New Library Online Catalog

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library has launched a new online library catalog, with an improved interface and searching capabilities.

The library catalog contains information about the nearly 65,000 books and over 1,000 periodical titles available in the museum’s research library collection. The Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives has one of the world’s most comprehensive collections on the subject of American Freemasonry and fraternalism. Its other major collecting area is American history.

 

And stay tuned in April 2025, when we launch a brand-new archives catalog!

50th Anniversary of Cornerstone Laying of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

This March marks the fiftieth anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library in Lexington, Massachusetts. The ceremony took place just a little more than a year before the museum opened to the public. Much to our delight, a 15-minute film of the March 10, 1974 event was made and still exists today in our Library & Archives collection.

The Museum & Library recently had this 16mm film of the event digitized and you can now watch the entire 15-minute film here.

The 1974 Proceedings of the Supreme Council, 33°, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, included a description of the ceremony:

A little more than a year after the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Museum and Library complex occurred, the gray granite cornerstone, gift of the Scottish Rite Masons of New Hampshire, was placed officially with ancient ceremonies conducted by the officers of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, with Grand Master Donald W. Vose presiding.

Some 400 participants and spectators were on hand on a clear but blustery Sunday afternoon for these traditional cornerstone exercises. Active and Emeriti Members of the Supreme Council, who had been in Boston on the preceding days for the Mid-winter Executive Session, served as hosts for the occasion…

In addition to Masonic dignitaries, the ceremony also included representatives of the Town of Lexington, as well as Hugh Shepley from the architectural firm Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, and Walter Creelman from Turner Construction Company.

Preceding the outside cornerstone laying event, Donald Vose, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, gave remarks in the museum's unfinished lobby. Forty-six “distinguished Masonic guests,” as well as many representatives of the Supreme Council all placed “selected items to be preserved for posterity in the cornerstone box. A wide selection of historical documents and Masonic memorabilia and artifacts were sealed inside the cornerstone…” A list of the contents of the box was printed in the 1974 Proceedings of the Supreme Council.

Following the outdoor cornerstone laying ceremony, the guests reassembled in the lobby, where Sovereign Grand Commander George A. Newbury, 33° delivered remarks. Newbury was the visionary and driving force behind the founding of the museum. In a speech he delivered at the 1972 Annual Session of the Supreme Council, Newbury spoke of his vision:

Our objective is to set up at Lexington a museum and a library devoted primarily to the visual and auditory presentation of facets of American History which will stimulate a lively interest in it and an appreciation of the tremendous achievements of those who founded our Country, established her form of government, developed her institutions and economy, and performed the miracle of bringing her from a scattered group of weak and struggling colonies to a place of World leadership in the phenomenally short period of two hundred years.

...We plan to tell a thrilling story--the story of America.

Were you at the cornerstone laying event or otherwise involved with the founding of the Scottish Rite Museum & Library? We’d love to hear from you!

Captions:

Photo 29, Museum and Library cornerstone laying photograph album, 1974, Gift of the Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., A1992-175-001

Photo 39, Museum and Library cornerstone laying photograph album, 1974, Gift of the Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., A1992-175-001

Recent Acquisition: Hill Family Masonic Collection, 1817-2019

Donations to the collection, along with museum purchases, have made the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library one of the premier institutions in the world for the study of American Freemasonry and fraternalism. The staff are always grateful for the museum’s generous supporters and donors who have helped to build its world-class collection over the course of its nearly fifty year history. Today, we're highlighting the contributions of Jon Gregory Adams Hill, 33°, who has donated numerous artifacts to the museum’s collection (see a selection here), and who has recently donated the Hill Family Masonic Collection, 1817-2019, to the museum’s archives.

Royal Arch certificate issued to Stephen Baker, 1817 May 23. Handwritten petition of John B. Hill to Liberty Lodge, 1848 November 6. Letter from John E. Giddings and H. L. Foster, 1858 April 9.

Amongst the nearly 400 documents found in this collection is this 1817 Royal Arch certificate issued by Concord Chapter, No. 1, of Wilmington, North Carolina, to Stephen Baker; this 1848 petition of John Beckford Hill, great grandfather of Jon Gregory Adams Hill, to Liberty Lodge of Beverly, Massachusetts; and this 1858 letter from John E. Gidding and H. L. Foster to Liberty Lodge in which they pledge to “abstain from the use of spirituous and intoxicating liquors” for a period of five years on penalty of a $100 fine. These items, which will be added to the Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives’ digital collections website in the upcoming months, represent only a small fraction of the many items added to the museum’s collection, built in part by the generosity of our supporters. The museum staff is extremely grateful for the continued support of our donors in helping us ito preserve and provide access to the history of American Freemasonry and fraternalism for future generations. Would you like to donate an item to the Museum and Library’s collection? Please click on this link for more information.

