks to present the newest research on American fraternal groups from the past through the present day. By 1900, over 250 American fraternal groups existed, numbering six million members. The study of their activities and influence in the United States, past and present, offers the potential for new interpretations of American society and culture. Diverse perspectives on this topic are sought; proposals are invited from a broad range of research areas, including history, material and visual culture, anthropology, sociology, literary studies and criticism, gender studies, political science, African American studies, art history, economics, or any combination of disciplines. Perspectives on and interpretations of all time periods are welcome. 

Possible topics include:

• Comparative studies of American fraternalism and European or other international forms of fraternalism

• Prince Hall Freemasonry and other African-American fraternal groups

• Ethnically- and religiously-based fraternal groups

• Fraternal groups for women or teens

• Role of fraternal groups in social movements

• The material culture of Freemasonry and fraternalism

• Anti-Masonry and anti-fraternal movements, issues and groups

• Fraternal symbolism and ritual

• The expression of Freemasonry and fraternalism through art, music, and literature

• Approaches to Freemasonry – from disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transnational perspectives; the historiography and methodology of the study of American fraternalism

Proposals should be for 30 minute research papers; the day’s schedule will allow for audience questions and feedback.

Proposal Format: Submit an abstract of 400 words or less with a resume or c.v. that is no more than two pages. Be sure to include full contact information (name, address, email, phone, affiliation).

Send proposals to: Aimee E. Newell, Ph.D., Director of Collections, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, by email at anewell[at]monh.org or by mail to 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421. Deadline for proposals to be received is September 3, 2013.

For more information about the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, see www.nationalheritagemuseum.org. For questions, contact Aimee E. Newell as above, or call 781-457-4144.

Masonic Magic Lantern Slide – Master Mason’s Lodge, 1880-1900, American, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Collection, UN2000.0131.49.

 

Five years of blogging - and another Masonic impostor

Our blog turns five years old this month and, in keeping with our previous anniversary posts, we take yet another look at a Masonic impostor.

This year we feature Albert B. Engle. The brief description under his photograph in the Album of Masonic Impostors reads, in part, "It was with the greatest of difficulty we obtained even this picture. In his tramping about, is accompanied by two sons. He has served several sentences for obtaining money from Masons by false pretences."

The October 1902 issue of the Quarterly Bulletin of the Iowa Masonic Library featured a short article on Engle, titled "An Imposter in Iowa," which reported that Engle had been active in Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. The Bulletin article reports that he was arrested and charged with obtaining money under false pretences. (You can read the whole article here.)

Engle appears to have been active - and on the move - for quite some time. A Los Angeles newspaper item from 1909 - seven years after the Iowa article mentioned above - reported that Albert B. Engle and his sons, Henry and William, had been sent to the county workhouse for vagrancy. The article states that "According to Detectives Boyd and Jones, who made the arrests, the trio have been beating their way from eastern cities to Los Angeles on the plea that they are Masons who had been held up and robbed of all their money and playing upon the sympathies of Masons for financial reasons. (You can read the whole article here.)

If you want to learn more about Masonic impostors and the Album of Masonic Impostors, just check out our previous posts on the topic, which we link to in the first paragraph above.

Caption:
[Portrait of Albert B. Engle, in] General Masonic Relief Association of the United States and Canada. Album of Masonic Impostors. New York: Press of Eclipse Printing Co., 1903.
Call number: 19.78 .A345 1903

New to the Collection: Tall Cedars of Lebanon Sign

As regular readers of our blog know, we add to the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library collection every year. While we primarily rely on the generosity of donors who have or find an interesting object that fits our collecting parameters, we do have a small acquisitions budget that allows us to purchase a few items each year. This sign is one of our recent purchases. We were the successful bidder at an auction last November.

The plaster sign, cast in the shape of a moon, with facial features, includes a Tall Cedars of Lebanon hat, known as a pyramid because of its shape. The Tall Cedars is part of the Masonic fraternity. The group seeks to promote a stronger bond with all Freemasons and to further the goals of Freemasonry, to help find a cure for Muscular Dystrophy and neuromuscular diseases, and to recognize the need for fun and relaxation.

Since the pyramid on the sign is marked “Baltimore T.C.L.,” it seems likely that the sign was created in 1929 when the Tall Cedars of Lebanon Annual Supreme Forest Convention (their annual meeting) was held in that city. The Tall Cedars of Lebanon was formally established in 1902 in Trenton, New Jersey. Initially, the group existed only in the United States, but in 1971, a Tall Cedars Forest (like a lodge) was instituted in Canada.

If you know of any accounts or photos of the 1929 Supreme Forest Convention in Baltimore, please let us know in a comment below!

Tall Cedars of Lebanon Winking Moon Sign, ca. 1929, unidentified maker, United States. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Purchase, 2012.056. Photograph by David Bohl.

Nicolas Robinot, Charles DeValois and Loge Saint Edoüard

As I was cataloging recently, I came upon a very early manuscript book of Regulations of the Venerable Loge Saint Edoüard. The manuscript is dated 1748 and contains information about a Masonic lodge which was located in Paris, France. According to French historian Alain Bihan, it was a very early lodge that could have received its constitution and regulations from the Grande Loge de France. Freemasonry was introduced to Paris about 1725 from England, although the official history of the Grand Lodge of France didn't begin until 1743. 

