As he explains, his grandfather was Freemason in the 30's, as well as a construction worker. While previously visiting a lodge near Gallup, New Mexico, he spotted one of these hand-woven rugs filled with Masonic symbolism, and the local brethren told him the nearby tribe had made it. Subsequently, he installed flooring for several buildings on the nearby reservation in return for them making this rug. Over time, it was passed to his lodge, then came back to the family.
Showing posts with label antiques. Show all posts
Showing posts with label antiques. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 08, 2024
Antiques Road Show Features Navajo Masonic Carpet
Friday, September 15, 2023
Minnesota Lodge Restores Historic 1857 Charter
 |
| 1857 Charter of Mankato Lodge No. 12 in Minnesota (CNHI News Service) |
In 1857, the just-formed Grand Lodge of Minnesota AF&AM issued a charter for that state's twelfth Masonic lodge – Mankato Lodge No. 12. The lodge was first organized in 1856, the year before statehood was granted to Minnesota. A century and a half after it was issued, Mankato Lodge has taken steps to carefully restore and preserve their original, fragile document.
Mankato's charter (or warrant) was printed on animal skin parchment, most likely vellum, a specially treated piece of calfskin or lambskin, which was often used to create significant documents in the past. It's why academic diplomas used to be nicknamed 'sheepskins.' Vellum is an unusual material, but if it is well cared for, it can last for centuries – there are extant documents on parchment and vellum from over a thousand years ago. Unfortunately, if it's NOT well cared for, subjected to high heat, moisture or humidity, animal skin parchment and vellum can quite literally begin to pucker and shrivel up over time.
At the Masonic Library & Museum of Indiana we have received many lodge charters or Masonic degree diplomas from the early to mid-1800s made of vellum that look like badly wadded linen handkerchiefs. Rescuing them from that condition is not always successful and requires very special treatment to accomplish.
WB Mark Robbins, PM of Mankato Lodge and longtime member and officer at the Masonic Society, passed this story along to me.
Mark G. Robbins of the Masonic Lodge talks to paper
conservationist Amanda Malkin about her work on Masonic
Lodge 12’s historical document, its warrant. (CNHI News Service)
Current members of Lodge 12 raised concerns about the continued safety of its 1857 official approval by the then-grand master of all Masons.
“We’ve known where it was and what it was ... it’s valuable to us,” said Mark G. Robbins, a Lodge 12 former master.
He feared, however, that someone unfamiliar with the lodge’s history could accidentally throw away the tube and its contents.
Robbins was tasked with the safekeeping of the document Masons referred to as a warrant. He turned Lodge 12’s precious parchment with ink calligraphy over to a St. Peter woman who specializes in preserving works on paper.
“I found Amanda’s business, PaperLovesConservation, on the internet. I thought we would have to send the warrant off to the East Coast, but she’s local so we didn’t have to insure it or ship it,” Robbins said.
Amanda Malkin not only conserves club and organization charters similar to the local Freemasons’ document, she has the skills necessary to repair maps, art prints and watercolors works.
A professional associate of the American Institute for Conservation, Malkin founded her business in 2016. She has a master’s degree in the conservation of fine art. Before moving to Minnesota, she held positions in Washington, D.C., at a Smithsonian art gallery and a museum.
Malkin returned the warrant to Lodge 12 early Tuesday evening. Masons gathered to see the restored document and to hear her PowerPoint presentation about the process.
She had mounted the cleaned warrant on an acid-free background, then placed the document in a frame behind clear Plexiglas designed to filter out harmful ultraviolet light.
She found the piece of parchment to be in surprisingly good shape. The warrant showed no damage from the brown ink used to write and draw on its surface.
“Back then, scribes made their own ink and it could be highly acidic. Sometimes, the ink used on a document will eat holes in it.”
“The warrant is in great condition. Still, it should not be out on display for too long,” Malkin advised the Masons.
Robbins plans to store the document in a safe at the Masons’ brick two-story building at the corner of Second and Hickory streets.
Animal skin vellum has mostly been replaced these days by cotton-based paper vellum (you can find it in most well-stocked art supply stores). But the authentic stuff is still made with animal hides and used today to create archival copies of Acts of the English Parliament, and for printing Torah scrolls.
