‘For the bibliophile who has everything’

    

eBay

Here’s a gift idea for the Masonic bibliophile who has everything. An auction on eBay claims to offer a first edition of The Constitutions of the Free-Masons. Or, as we commonly call it, Anderson’s Constitutions from 1723.

How much, you reasonably ask? It was listed at a paltry £10,000—that’s nearly $13,500 to us. (I’m no book dealer or appraiser, but this item is worth no such thing. There is no Make Offer option, so I don’t expect this to sell in its current listing.) This auction will end October 14.

How much money might it be worth? I’d estimate half of that asking price—if it is a 1723 first edition. No photos of the spine are shown, and the pages that are displayed are stained significantly (whether that’s foxing, I don’t know). But these do not appear on the market often, so maybe a buyer would venture higher, but I’d be surprised.

And, not to be a wise guy, but I’m not convinced this is from 1723. There are other editions from the eighteenth century, and the cover of this one doesn’t look like the cover of this one (in red, at right).

Another confusion may be the bookplate, which says Darcy Lever Esquire, who the seller identifies as “Sir Darcy Lever of Alkrington, LL.D. (c. 1705–1743).” Was he a Freemason? I don’t know, but a quick query to Google’s AI yields a negative answer. Of course the UGLE and, specifically, the Museum of Freemasonry would be the places to ask. I know from experience they won’t answer me, but maybe a Magpie reader has a connection there. Anyway, here is the description of this item:

A Cornerstone of Modern Society

and Esoteric History

The Constitutions

of the Free-Masons (1723) 

Containing the History, Charges, Regulations, &c. of that Most Ancient and Right Worshipful Fraternity

Authored by the Rev. James Anderson, D.D.

An Exceptional Copy

with Distinguished Provenance

I am immensely proud to offer a first edition of one of the most significant documents in the history of civil society: Anderson’s 1723 Constitutions. This rare and revolutionary text is presented in good to fine condition, complete with all blanks, a testament to its preservation over three centuries.

Of particular note is its distinguished provenance, bearing the original bookplate of: 

Sir Darcy Lever of Alkrington, LL.D.

(c. 1705-1743)

A member of the wealthy Lever family, who acquired the Alkrington Hall estate in Lancashire, Sir Darcy Lever was a prominent figure of the era. He served as High Sheriff of Lancashire (1736) and was a major landowner and builder, commissioning the new Alkrington Hall from the celebrated architect Giacomo Leoni. A man of high standing in the county and a builder of note, his possession of the Constitutions underscores the text’s immediate importance among the elite of Georgian England. This connection to a man of substance and a builder in the Roman/Palladian style only enhances the book’s historical value.

The bookplate is likely contemporary with the 1723 publishing date as it does not reflect his later knighthood.

History and Significance:

The Enlightenment’s Rulebook

Published in London in 1723, this book is not merely a set of rules; it is the philosophical foundation and “rulebook” of modern Freemasonry worldwide. Commissioned by the newly formed Premier Grand Lodge of England (1717), the work by James Anderson transformed the ancient, fragmented guilds of “operative” stonemasons into a modern, unified, and speculative “Gentleman’s Club” that quickly became the most influential fraternal society of its day.

Its historical importance transcends Freemasonry, as the 1723 Constitutions served as a direct vehicle for spreading key Enlightenment principles:

● Religious Tolerance: The document famously replaced the rigid religious requirements of the medieval guilds with an obligation to “that Religion in which all Men agree,” effectively establishing the first charter for a non-sectarian society. This radical idea of religious toleration was wholly groundbreaking in an age of religious conflict and profoundly influenced later political thought.

● Meritocracy and Equality: By shifting the focus from birthright and wealth to “merit,” “aspiration,” and “intellect,” the Constitutions provided a framework for a more egalitarian society. Historians note it helped tilt the Lodges towards becoming “schools for government,” which inculcated principles that influenced later republican politics, most notably in America.

● Constitutional Governance: The text provided a working model for self-governance, featuring written constitutions, the election of officers subject to democratic accountability (one member, one vote), and majority rule. This organizational structure was widely emulated by other secular clubs and societies.

Key Elements of the Text

Anderson’s work is divided into three main sections:

1. The History of Masonry: A grand, though largely legendary, history tracing the “Royal Art of Architecture” back to Adam, Noah, Moses, King Solomon (and Hiram Abiff), and Euclid, culminating in the establishment of the Grand Lodge in 1717. This history served to legitimize the new organisation by linking it to a tradition of ancient wisdom and continuity.

2. The Charges of a Free-Mason: Unarguably the most significant section, setting out the moral and social duties of a Mason, including the ground-breaking religious clause (Charge I) and the duty to be a peaceable subject and to uphold the laws of the country (Charge II).

