‘NYPL obtains Joseph Campbell archives’

     

Courtesy Jeopardy!/Sony Pictures Television

Who is Professor Joseph Campbell?!?

In 2016 and 2017, the New York Public Library acquired the papers of Professor Joseph Campbell from two sources and spent this year organizing the 203 boxes of archives and cataloging the material so that it all may be available to you now. From the publicity:


Joseph Campbell was a mythologist, author, lecturer, and professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College. His papers date from 1905 to 1995, and contain his writing, research, lectures, correspondence, photographs, and press clippings. The collection consists of files pertaining to Campbell’s career in academia, and his research and writings on comparative mythology and literature. Most of the collection was previously held and maintained by The OPUS Archives & Research Center at the Pacifica Graduate Institute, which acquired Campbell’s papers from Jean Erdman and the Joseph Campbell Foundation in 1991. The foundation continued to deposit materials at OPUS in subsequent years, while also utilizing the collection for book projects and research purposes. Therefore, the collection does include some materials added to the collection after Campbell’s death.

The Joseph Campbell papers date from 1905 to 1995 (bulk dates 1930s-1980s), and consist of materials related to Campbell’s career as a college professor, lecturer, researcher, and author. The collection is arranged into eight Series, and holds Campbell’s original writing; teaching materials; files from his appearances in film and television; his research files; correspondence; photographs; and press clippings. Campbell’s files detail his research and writing work on mythology and literature, and chronicle the many lectures he gave throughout his career. The papers were previously held and processed by The OPUS Archives & Research Center at the Pacifica Graduate Institute, and include some materials that were added posthumously, such as lecture transcripts and outgoing correspondence. Projects started by Campbell in his lifetime and completed after his death, such as The Historical Atlas of World Mythology, are also held in the collection.

The Joseph Campbell papers are arranged in eight series:

Series I: Diaries and Journals
1917-77

Series I contains an assortment of handwritten notebooks and some typescripts composed by Campbell between 1917 and 1977. This includes the Grampus journals, in which Campbell discusses his time in California in the 1930s, and his trip to Alaska with Ed Ricketts. The Grampus materials also contain a typed copy of an Ed Ricketts manuscript, and some materials related to John Steinbeck. Of note are Campbell’s journals from his trip to Asia in the 1950s, which encompass an assortment of handwritten diaries, notes, outlines, an address book, and typed journals. Additionally, there are four bound books of original writings that were assembled posthumously. The writings are original, but the order is artificial. These bound writings contain project plans, notes, schedules, banking information, seminar outlines, lecture notes, and lists.

Courtesy NYPL

Series II: Writing
1927-95


Series II dates from 1927 to 1995, and holds Campbell’s original writings, comprising a mixture of manuscripts, drafts, materials intended for publication, and unpublished items. This includes pieces Campbell edited or produced in collaboration with other scholars; typed manuscripts; proposals for writing projects; published articles; and materials related to Campbell’s published books.

Editing and Collaborations comprises writings in which Campbell served as an editor, as well as pieces he authored with other writers. Of special interest is a handwritten draft script and notes from an opera collaboration with John Cage that was never produced, and a folder of Maya Deren’s writings that Campbell edited.

Among Campbell’s writings is also a selection of manuscripts, most notably his 1927 Master’s thesis, “A Study of Dolorous Stroke.” Also included in the manuscript files are Campbell’s fiction and short stories and a number of unpublished works.

The Published Books files comprise notes, images, and manuscripts from Campbell’s books. Included are materials from A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Masks of God, The Mythic Image, Inner Reaches of Outer Space, Flight of the Wild Gander, and Historical Atlas of World Mythology. The most comprehensive materials are from the Historical Atlas of World Mythology files, some of which were compiled after Campbell’s death. There are handwritten and typed manuscripts, notes, research files, proofs, and many files of images intended for inclusion in the final text. The research materials are arranged alphabetically by topic, and also include some posthumously bound research notes.