Saturday, August 12, 2023
Freemason and Odd Fellows Exhibit at Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock
The exhibit is on loan from the American Folk Art Museum in New York.
Mystical, evocative, and sometimes simply strange, the art of fraternal practice is rich in symbols that are oddly familiar yet strikingly uncommon. Through arcane and alluring artifacts, Mystery and Benevolence brings to light the histories of the Freemasons and the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows, two fraternal secret societies with deep roots in American history. The over eighty carvings, textiles, sculptures, and adornments that constitute this exhibition were used from the late eighteenth through mid-twentieth centuries, and retain their clandestine allure to this day.
The Historic Arkansas Museum is located at 1100 North Street, Little Rock, Arkansas. Hours are Tuesday – Saturday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM; Sunday 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM. For admission and more information, visit their website at www.arkansasheritage.com
Sunday, July 16, 2023
Antique Collectors Discovering Masonic Bling and Tchotchkes
"Although the regalia associated with masonic ceremonies are often passed down the family tree, antique galleries like ours occasionally come across some fascinating artifacts. Most such wear is beautifully crafted from leather and silk, the aprons, robes and sashes reflecting a quality of craftsmanship all but lost today. Various symbols and initials often ornament these items, opaque to the non-initiate but conveying a special meaning to those in the know.I'm glad to see interest in anything Masonic growing among non-Masons (especially when it's positive). It would be nice if that actually translated into men discovering the fraternity and having enough interest to actually petition a lodge. Unfortunately for those of us who are actually members of the fraternity already, such a trend will drive prices higher on antique fraternal ephemera, which is especially rough for us in the Masonic museum field.
"Collecting vintage fraternal regalia is increasing in popularity, sometimes in tribute to past family masons, but often simply as a diverse and little-understood category. And who knows — perhaps some future initiation ceremony will include even you."
Thursday, March 23, 2023
2023 Sankey Lecture: Heather Calloway Sunday 3/26
The Grand Lodge of AF&AM of Canada in the Province of Ontario has a unique relationship with the part of the academic world that studies our fraternity. The annual Dr. Charles A. Sankey Lecture in Masonic Studies at Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario is presented each year through a unique partnership with the Grand Lodge. Since 2010, the Sankey Lecture has presented significant academic scholars who specialize in Freemasonry or fraternalism, and in recent years, these have been recorded and made available online HERE.
Dr. Heather Calloway will be the presenter for this year's 14th annual Sankey Lecture, this coming Sunday, March 26th from 3:00pm - 5:30pm. Her program will be "Skeletons in the Lodge Hall: Hidden Collections and Fraternal Curiosities," followed by a Masonic 'Antique Roadshow.'
From the Brock University website:
The Marie Kondo Method. Swedish Death Cleaning. “Hoarders” reality TV shows. Downsizing.
De-cluttering is a hot trend in our heavily material culture.
At risk, however, is the loss of culturally significant objects and entire collections of ephemera, records, and artifacts.
Dr. Heather K. Calloway, the current Executive Director of University Collections at Indiana University, is working to manage and preserve collections of fraternal organizations, namely, the Freemasons, that are at serious risk of being discarded.
“Whether a lodge is moving, closing, or downsizing their space, the collections amassed by fraternal groups are at risk of being orphaned… They are often stored in closets, basements, and attics where environmental and storage conditions are abysmal. There is little or no emergency planning for these objects,” says Dr. Calloway.
Dr. Calloway will be presenting her lecture, “Skeletons in the Lodge Hall: Hidden Collections and Fraternal Curiosities,” at the 14th Annual Charles A. Sankey Lecture Series on Sunday, March 26th, in Sean O’Sullivan Theatre.
[snip]
“We are always excited when the Sankey Lecture comes around,” says archivist David Sharron, the Head of Archives and Special Collections at the Brock Library. “Hearing presenters like Heather Calloway and the attending Masons and scholars speak about Freemasonry so intelligently and passionately makes us feel secure that the Masonic book collection we have at Brock will always be needed and regarded in the best light.