 

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Captions

Royal Arch certificate issued to Stephen Baker, 1817 May 23. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, MA 006.

Handwritten petition of John B. Hill to Liberty Lodge, 1848 November 6. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, MA 300.043

Letter from John E. Giddings and H. L. Foster, 1858 April 9. Collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, MA 300.043

 

 

 

 

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Seminar: “Filling in the Gaps: Finding Your Family’s Role in American History”

 

Zuller-Moyer Family Record, 1825. Henry Moyer (b. 1785), Minden, New York. Museum Purchase, A83/015/1

August 6, 2016

9 AM-4 PM

$85 Seminar + Lunch or $65 Seminar only

Just announced! The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library will host the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s Family History Day on August 6, 2016 from 9 AM-4 PM. Entitled “Filling in the Gaps: Finding Your Family’s Role in American History,” this full day seminar will include speakers from both organizations and beyond to discuss how researchers can uncover lost stories about how their ancestors lived and worked. The seminar will take place at the Museum located at 33 Marrett Road in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Lectures will include how to use newspapers, military pension files and fraternal records to discover new information about your family’s past. Rhonda R. McClure, a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer, will discuss “Finding Family Stories in Newspapers.” NEHGS’s Chief Genealogist David Allen Lambert will review “Occupations in Early New England” and “Researching Military Pension Files: Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War” to help registrants understand the daily lives of their ancestors. 

John Coelho, Archivist

John Coelho, archivist at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library and frequent blog contributor will discuss “Researching Your Ancestor’s Role in Fraternal Organizations.” This lecture will include information on the types of Masonic and fraternal records that exist, where they are located, and how they may be useful to genealogical research. Coelho will also discuss how to use Masonic and fraternal resources in conjunction with more traditional genealogical tools to discover more detailed information about family history.

The seminar includes the opportunity to interact with genealogists and staff of both organizations, browse publications, enter to win door prizes, and meet other family historians. Details and registration are available at the NEHGS website. 

New to the Collection: Scottish Rite Rose Croix Apron

Scottish Rite Rose Croix apron, 1810-1840, unidentified maker, France or United States, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library purchase, 2015.053.

Recently, we were able to add this Masonic apron to our collection.  It shows symbols associated with the Rose Croix degree of the Scottish Rite, which is the fraternity that founded and supports the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library.  Many people, Freemasons and non-Masons alike, assume that the fraternity’s name, “Scottish Rite,” honors the roots of the group and that it originated in Scotland.  Some historical sources have fostered this story by suggesting that Scottish supporters of the Stuarts of England invented the Scottish Rite degrees in the 1600s to advance their political cause.  The Scottish Rite was actually established in France in the 1700s, followed trade routes to the West Indies and was then imported to North America.

Once a man becomes a Master Mason, he may choose to join additional Masonic groups, such as the Scottish Rite.  Today, members perform a series of twenty-nine degrees (4th-32nd) as morality plays.  Freemasons often call the Scottish Rite “the University of Freemasonry,” as the degrees are designed to supplement and amplify the philosophical lessons of the first three degrees by exploring the philosophy, history and ethics that guide members.  A 33rd degree is conferred as an honorary degree on selected members.

The Rose Croix degree, for which this apron was used, is the 18th degree in the Scottish Rite’s Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.  It tells the biblical story of the building of the Temple of Zerubbabel on the site of Solomon’s Temple, which had been destroyed.  The apron shows the symbols used in the ritual: the pelican piercing her breast to feed her children with her blood; a cross with a rose; and several symbolic tools along the side.  As the symbols on the apron suggest – note the implements of the crucifixion at bottom center – the ritual explores the idea of resurrection and alludes to the story of Jesus Christ.

The design of this apron is probably French, although it can be hard to tell if an apron was actually made in France, or was influenced by French style and made in the United States.  The motif of the ribbons along the sides with tools is often seen on French aprons.  For more examples of Rose Croix aprons, see our recent publication, The Badge of a Freemason: Masonic Aprons from the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, which can be ordered here.

