40th Anniversary: Masonic Symbols in Decorative Arts

Forty years ago, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library published the book Masonic­­ Symbols in American Decorative Arts to accompany an exhibition on the topic. The book, written in 1976 by former museum curator Barbara Franco, highlighted and contextualized 146 American decorative arts objects with Masonic symbols. Decorative arts, often defined as the design and decoration of functional objects, include glassware, furniture, ceramics, textiles, basketry, and clocks. Artist's and craftsmen commonly incorporated Masonic symbols into their designs in the 1700s and 1800s; a period of rapid growth for American Masonic and fraternal organizations.

The Museum has acquired more Masonic decorative arts objects since 1976. Many of the artifacts featured in Franco's publication have been re-photographed and continue to be a part of our exhibitions. Two of these items are highlighted below and have recently been exhibited at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library.

This pocket watch is featured in our current exhibition “Keeping Time: Clockmakers and Collectors" open through 2017. The watch, designed and manufactured by the Dudley and Hamilton Watch Companies, was made in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, around 1925. William Wallace Dudley's (1851–1938) company produced distinctive watches with movement parts shaped like Masonic symbols. This particular watch includes a trowel, square and compasses, level, bible, and shoe.

This Worshipful Master’s Chair made around 1870 and marked by maker John Luker (b. 1838) was featured in the exhibition "‘Every Variety of Paintings for Lodges’: Decorated Furniture, Paintings and Ritual Objects from the Collection." You can find out more about the chair in this 2008 blog post.The chair is also currently included in the online exhibition of the same name, available here.

Find these objects and more in our new decorative arts album on Flickr! Like, share, and comment on objects you find on our Flickr page.

 

 

 

 

Captions:

Pocket Watch, ca. 1925, Dudley Watch Co. and Hamilton Watch Company, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Gift of Hazel D. Hubley in memory of Bert H. Hubley, 86.32a-b. Photograph by David Bohl.

Masonic Worshipful Master's Chair, ca. 1870, John Luker, Vinton County, Ohio, Gift of the Estate of Charles V. Hagler, 85.20.1.1. Photograph by David Bohl.

Reference:

Barbara Franco, Masonic Symbols in American Decorative Arts, Lexington, Massachusetts: Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, Inc., 1976.

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Enjoy a Video Tour of "Keeping Time: Clockmakers and Collectors"

Click here or on the image below to enjoy a tour of the handsome and historic clock exhibition, "Keeping Time: Clockmakers and Collectors," currently on view at the museum through October 29, 2016. Director of Exhibitions, Hilary Anderson Stelling takes you through. The exhibition features more than 50 clocks from the museum’s holdings—a part of the collection long popular with visitors. Each clock on view tells its own story about who used, made, sold or preserved it. The museum staff is very pleased to share these treasures with you.

The Museum & Library regularly produces videos highlighting its exhibitions and collections. You can subscribe on YouTube and be alerted each time there's something new. Enjoy!

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Taking Care of Clocks in the Collection

Collections Manager Maureen Harper winding a clock in "Keeping Time: Clockmakers and Collectors."

Of the over fifty clocks featured in “Keeping Time:  Clockmakers and Collectors” at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, several clocks in the exhibition are running. Care for the objects in the collection falls to Maureen Harper, the museum’s Collections Manager and a staff member for over twenty years. Among her many duties, Maureen winds, sets and looks after the operating clocks on display. Here she talks about the working clocks under her care.

What do you do to keep the clocks on display running?

Currently we have a handful of working clocks on view in the “Keeping Time” as well as a tall case clock by Nathaniel Mulliken, Jr., that is always in the Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives. They are all eight-day movements. I try to wind them weekly so they won’t run down. I go up to the gallery on Tuesdays with a box of all the clock door keys (some have two) and winders, each tagged with the number of the clock it fits. The clocks that run consistently are pretty accurate but I check the time and reset them or adjust the pendulum if a particular clock is running a little off. 

What do you like about working with the operating clocks?

Most things in our collection don’t move. The running clocks are different. Even though they are antique, with winding they come to life. It is thrilling!

What do you do if one of the clocks stops working?

The older clocks don’t always work perfectly, although some are more reliable than others. The Mulliken in the library, as an example, needs very little done to it. If one of the other clocks stops, I wind it and start the pendulum. If it still isn’t working, I call the horologist to come in and take a look. 

Of the clocks on display, do you have a current favorite?

In “Keeping Time” the George Hoff tall case clock has a pretty bell that rings on the quarter hour. It is also wonderful to see the organ clock running. For years it needed conservation. We kept it in our vault.  Because various elements of the clock were large, the hood, works, face surround and the body of that clock were not assembled while they were being stored. It was hard to get a sense of how the parts would look together. It has been great to be able to have that clock’s backdrop, works and the pipes conserved in the past year. The bellows were also rebuilt; the restorer used kangaroo leather for them. Now when I go into the gallery, I take a lot of satisfaction in seeing the whole clock assembled and, from time to time, hearing it chime and play a tune at a few minutes past the hour.

The Organ Clock in "Keeping Time: Clockmakers and Collectors"

Organ Clock, 1820-1850. T. Hilzinger, retailer. Germany. Gift of Mrs. Willis R. Michael, 77.80.11a-t. Photograph by David Bohl.

At almost nine feet tall, this clock, now on view in “Keeping Time: Clockmakers and Collectors” at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, makes a real impression. But sheer size is just the beginning; this clock features an automated performance by a uniformed band of six musicians every hour. Wooden and metal pipes inside the bonnet provide the music.

Like many clocks exhibited in “Keeping Time,” this one was collected by Willis Michael (1894-1969). Michael started his collection with a single tall case Pennsylvania clock. By the time he died decades later, his collection had grown tremendously. This clock was just one of the nearly one thousand clocks, watches, tools, books and automata that Michael and his wife Ruth (1904-1992) purchased and enjoyed.  In the accompanying photograph, you can see how the Michaels displayed this clock and others at their home in Red Lion, Pennsylvania.   

Interested in different kinds of mechanisms, technology and time-keeping systems, Michael amassed timepieces made in America, Europe and Asia, dating from the 1600s into the 1900s. German makers crafted this organ clock, also called a flötenuhr (flute clock), sometime between the 1820s and the 1850s. The pipes, bellows, painted elements, figures and musical mechanism were made in the Black Forest area. This clock plays several melodies, all ingeniously stored on a pin barrel (visible along with some of the pipes in the image below).  Right now, when activated, the clock plays the tune of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” also known as “God Save the King.”

Willis Michael’s “Clock and Watch Museum.” Red Lion, Pennsylvania, 1949. Photograph by Henry M. Blatner.

A name painted on the clock’s enamel face, “T. Hilzinger,” probably indicates the retailer who sold the clock to its first owner. That person likely commissioned a local cabinetmaker to put together the hood and case to suit the clock owner's needs and taste. On the inside of this case a partial chalked name, “Moses…,” may be that of the cabinetmaker.   

During the first half of the 1800s, some Black Forest craftsmen specialized in producing sophisticated organ clocks like this one. Decorated with scenes from drama, mythology and other sources, and playing a variety of tunes taken from operas, dances and hymns, these clocks kept the time, but primarily delighted and entertained their owners. Today, this clock charms visitors to “Keeping Time” and will through October, 2016.

Detail, Organ Clock, 1820-1850. T. Hilzinger, retailer. Germany. Gift of Mrs. Willis R. Michael, 77.80.11a-t.

Many thanks to Prof. Eduard C. Saluz, Deutsches Uhrenmuseum, Furtwangen, Germany.