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Article AN OLD SOCIETY. Page 1 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Old Society.
AN OLD SOCIETY .
BY T . B . WHYTEHEAD . I HAVE made a rough sketch of a silver jewel that has lately come into my hands . It is a perforated and engraved thin plate , and at the back are two metal loops , apparently for the purpose of fixing it
upon an apron . The Hall-mark gives the date as 1792 . Although the jewel is not strictly Masonic , yet it bears certain emblems which would almost lead one to think that it was a Masonic organisation , and that it had been worked by York Masons . In one of the latest of the minutes of the Grand Lodge of all England it is declared that
this ancient body " comprehended five Degrees or Orders in Masonry ; " the ( 1 ) Entered Apprentice ; ( 2 ) Fellow Craft ; ( 3 ) Master ; ( 4 ) Royal Arch ; and ( 5 ) Knight Templar . This was in 1780 . Looking at the jewel in question it will be observed that there are four steps in the ladder leading to the Passion Cross , which is the Templar emblem .
The square , triangle , ci-ossed swords and crossed keys are of course all Masonic emblems , as also is the All-seeing eye , but the crown has no Masonic significance that I am aware of . A short time since I sent a sketch of this jewel to our learned brother , Bro . J . P . Bell , Esq ., of Hull , Deputy Prov . Grand Master of
this province , and his comments upon its probable origin are so well worth presentation that I think you may like to insert them in the MASO-NIO MONTHLY . He writes : —
" Before being told the date of the jewel which represents a singular , but not incongruous combination of emblems , I had conjectured that it was most probably a jewel of office worn by the President or Master of some loyal and social club or society about the year 1792 or 1793 . I believe many such associations were formed
about that time with the view of counteracting the bad effect of other societies in existence at the same period , which were of a disloyal , seditious , and revolutionary character . A spirit of tumult , disorder , and lawlessness at that time had been excited in England by persons acting in concert with others , in France especially , and in other
parts of the continent . Clubs and societies were established under the names of ' The Society for Constitutional Information ; ' ' The London Corresponding Society ; ' ' The Revolution Society ; ' 'The Friends of the People ; ' etc ., etc ., for the purpose of disseminating the principles of the French Revolution . Several of them were in active correspondence with the leaders of the Jacobin clubs in Paris .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Old Society.
AN OLD SOCIETY .
BY T . B . WHYTEHEAD . I HAVE made a rough sketch of a silver jewel that has lately come into my hands . It is a perforated and engraved thin plate , and at the back are two metal loops , apparently for the purpose of fixing it
upon an apron . The Hall-mark gives the date as 1792 . Although the jewel is not strictly Masonic , yet it bears certain emblems which would almost lead one to think that it was a Masonic organisation , and that it had been worked by York Masons . In one of the latest of the minutes of the Grand Lodge of all England it is declared that
this ancient body " comprehended five Degrees or Orders in Masonry ; " the ( 1 ) Entered Apprentice ; ( 2 ) Fellow Craft ; ( 3 ) Master ; ( 4 ) Royal Arch ; and ( 5 ) Knight Templar . This was in 1780 . Looking at the jewel in question it will be observed that there are four steps in the ladder leading to the Passion Cross , which is the Templar emblem .
The square , triangle , ci-ossed swords and crossed keys are of course all Masonic emblems , as also is the All-seeing eye , but the crown has no Masonic significance that I am aware of . A short time since I sent a sketch of this jewel to our learned brother , Bro . J . P . Bell , Esq ., of Hull , Deputy Prov . Grand Master of
this province , and his comments upon its probable origin are so well worth presentation that I think you may like to insert them in the MASO-NIO MONTHLY . He writes : —
" Before being told the date of the jewel which represents a singular , but not incongruous combination of emblems , I had conjectured that it was most probably a jewel of office worn by the President or Master of some loyal and social club or society about the year 1792 or 1793 . I believe many such associations were formed
about that time with the view of counteracting the bad effect of other societies in existence at the same period , which were of a disloyal , seditious , and revolutionary character . A spirit of tumult , disorder , and lawlessness at that time had been excited in England by persons acting in concert with others , in France especially , and in other
parts of the continent . Clubs and societies were established under the names of ' The Society for Constitutional Information ; ' ' The London Corresponding Society ; ' ' The Revolution Society ; ' 'The Friends of the People ; ' etc ., etc ., for the purpose of disseminating the principles of the French Revolution . Several of them were in active correspondence with the leaders of the Jacobin clubs in Paris .