 

President William McKinley: Fraternity Man and "Idol of Ohio"

William McKinley (1843-1901), the 25th president of the United States, was born on January 29, 1843, in Niles, Ohio. At the age of 58, shortly after being re-elected to his second presidential term, he was shot in the chest twice at close range while attending the Buffalo Pan-American Exposition. Gangrene set into his wound and he died eight days later on September 14th, 1901, in Buffalo, New York. McKinley is one of four presidents assassinated in our country’s history.

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library owns several interesting artifacts related to the death and memory of William McKinley. McKinley was a Freemason like many presidents before him. He received the first three degrees at Hiram Lodge No. 21 in Winchester, Virginia, in 1865, during his Civil War service. According to a story recounted by General Horatio C. King (1837-1918) at a New York banquet in 1906, McKinley witnessed a friendly exchange between a Union doctor and some wounded Confederate soldiers. When the doctor imparted to McKinley that the soldiers were “Brother Masons,” McKinley is quoted as stating “...if that is Masonry, I will take some of it myself.”  He returned to Ohio and affiliated with Canton Lodge No. 60 and Eagle Lodge No. 431, later renamed William McKinley lodge No. 431. Fellow Mason Horatio C. King's story about McKinley's interest in Freemasonry was allegedly rooted in a conversation he had with McKinley in Washington, D.C., just months before his assassination.

McKinley could be described as a fraternity man due to his active involvement in local fraternal groups including: Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Grand Army of the Republic, Military Order of the Loyal Legion, Knights Templar, Royal Arch Masonry and Knights of Pythias. In a 1959 biography by Margaret Leech (1893-1974) McKinley is described as a "great joiner with a keen sense of group loyalty." McKinley went on to have a storied political career serving as an Ohio state Congressman from 1877 to 1891 and as Ohio's Governor from 1892 to 1896. One hundred and twenty years ago this year, he won his 1896 presidential bid with Garret Hobart (1844-1899) as Vice President.

Before his assassination in 1901, McKinley was invited to a Templar reception hosted by California Commandery No.1, Knights Templar, in San Francisco, California. He accepted the invitation and included a visit to the reception as part of a previously planned national tour with his ailing wife Ida (1847-1907). He made stops in El Paso, Denver and Los Angeles on his way to San Francisco. On May 22nd he addressed a crowd of twelve thousand people including fourteen hundred Knights Templar. He thanked his "Brother Masons" and spoke about brotherhood in the context of  American citizenship and the preservation of liberty. He and his wife returned to the White House on May 30, 1901, and he died three months later.

A national mourning period for McKinley produced many commemorative memorial artifacts like the mourning poster above and these stereocards. The images in these stereocards show the Knights Templar marching in McKinley’s funeral procession in Canton, Ohio, on September 19, 1901, and floral wreaths for his funeral service at the Church of the Savior United Methodist Church. To learn more about another McKinley mourning object, a 1901 commemorative glass platter, see our previous blog post here.

To see political textiles from William McKinley’s  presidential campaign visit the museum to view the exhibition Who Would You Vote For? – Campaign Banners from the Robert A. Frank Collection, which is on view through December 10, 2016.

Captions:

We Mourn Our Loss, ca.1901, unidentified maker, United States, Museum Purchase, A76/023/7.

President McKinley Memorial, 1901, B.W. Kilburn, Littleton, New Hampshire, Gift of Michael T. Heitke, 2013.036.49.

Knights Templar at President McKinley's Funeral, 1901, The Whiting View Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, Gift of Michael T. Heitke, 2013.036.48.

References:

Ray V. Denslow, William McKinley: Soldier, Statesman, Freemason, President, 1949, Trenton, MO: reprinted from Proceedings of the Grand Commandery Knights Templar of Missouri, 1949.

Margaret Leech, In the Days of McKinley, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1959.

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Commemorating the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth Day

Ambrotype of Unidentified Man in Masonic Apron and Independent Order of Odd Fellows Collar, 1855-1865, unidentified maker, United States, Museum purchase, 85.41. Photograph by David Bohl.

June 19th will be the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth day, also known as Emancipation Day, in the United States.  Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863 declaring that slaves in all states still at war with the federal government were free and would remain so.The proclamation was not fully realized until June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger (1821-1876) announced freedom for all slaves in the Southwest including Texas, the last rebel state to allow slavery following the end of the Civil War. The day is believed to have been named “Juneteenth” by those freed in Texas in 1865. The 13th amendment outlawing slavery everywhere in the United States was subsequently ratified in December 1865.