As a part of the event, which is back in person for the first time since 2019, Dr. Calloway will be bringing some objects from the Indiana University’s collection of Freemason objects. Along with Mr. Sharron, she invites members of the public to bring in their own Freemason objects to discuss their historical significance.
Dr. Calloway notes that, “Fraternal history and material culture is found everywhere. It is held by private groups, archives, public and academic libraries, historical societies, and museums… Without action to address these needs for collection stewardship, many are at high risk for damage or loss.”
When: Sunday, March 26, 2023, 3:00 pm.Where: Sean O’Sullivan Theatre
Please reserve your FREE TICKETS in advance at Eventbrite.
RECEPTION: After the Lecture there will be a reception (from approx. 5:30 to 6:30 pm). All attendees are welcome to stay to chat with the speaker and with members of the Brock and Masonic communities. Light refreshments will be offered free of charge, and a cash bar will be available.
FREEMASON "ANTIQUES ROADSHOW": At the reception attendees are welcome (if they wish) to bring easily portable Masonic or related possessions that might have a historical or personal meaning. While they will not attempt to suggest a monetary value, Prof. Heather Calloway and David Sharron (Brock's University Archivist) will be on hand to discuss the possible significance of your items and strategies for preserving them in the best way possible.
LIVESTREAM OPTION: For those who cannot attend in person, there will also be a livestream during the Lecture. To view the livestream, use your browser to go to http://live.sankeylectures.ca. Participation in the Freemason "Antiques Roadshow" will not be possible via the livestream.
More details can be found on ExperienceBU.
Heather Calloway is currently serving as the Executive Director of University Collections at Indiana University. She spent 14 years at the headquarters of the Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction's House of the Temple in Washington, D.C., as the Museum Curator and Managing Director of Digital and Social Media. She's also served as the inaugural archivist for the Archives & Special Collections at Washington College, the University Archivist for the Perdue Museum and Archives at Salisbury University, and as the Librarian/Archivist for the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C.
She is also heading up the creation of Indiana University's Center for Fraternal Collections and Research in Bloomington, Indiana, devoted to the collecting, protecting, and sharing of artifacts from the world of fraternal organizations. Along with the most famous groups like the Freemasons, the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Columbus, there were over a thousand similar groups that were established during the "Golden Age of Fraternalism" between the end of the American Civil War and the Great Depression of 1929.
Monday, May 09, 2022
Fraternal Swords Aren't Always Masonic
While attempting to save her message after reading it on my phone, I accidentally deleted her note and the photos. And I don't mean 'rescue-it-from-your-trash-folder' deleted, but double deleted it even from that folder. I've tried all the restoration tricks I know of, to no avail.
So, if you are Ms. Tobias, the answer is no, the sword in your photos is not Masonic. Unfortunately, I only glanced at the photos for a few seconds before I stupidly deleted them. But I did look at them long enough to identify the symbols.
The scabbard is indeed from the American Legion veterans association. But the sword itself has the very Masonic-looking square and compass with an upraised arm holding a hammer in the center that denotes the Junior Order of United American Mechanics on its counter-guard. It's easy to get it confused with the Masonic symbol, but the two groups are not related.
It's odd that the JrO. U.A.M. sword would have an American Legion scabbard - perhaps he belonged to the two groups simultaneously. Or he may have lost or damaged the proper one for the JrO. U.A.M. and just substituted the American Legion scabbard so it would be protected.
Both organizations are still in operation today.
In any case, the best source of information for identifying these antique swords is John D. Hamilton's indispensable book, The American Fraternal Sword: An Illustrated Reference Guide. Highly recommended, especially for fraternal museums, collectors and antique dealers.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Be On The Lookout For Stolen Masonic Jewels
A collection of twenty antique English Masonic jewels and collars has been stolen from a lodge in Warwickshire, England.
According to a story yesterday in the Warwick Courier, the jewels were on display in a cabinet inside of a meeting room at Alderson House on High Street in Warwick. They were stolen at the beginning of July.
Brethren are encouraged to keep an eye out for these items turning up for sale online or elsewhere.