3. The General Regulations: Outlining the specific rules for the governance of the Grand Lodge and its constituent private Lodges, including how officers are to be elected and the federal structure of the Fraternity.

An exceptional rare to find foundational text in the history of social organization and the Western Enlightenment, this first edition is a mandatory acquisition for any serious collector of Masonic history, early Americana or civil liberties.

I say, on this one especially, buyer beware. Still a nifty piece. Just have an expert look it over before bidding.

UPDATE: OCTOBER 14–Someone purchased it! This auction ended successfully a few hours ago, and one eBay user bid thrice (Masons do things in threes) to add this to a library. I’m impressed.

     

‘Tommaso Crudeli: Masonic martyr’

    

The plaque reads:

TOMMASO CRUDELI
(1702-1745) Florence, Italy
FIRST MARTYR OF
UNIVERSAL FREEMASONRY
Presented by the President
of HSTCI of America
MWGM KENNETH S. WYVILL Jr of GL of MD
MMXV

I wish I could have copyedited that.

Born on this date* in 1702 was Bro. Tommaso Crudeli.

That’s a new name to me, having learned of him only last weekend. Taking in the many sights inside the Boston Masonic Building, home to the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, on Saturday, I was drawn to this bust. The plaque on its pedestal is not the most informative inscription, but I shot a photo and looked up Bro. Crudeli later. There’s an amazing story.

From the Institute of Historical Studies Tommaso Crudeli:

Tommaso Baldasarre Crudeli (December 21, 1702-March 27, 1745) was a Tuscan free-thinker who was imprisoned by the Roman Inquisition in Florence. He was a poet, lawyer, champion of free thought, and is remembered as the First Martyr of Universal Freemasonry.... Tommaso was the seventh [Crudeli generation] to graduate from the University of Pisa [both canon and civil law, 1726]. His mentor was Bernardo Tanucci (Premier of Naples and Sicily Kingdom) during the preparation of studies and university years; in Pisa he had strong relationships with teachers and colleagues for cultural affinities Lucretian and above the nascent Enlightenment.

Tommaso moved to Venice at the family of the Counts Contarini and then he returned to Florence as professor of Italian for English Colony. For his lively intellect and his boldness, Tommaso was brought into the English Lodge, first Masonic Lodge in Italy and dependant from Grand Lodge of England, in which he was initiated on May 5, 1735. He became secretary, but also a scapegoat for a strong conflict between the Vatican and English Freemasonry, who began in Florence at the end of the long dynasty of the Medici trying to establish the Lorraine, titled dynastically, to change the political destiny of the Grand Duchy.

 

He was arrested for suspicion of heresy, or worse, to be the bearer of heresies, and was left in prison in total darkness and without air for three months. He was interrogated for days on “francmassonery,” but he did not cooperate and he would not sign the papers falsely noted his guilt so he was incarcerated again for another four months in inhumane conditions.

 

Questioned again about the aims of Freemasonry in Florence, members’ names, and Masonic rituals, he would not comply. He was sent back to jail even though his body was tried and he was vomiting blood. Meanwhile his father, Atto Crudeli, pleading the liberty for his child, sadly died of a broken heart for sorrow. Before Christmas, his brother Antonio clumsily attempted to free Tommaso, with a daring plan that ended before it was started. The Inquisitor interpreted the plan as proof of guilt and was convinced even more the need to pursue the prisoner. After another four months in prison, still in the darkness with sealed windows for fear of escape, he was questioned and charged with sins against religion whose list was irrelevant but that eventually concluded “and other serious facts known only to us.”

 

Subsequently, the inquisitors carried him, near death, to the prison at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence where he spent three months. In August 1740, in a church parade in black, they did ask him to recant, accepting his gasp as explicit consent. After the sentence came the partial grace that provided the compulsory residence in his home until the end of his life with a series of religious obligations that Tommaso never fulfilled.

 

CORRECTION: Apparently, I saw a copy of the bust at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial during a visit in November 2022.

Meanwhile all of Florence was in turmoil and especially the Governor, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, and brothers of the lodge. Even the Grand Lodge of England mobilized, giving the King these facts, among others, that touched British interests in the dynastic succession in Europe. The Grand Duke of Tuscany (also a Mason) asked for a report from Tommaso. Because he had some bed rest, but was still sick and dying, Tommaso was able to dictate a detailed report which was why Francis Stephen of Lorraine, husband of Maria Theresa of Austria in 1742 closed the Inquisition Tribunal forever (next to the Basilica of Santa Croce), and after five years had it demolished.