Since that time, nationwide grassroots celebrations have commemorated this significant moment in American history. In June 2014, the U.S. Senate passed legislation formally recognizing June 19th as “Juneteenth Independence Day” and supporting the nationwide celebration of the holiday.  In light of this anniversary the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library is taking a moment to highlight some of the items in our collection related to African American Freemasonry (commonly referred to as Prince Hall Freemasonry) and fraternalism.

The Prince Hall Monument in Cambridge, MA was unveiled on May 15, 2010.  Image courtesy of The Prince Hall Monument Project.

African American Freemasonry emerged in 1775 when Prince Hall (1738-1807), an active Methodist and leading citizen in Boston’s African American community, attempted to join Boston’s Masonic Lodges but was denied membership. In response, he and fourteen other African Americans who had been rejected by the established Boston lodges turned to a Masonic Lodge attached to a British regiment stationed in the city. Initiated in 1775, Hall and his Masonic brothers met as members of the British lodge until the Revolutionary War ended. In 1784 Prince Hall and the other members of the British lodge, petitioned the Grand Lodge of England to form a new lodge on American soil. The governing body granted his request, creating African Lodge No. 459.

When Prince Hall died in 1807, African American masons chose to give their fraternity his name to distinguish it from predominantly white “mainstream” lodges that generally excluded blacks throughout the 1800s and early 1900s. Today, there are reported to be over 4500 Prince Hall Lodges worldwide. After the civil war, Prince Hall Freemasonry and other fraternal groups, like the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows and Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks of the World spread throughout the North and South, helping to establish community institutions and benefits for freed families. Prince Hall and other African American Masonic leaders like Moses Dickson (1824-1901) and Lewis Hayden (1811-1889) were  influential activists in the abolitionist and civil rights movements of their era. Their leadership and influence emphasizes how Freemasonry and fraternalism impacted civil rights efforts and afforded African Americans the opportunity to organize toward an equal and free black citizenship in American society.  

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library is continuing to look for items related to African American Freemasonry and fraternalism and welcomes inquiries about potential donations. To see items related to African American Freemasonry and fraternalism currently in our collection please visit our museum Flickr page.

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This apron originally belonged to an unidentified member of Wilmington, North Carolina’s James W. Telfair Lodge No. 510 who was initiated in March 1915. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of North Carolina was chartered in 1870. The lodge was named for James W. Telfair Jr. (1837-1914), a slave who later became a reverend at St. Stephen’s African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, North Carolina. Telfair served as Grand Master of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of North Carolina.  

 

 

Caption: Prince Hall Master Mason Apron, United States, 1915, unidentified maker, United States, Museum purchase, 99.044.7. Photograph by David Bohl.

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  In December of 1865, Lewis Hayden, Grand Master of the Massachusetts Prince Hall Grand Lodge, delivered a stirring address to members of that Grand Lodge, calling into question the continued discrimination of African Americans in some Masonic lodges and American society.

Caption: Caste among Masons; address before Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Massachusetts, at the festival of St. John the Evangelist, December 27, 1865 By Lewis Hayden, Grand Master.(Boston, Massachusetts: Edward S. Coombs & Company, [1866])

Call number: RARE 90.H414 1866.

 

 

 

 

 

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The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows was created in Europe and is a fraternal group that includes mutual benefits. Peter Ogden created the American counterpart of GUOOF in 1843 after obtaining a charter from the fraternal society of England. Membership exploded after the Civil War when African Americans were able to organize lodges in the south. The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows reported a membership of 108,000 in the late 1990s.

 Caption: Grand United Order of Odd Fellows Chart, 1881, Currier & Ives, New York, 80.9.1. Photograph by David Bohl.

 

 

 

 

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  The Improved Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks of the World is an African American fraternal order founded in 1897. The IBPOEW offered leadership training, professional networking opportunities, social fellowship, and community service.

Caption: Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World Apron, 1900-1920, USA, Unidentified maker, Museum purchase. Photograph by David Bohl.

References:

Jeffrey Croteau. "Prince Hall: Masonry and the Man." The Northern Light Feb. 2011: 10-13.

Peter P. Hinks and Stephen Kantrowitz, eds. All Men Free and Brethren: Essays on the History of African American Freemasonry (New York: Cornell University Press, 2013).

Nina Mjagkij, ed. Organizing Black America: An Encyclopedia of African American Associations (New York: Garland Publishing, 2001).