It is believed that the items are valued between £6,000 to £10,000 [US$7,500 - $12,500].
The Alderson House Freemasons are now appealing to the community for help in tracking down the items.
[Peter Round, manager of Alderson House] said: "If anybody has been offered these please let us know. These are made of paste and silver, not diamonds like they might think.
"It is the importance of them which is valuable to someone who is a collector of these things.
"A proper collector is probably a Freemason anyway so they would want to know where they have came from.
"I think it was an opportunist theft.
Alderson House is the meeting place of Shakespeare Lodge 284 and Lodge of Warwick 8011, among others.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Have you seen this jewel?
When a Brother passes away, his family often has no idea what the dozens of jewels, pins, certificates, aprons, swords, hats and other keepsakes found in a drawer, cigar box or attic trunk really meant to their departed relative, or to the fraternity as a whole. They frequently become nothing more than gimcrack to be unceremoniously sent to the trash, or put out on Ebay to generate a few dollars. In many cases, they are far more important to the departed Brother's lodge or appendant chapter than any monetary price they can fetch, in terms of keeping our heritage alive.
Most of us over 50 at some point have the uncomfortable "If something happens to me" discussion with a member of our family (or we should, anyway), and most Masons at least mention the desire to be buried with our white lambskin apron. Perhaps the simplest way to let our families know not to simply send our other treasured ephemera to the dump is to put a note in storage with our apron. There are lodges that have a tradition of passing along rings from departed brethren to new members or WMs, and PM jewels passed along to the next generation of lodge leaders are a far more meaningful connection to our history than just an aging photo on the wall of the dining room.
Brother Seth Anthony in Pennsylvania was presented with a frustrating situation a few days ago, and for anyone who feels a responsibility to preserve our Masonic heritage, it can be a heartbreaker.
From Who cares about history?
Yesterday I was presented with an item of immeasurable historical importance to Pennsylvania DeMolay. There, on my screen, was the DeMolay Founder's Cross, given to Paul Miller Moore by "Dad" Land himself!
For those who don't know, the Founder's Cross is the rarest DeMolay honor ever given. It was only given by "Dad" Land to persons he desired to honor "for their personal, consistent and conspicuous loyalty to him." The jewel was to be worn over the heart. This was not a Grand or Supreme Council honor-- it was a personal expression of "Dad" Land's heartfelt gratitude. Exactly 135 were given out in his lifetime between 1937 and 1959, and they are never to be issued again. We have never seen a published list of all 135 recipients, and an extensive search of the internet only yielded the names of only a few recipients; James A. Wieland of Pittsburgh, PA; Paul Miller More of Butler, PA; Roy "Friday" Fitzgerald of Kansas City, MO; and Gorman A. McBride, of Kansas City, MO, the First Master Councilor of the Mother Chapter and the only one of the nine original members to be so honored.
In this case, "Dad" Land gave the honor to "Dad" Paul Miller Moore, a Past Grand Commander of Knights Templar of Pennsylvania, and Most Eminent Past Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America. "Dad" Moore was VERY prominent Freemason in Pennsylvania and even has a Legion of Honor Preceptory named after him (which meets in Butler.) To see "Dad" Moore's Founder's Cross for sale on eBay made my heart sink.
Somehow this important piece of PA DeMolay history made its way into the hands of an antique dealer in Pittsburgh who sold the item off to the highest bidder. PA DeMolay placed a bid on the item, which was close, but, sadly, wasn't high enough to purchase it. Unfortunately we don't know who the winning bidder was. We can only hope that it's a member of the DeMolay family. However, it's also possible that the buyer wasn't part of the Masonic fraternity. Experience has taught us that when pieces of history, like this medal, fall into hands outside of the fraternity it is very unlikely that we will ever get them back.
[snip]
AS AN APPEAL - if you are the buyer of the Paul Moore Founder's Cross, or you know who the purchaser is, we would greatly appreciate you contacting us at webmaster@pademolay.org or pa.demolay@gmail.com. PA DeMolay is willing to negotiate a fair settlement for the acquisition of this unique medal and piece of PA DeMolay history, to be displayed for all Pennsylvania DeMolay members to see.
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