 

Meanwhile Tommaso died in his bed because of the after-effects of imprisonment on March 27, 1745. He did have the satisfaction of seeing the Inquisition abolished by the secular power, the first in the Catholic world. The “Antica Condanna” which in fact was the first conviction by the Papal Bull of April 1738, was heard for many decades in which the writings and poems of Tommaso Crudeli were scattered, as it was altered many times [and] on the basis of which the Grand Duke did close the Inquisition Tribunal.

A brief video from 2008 when the Grand Lodge of New York memorialized Bro. Tommaso Crudeli.

*They used another calendar back then, so just play along.

     

‘Imitate the glorious example’

    

The Colonial Room on the tenth floor of Masonic Hall is not our usual meeting space, but we were able to make do despite the frumpy looks of the place.

On this date in 1772, Freemasons in London gathered in the Strand at a tavern named the Crown and Anchor for “A Grand Gala in Honour of Free Masonry.” It was a famous place; all kinds of groups met there. In attendance were Lord Petre, the new Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England; and William Preston, Worshipful Master of the lodge that met there.

We know this because of the book that was inspired by the affair: Illustrations of Masonry, published later that year. I believe there are half a dozen books that have given shape (rituals, language, customs, jurisprudence, etc.) to the Freemasonry that we have inherited, and all six date to the 1700s. What has come to be known as “Preston’s Illustrations” might be the most consequential of them.

Online Etymology Dictionary

Something else occurred on this date. I mean today. 2022. My lodge raised four Fellow Craft Masons to the Sublime Degree.

The ritualists were great despite being nervous and self-conscious. I think the Master mentioned there could have been more rehearsal time, but I followed along in my ritual cipher (as Tiler, I’m outside the lodge room), and I’d say any error or omission was unnoticeable. Nothing obfuscated the candidates’ comprehension—and that’s what matters to me.

I’ll close this edition of The Magpie Mason with an excerpt from Illustrations concerning the Master Mason Degree. You’ll recognize these phrases and ideas in different constructions of contemporary rituals:

Your zeal for virtue, your honor as a gentleman, your reputation as a mason, are all equally concerned in supporting, with becoming dignity, the character in which you now appear; let no motive therefore make you swerve from your duty, violate your vows, or betray your trust; but be true and faithful, and imitate the glorious example of that celebrated artist, whom you have this evening represented. Thus you will prove yourself worthy of the confidence which we have reposed in you, and deserving of every honor which we can confer.

     

‘1723 Constitutions celebration’

    

Courtesy 1723 Constitutions

You didn’t think Quatuor Coronati would let the tercentenary of Anderson’s Constitutions pass without appropriate study and celebration, did you?

Of course you didn’t.

The seminal text of Masonic theory was published in 1723 at London, and 2023 shall be a time to commemorate and examine, thanks to the exertions of the world’s first lodge of Masonic research.

Unlike the 2017 tercentennial festivities honoring the birth of the grand lodge era, in which really any Freemason could partake, this commemoration, I predict, will be the domain of the education Mason.

There will be a conference at Cambridge, exhibitions at both Great Queen Street and the Washington Memorial, and other events, plus documentary publications and other merch to cherish.

Needless to say, there is a website. Keep your Third Eye on it for updates as the big year approaches.

Why not motivate your research lodge and Masonic library to think and act similarly?

     

‘Weird Fact Wednesday: Goose and Gridiron Ale-House’

     
You know the first grand lodge was formed June 24, 1717 inside an ale house named the Goose and Gridiron, but do you know how that establishment’s name came to be?

Click to enlarge.

The Freemasons that day convened for the purpose of enjoying the Annual Assembly and Feast to establish, not the Grand Lodge of England, but the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. (London and Westminster were distinct municipalities then.) The building stood several stories tall, with its largest dining room measuring approximately 15 by 22 feet, apparently large enough to accommodate the brethren representing four lodges that met in area taverns.

Writing in his The Four Old Lodges, Founders of Modern Freemasonry, and Their Descendants (1879), the eminent Masonic historian Robert Freke Gould explains the establishment’s name’s origins. Quoting the periodical Tatler, itself dating to 1709, he writes:

“The Mitre was a celebrated music-house, in London House Yard, at the N.W. end of St. Paul’s. When it ceased to be a music-house, the succeeding landlord, to ridicule its former destiny, chose for his sign a goose striking the bars of a gridiron with his foot, in ridicule of the Swan and Harp, a common sign for the early music-houses.”

Freke continues in his own words:

“…it may also be a vernacular of the coat of arms of the Company of Musicians, suspended probably at the door of the Mitre when it was a music-house. These arms are, a swan with his wings extended within a double tressure, counter, flory, argent. This double tressure might have suggested a gridiron to unsophisticated passers-by.”