Aimee E. Newell, The Badge of a Freemason: Masonic Aprons from the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library (Lexington, MA: Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, 2015), 222-224.

Previous Blog Posts:

Jeffrey Croteau. "Moses Dickson and the Order of Twelve." Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Blog. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. May 26, 2008

Aimee Newell. "A New Discovery about an old photo." Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Blog. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library.May 1, 2012.

Aimee Newell. "From Boston to Washington D.C.: Prince Hall Freemasonry." Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Blog. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. February 4, 2010.

Connecting to our Collection: Museum & Library launches new Flickr page

As the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library continues to digitize its collection we are constantly searching for new and exciting ways to share our online resources with our members and the general public. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to access our objects and photographs and the stories they tell. So we are excited to announce the launch of our new Flickr museum page on May 26th.

The page will feature a curated selection of artifacts and photographs that reflect the variety and scope of our collection. We encourage folks to comment, like, and share the objects and photographs on our page.  Although you can browse through our page without joining Flickr, you can only comment, like, or share our images if you have a free Flickr account.On the Flickr page you can scroll through our objects via our “photostream” or look at items we have categorized within different “albums.” For example, you can find an image of the 1870 print Washington as a Freemason in the “George Washington: Master Mason” Album. Information about the different albums and the museum can be found under album titles and our profile page. Each object includes some basic provenance information and a link back to our online collections database. In our database you can search for a specific item or accession number you are interested in.  We will add more content to the site in the coming months and are happy to have yet another way for you to browse and research our collection online.

This museum Flickr page is just the first phase of a much larger digital access project. We intend to utilize other digital tools in order to better engage our audiences with our objects as well as develop new online exhibitions, tours, programs, and digital mapping and storytelling projects to enhance the general understanding of American Freemasonry and fraternalism. We also aim to create content specifically for members of the Scottish Rite Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, many of whom may not have the opportunity to see our museum and collection in person.

You can find our Flickr museum page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalsrmml. Also look for a link to our Flickr page on our website Homepage and Collections page.

If you have any questions about how the site works or questions about a particular item please send an inquiry to ylaxton[@]srmml.org.

 

 

Happy 40th! A Look Back at the Museum & Library's Grand Opening

Orientation Exhibition at Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, 1975. MNH 025

Forty years ago today, on April 20, 1975, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library officially opened its doors to the public - two hundred years and one day after the Battle of Lexington. Over 1,400 people attended the opening day ceremonies, a crowd that included local school children, Active Members of the Scottish Rite's Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, state and local politicians, and representatives of various state and national-level Masonic organizations, as well as many local citizens. The Museum's first director, Clement M. Silvestro (1924-2014), predicted that the Museum & Library - opened in time to celebrate the U.S. bicentennial in 1976 - would be "counted among the enduring projects emanating from the Bicentennial commemorative events." Among the first exhibitions was an "orientation exhibition" (pictured above) in the Museum's lobby which "explained that the new Museum and Library is sponsored by the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States of America [and] was built to commemorate the 200th anniversary of our Nation's founding..."

Flag raising ceremony at Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, April 20, 1975. MNH 025

A recounting of the day's events in the Supreme Council's 1975 Annual Proceedings, includes a description of the flag raising ceremony (photo at right):

"Prior to the dedication ceremonies, students of the Lexington Public Schools presented the Museum with a thirteen-star flag, and raised it to the accompaniment of musket fire from the Minuteman Guard of Honor, and a musical salute by the Linn Village Drum Band. The fifth graders participating in the flag raising ceremony were George Young and Mary Lyons from the Adams School, Laura Taylor and Keith Johnson from the Munroe School, and Micah Sheveloff and Stephen Shapiro from the Bowman School."

Museum Director Clement M. Silvestro speaking at Museum's dedication day ceremonies, April 20, 1975. MNH 025

Following the flag raising, a dedication ceremony took place in the Museum's auditorium. Members of the Scottish Rite's Supreme Council, led by then-Sovereign Grand Commander George A. Newbury, conducted a "richly symbolic and dramatic Masonic ceremony." Secretary of the Air Force, John L. McLucas, then delivered a dedicatory address. After McLucas spoke, Silvestro, the Museum's Director, standing at a lectern that's now part of the Museum's collection, delivered his own address to the packed auditorium.

 

Were you at the Museum & Library's "Dedication and Grand Opening" on April 20, 1975? Tell us about it in the comments below. If you took photos that day, we'd especially love to hear from you!