Series III: Teaching
1932-87

Series III contains files related to Campbell’s work as a college professor and lecturer.

The Sarah Lawrence files contain course lecture notes, outlines, and typed lecture texts and transcripts from Campbell’s tenure at the college. The Lectures files are all arranged chronologically, and include each lecture’s title, date, and the location, when this information was documented. The files comprise an assortment of notes, outlines, and transcripts that span over five decades. Materials from Campbell’s lectures further assist to provide a detailed record of his public speaking and travel itinerary throughout his career.

Series IV: Film and Television
1963-87

Series IV holds files that relate to Campbell’s appearances and work in film and television. Files from Mask, Myth and Dream and The Power of Myth both contain transcripts of Campbell’s televised lectures and conversations. The Series also hold a television proposal for The Mythic Landscape, and filmmaker’s logs and notes for The Hero’s Journey.

Series V: Research Files
1926-1980s

Campbell’s Research Files consist of handwritten notes and outlines, as well as some images, prints, and slides. The Authors and Philosophers files comprise Campbell’s notes on individuals such as William Blake, Franz Boas, Geoffrey Chaucer, James Joyce, Immanuel Kant, Marcel Proust, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Friedrich Nietzsche, and W.B. Yeats. The Series also holds files of reading notes, which includes materials removed from Campbell’s personal book collection.

Series VI: Correspondence
1929-87

The majority of the files are incoming letters, and are generally professional in nature. While most correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent or organization name, there is a selection of letters to Campbell commenting on his books and lectures, which are filed by title. Most folders in the Series contain a single letter, and include a label displaying a typed summary of the letter’s content.

Series VII: Photographs
1905-87

Courtesy NYPL

Most of the images are personal photographs, and portray Campbell’s immediate family, friends, colleagues, his travels, and Campbell himself. The Series includes photographs of Campbell as a child, as a participant in college sports, and on vacation with his family. There are also professional portraits of Campbell, and photographs of such individuals as Christine Eliade, Simon Garrigues, Angela Gregory, C.G. Jung, Einar Palsson, Ed Ricketts, Dick Roberts, Carol Henning Steinbeck, Herbert K. Stone, and Heinrick Zimmer.

Series VIII: Press
1918-87

These files have been subsequently arranged by topic, which includes Awards; Books; Film and Television; Interviews and Profiles; Lectures; Reviews; and a scrapbook of press clippings dating from 1924 to 1944.

The archives are found inside the New York Public Library’s Manuscripts and Archives Division in the Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street. Advance notice is required for access.
     

'Tomorrow at Mount Vernon Lodge 3'

     

‘Dipshits arrested in Queensbury Lodge vandalism’

     
Dipshit is my favorite word. I recommend it. It has a slightly Illinoisan-car-salesman feel to it, so part of the pleasure of saying it is the one-second role-play. The “sh” part of dipshit should come out soft and slightly prolonged, and each syllable of dipshit should have equal, firm emphasis. The word should come out slightly lower than your normal register. Never high pitched, never defensive, never whiney. For example, not “Oh my god, what a dipshit!” but, with a quick yet slow head-shake, “He’s a dipshit.” It’s dismissive. It’s absolute.

Halle Butler
The Paris Review
March 4, 2019


The cretins who spraypaint swastikas on peoples’ property are understood in two denominations. The ones who paint the symbol accurately, with its arms in the correct direction, as if showing a counter-clockwise spin, are the dangerous ones. Regard them seriously. If they have their way, we’ll be living under their boots before long. The other ones? That paint the swastika backward? They are subdivided into two camps: those under age 14, and those who need to be punched in the nuts 27 times (3x3x3) to impart a valuable lesson in charity.

Dipshits.

The dipshits: Anthony Dean and Gaven Wasson.

