I've followed the thread of Masonic material culture with much interest.
Some years back, another lady and I attempted to properly appeal in a period setting to a Mason for aid---alas, it was likely that the man in question was simply carrying a canteen he perceived as "cool" rather than actually having any knowledge of the organization.
There's a plethora of modern books purporting to tell all sorts of things, good and bad, about Masonry.
What I want to find though, is period reference materials and books---what would a woman of reasonable education known about the Masons?
What religious or cultural factors and folklore would have made her respect the Masons, or what common knowledge factors (however untrue) would have made her fear their influence in society?
What I'm really trying to accomplish here is to locate, if it exists, a popular period book on Masonry that would have been widely available.
For much the same reasons that I hate using a modern hymnal for fear of tainting my 19th century memorized hymn words, I'd rather not pick up one of the modern tomes at Books A Million.
Some years back, another lady and I attempted to properly appeal in a period setting to a Mason for aid---alas, it was likely that the man in question was simply carrying a canteen he perceived as "cool" rather than actually having any knowledge of the organization.
There's a plethora of modern books purporting to tell all sorts of things, good and bad, about Masonry.
What I want to find though, is period reference materials and books---what would a woman of reasonable education known about the Masons?
What religious or cultural factors and folklore would have made her respect the Masons, or what common knowledge factors (however untrue) would have made her fear their influence in society?
What I'm really trying to accomplish here is to locate, if it exists, a popular period book on Masonry that would have been widely available.
For much the same reasons that I hate using a modern hymnal for fear of tainting my 19th century memorized hymn words, I'd rather not pick up one of the modern tomes at Books A Million.
Comment