The Magic Lantern

Magic Lantern, ca. 1900. Gift of the Harrisburg Consistory, S.P.R.S. 32°, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 93.041.1. Photograph by David Bohl.

Magic lanterns, in their most basic form, were invented in the 1600s and are considered a precursor to the modern slide projector and even the motion picture. These lanterns were a mainstay in Masonic lodges throughout the world in the 1800s and early 1900s as they were a useful tool in teaching members about Freemasonry and initiatory rites. The lantern used an artificial light source, which evolved from candles and kerosene lamps to limelight and electricity, and a combination of lenses to enlarge small transparent images or miniature models and project them onto a wall or screen. Lanterns could vary from a simple wooden box with brass parts to ornately designed boxes with multiple lenses. In America, magic lanterns were often referred to as stereopticons so as not to be confused with entertainment that may be provided with more basic toy lanterns. “Stereopticons” were usually biunial or double lens lanterns. The terms “Sciopticon” and “Optical Lantern” were sometimes used in a similar manner.

Several scientists and mathematicians developed projection devices in the 1600s including Thomas Walgenstein (1622-1701) and Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695). Although Huygens is attributed with inventing the magic lantern, it was Walgenstein, a Dutch mathematician, who coined the term "Magic Lantern" and began conducting lantern demonstrations throughout Europe. In the late 1700s Etienne-Gaspard Robertson(1763-1837), a Belgian physicist and stage magician started to “conjure” ghosts for audiences. These shows lay the foundation for the popular late 18th century phantasmagoria lantern shows that featured skeletons, devils, and ghosts. Aside from these entertainment spectacles, the lanterns were used also for science, education and religious instruction by wealthy academics and Jesuit priests. As the lantern became more popular and readily available, traveling lanternists could be found hosting public performances in taverns and public meeting houses.

Toy Lantern and Lantern Slide (Little Red Riding Hood), ca. 1900, Gift of Dorothy A. and Albert H. Richardson, Jr., 84.18.42a and 43. Photographs by David Bohl.

The lantern was gradually used more often for advertising, propaganda and entertainment purposes as it became more popular in the 1700s and 1800s. The lantern’s diverse range and use made it ubiquitous in churches, fraternal organizations and public institutions in the Victorian era.  Lanterns became more lightweight, began using standardized slide sizes and soon smaller toy lanterns were mass produced, continuing to increase their presence in schools, homes, and public lectures. The advent of cinema and the invention of smaller transparencies and the Kodachrome three-color process led to a decline in the popularity of magic lanterns.

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library owns a collection of magic lanterns and glass lantern slides, many of which were donated by  Masonic and  fraternal groups like the Knights Templar, Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows. The slides vary from those specific to Freemasonry to those depicting events in world history, literary and biblical stories, folktales, and photographs. Catalogs published in the late 1800s by The M.C. Lilley Company, one of many fraternal regalia manufacturers, included product advertisements for magic lanterns and slides for lodges. According to the 1896 M.C. Lilley catalog no. 195, a Lodge or Valley could purchase a lantern for anywhere from thirty to seventy dollars and lantern slides for two dollars each.

Masonic Magic Lantern Slide (Master Mason’s Carpet), Gift of Armen Amerigian, 90.19.8a.

Masonic Knights Templar Magic Lantern Slide, "Emblem of KT", 1906, Harry G. Healy, New York, New York, Gift of Jacques Noel Jacobsen, Jr., 87.41.16.27.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stop by the museum to see a magic lantern on exhibit (Spring 2015). The lantern on display was donated by the family of Knights of Malta former Supreme Commander Gerard Dallas Jencks. Also check out our website and online catalog in the coming months as we scan and share more images of our extensive magic lantern slide collection.

Update: Please visit the online exhibition, "Illuminating Brotherhood: Magic Lanterns and Slides from the Collection" for more information and photographs about magic lantern history.

References:

Borton, Deborah and Terry Borton, Before the Movies: American Magic-Lantern Entertainment and the Nation’s First Great Screen Artist, Joseph Boggs Beale (New Barnet, Herts, United Kingdom: John Libbey publishing, 2015)

Freeman, Carla Conrad. "Visual Media in Education: An Informal History." Visual Resources. Volume 6 (1990): 327-340.

Masonic Lodge Supplies, Catalogue 1893. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library. Found in Collection, A2002/96/1, Box 4, Masonic Lodge Supplies.

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