The lodge members list included in this manuscript gives members names, occupations, and street addresses in Paris. The list reveals that lodge members had diverse occupations: doctors, notaries, painters, professors and many members who were noblemen or had royal positions. These royal positions included Turaut who was Apothecary to the king, Martinet who was a noblemen and valet to the king, and Jandin who was Interpreter of the Affairs of the king. Some are listed as just gentlemen or "Bourgeois de Paris" meaning they came from a very  privileged class of people. Other Masonic members held military posts such as De St. Martin who is described as "Chevalier de l'ordre Militaire de Louis Amien Brigadier de Mousquetaires". Translated  from the French this means that this Mason held a very elite position as Knight of King Louis XV in the Amien Brigade of Musketeers. This certainly was an elite and bourgeois group of Masons.

The "Très Venerable Mâitre" of this lodge was Nicolas Robinot (b. 1713/active 1748-1765). He was an "Ecuyer, Conseilleur secrétaire du Roi, maison et couronne de France et de ses finances", translated to English he was a Nobleman and Secretary and Finance Minister to the King of France, Louis XV (1710-1774) . Robinot was the son of Nicolas Robinot (1679-1735) who held the position of Secretary to the king before him. The "Secrétaire" of the lodge was Charles DeValois (active 1748-1765). He certified the text of the regulations. He was an "Ecuyer" or nobleman.

Robinot and DeValois were also a members of the Ordre de la Coignée, another fraternal order in Paris. Robinot held the position of "Second Inspecteur" and DeValois held the position of "Perpetuel Secrétaire".  Like the Loge Saint Edoüard, the Ordre de la Coignée was composed of elite members of French society.                                                                                                     

Captions:

Reglements de la très Venerable Loge St. Edoüard, Paris, 1748.  Scottish  Rite Masonic Museum and Library, A2013/4/1.

References:

Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, 1927, v. 40, p. 94, 104-105.

Coil, Henry Wilson. Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia. Richmond, VA: Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., 1995, p. 258-262. 

Le Bihan, Alain. Loges et Chapitres de la Grand Loge et du Grand Orient de France. Paris: Bibiothèque Nationale, 1967, p. vii-xv, p. 128-130.

Civil War Photography on the Battlefront and Home Front : : May 4 at 2 p.m.

Our 2013 Civil War Lecture Series continues this weekend! The series explores the history of this divisive war and its meaning for our nation today.

Anthony Lee
Civil War Photography on the Battlefront and Home Front
Saturday, May 4 at 2 p.m., free

What did Americans see and feel when they looked at the first photographs of Civil War battlefronts? Join Anthony Lee, Professor of Art History at Mount Holyoke College, in a discussion of Civil War photography, focusing on Alexander Gardner's work. Lee will be available after the talk to sign his book, On Alexander Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War.

This free lecture is made possible by the generous support of the Ruby W. and LaVon P. Linn Foundation.

For more information on the Civil War Lecture Series, please refer to the Museum's programs page. For information on visiting the Museum please click here, or call 781-861-6559.

Photo credit: Courtesy Anthony Lee

George Washington Welcomes You!

If you have visited the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library since 1979, you have been greeted by a statue of George Washington (1732-1799) outside the building.  As you may know, Washington was a Freemason.  Initiated in 1753 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, he became the first Master of Alexandria Lodge No. 22, in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1788.  That lodge was later named Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 to honor the first President.  (For more posts related to George Washington, click here.)

The statue that greets our visitors today is pictured at left.  In 1784 the Commonwealth of Virginia commissioned the well-known French artist, Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828), to make a sculpture of George Washington.  Houdon traveled to Mount Vernon in October 1785, where he took measurements of Washington and made plaster casts of the man's face and limbs (check out this link for more on Houdon's process).  In 1791 Houdon completed the work and in 1796 it was installed in the Virginia State House.  The statue, which is 81 inches high, combines elements representing aspects of Washington's life.  In it he holds the cane of a gentleman, wears a soldier's uniform, stands in front of a farmer's plow, and rests his arm on an ancient Roman "fasces" or bundle of thirteen sticks - signifying his authority and the unity of the thirteen original states.  In 1910 the General Assembly of Virginia authorized the Gorman Company to make bronze replicas.  The one on view in front of the Museum is one of twenty-two made in the 1910s and 1920s.

Prior to the installation of the Gorman Company statue in front of the Museum in 2006, a statue of Washington by sculptor Donald DeLue (1897-1988) welcomed visitors.  Recently, that statue has been reinstalled in the reading room of the Museum's Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives (at right).  This is a half-size replica of the original statue, which the Grand Lodge of Louisiana commissioned from DeLue in 1959.  That nine-foot-tall statue was erected in front of the Public Library in New Orleans.  According to DeLue, the museum's sculpture is the "original model from which the large one was made."  It depicts Washington wearing his Masonic apron and holding a gavel as he stands next to an column-shaped altar.  The statue was a gift of the Stichter family in memory of Wayne E. Stichter, the Grand Lieutenant Commander of the Supreme Council and the Scottish Rite Deputy for Ohio.  Brother Stichter had served as Vice President of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library prior to his death in 1977.

Top: George Washington, 1924, from original by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828), Gorman Company, Providence, Rhode Island, loaned by the Scottish Rite Valley of Columbus, Ohio, EL2004.001.  Photograph by David Bohl.

Bottom: George Washington as Master Mason, 1959, Donald DeLue (1897-1988), United States, gift of the Stichter Family, 2010.042.1.