That’s what was placed under arrest yesterday. Identified by police as Anthony Leon Dean, age 20, and Gaven M. Wasson, 18, they are alleged to have painted “Crip 58” and “58 Crip” on the building of Queensbury Lodge 121, and similar nonsense, plus the backward swastika, on the roadside sign of the Queensbury Masonic Historical Society.

Anthony Leon Dean, born December 16, 1998, a resident of 1 Fulton Street in Glens Falls, has an arrest record already. According to the Warren County Sheriff, he was arrested March 14, 2018 and charged with obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest, and probation violation.

Gaven M. Wasson is homeless in Glens Falls, according to police.

They were located by police at the home of an acquaintance, on the same street as the lodge, and were taken into custody after admitting their involvement in the crime, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

For their other efforts that day, which involved allegedly stealing two cans of spray paint from the local Walmart and then painting graffiti on a gas station, they are charged with Criminal Mischief third degree (E felony), Making Graffiti (Class A misdemeanor), and Petit Larceny (Class A misdemeanor), according to New York State Police. The dipshit duo will appear in Queensbury Town Court on October 21 at 9 a.m.

I meant to publish something here about the vandalism a few days ago, after the lodge set up an online fundraising page to pay for repairing the damage, but their $1,500 goal was exceeded so quickly, thanks to the contributions from more than 50 donors, that publicity for the fundraising wasn’t necessary.

Courtesy WNYT/Channel 13, Albany, NY.

An impressive extent of news media coverage has been generated by the vandalism. Channel 13 up there quotes the lodge secretary explaining how his lodge is the victim of repeated attacks of this nature. They already have multiple surveillance cameras installed, and soon will have even more.
     

‘Masonic Con at Cooperstown’

     

There’s another Masonic Con coming. This one will take place next year at Cooperstown, New York.

Not much information available yet, but mark your calendar for October 9 through 11, 2020. Events will be held at the local Masonic lodge and a few doors down at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

     

‘Take a course in Secret Societies’

     

While I cheerfully endorse The Great Courses for its many rigorous and enlightening academic offerings, I haven’t experienced this particular series titled “The Real History of Secret Societies,” but of course it does address Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, and about two dozen other subjects.

It was produced in conjunction with the History Channel (but maybe that’s not a great selling point). One reviewer said last week:

“This was an interesting survey, but I would caution against using circumstantial evidence to identify links between secret societies. The professor does qualify many of the connections as potential, however the videos descend into exhausting superficial discussions about these societies. I would have expected better rigor in analysis, therefore these groups seemed like social clubs for lonely people. You may find it entertaining, but so is the current news media, and that doesn’t cost you any money.”

The course is available in two formats: Instant Video and DVD. The latter offering includes 26 lectures on four DVDs, a 192-page guidebook, a downloadable PDF of the course guidebook, and free video streaming of the course from the website and mobile apps.

From the publicity:


The first rule of this course is you don’t talk about this course. The second rule of this course is YOU DON’T TALK ABOUT THIS COURSE. Welcome to The Real History of Secret Societies, a historical look at the true-life groups which, if you believe the myths, are the unspoken power behind some of the world’s major turning points, from controlling the British crown to holding back the electric car, and keeping Martians and Atlantis under wraps.

Prepare yourself. In this course, brought to you in partnership with HISTORY®, you will be visiting some of history’s deepest rabbit-holes, across centuries and continents, in search of secret societies in all their varieties. You will journey to some very dark places and, frankly, some odd and sometimes silly ones as well. During 26 eye-opening lectures, Dr. Richard B. Spence, professor of history at the University of Idaho, guides you through the always fascinating, often mystifying—and sometimes disturbing—world of brotherhoods, sisterhoods, orders, cults, and cabals that have influenced human culture from ancient times to the present.

Not-So-Secret Societies

Despite the name, “secret” societies have permeated popular culture and become symbols of wonder, mystique, and rumor mongering. Thanks to phenomena like Dan Brown’s best-selling novels, hit movies such as Skull and Bones, or hit songs by Madonna, the idea of secret societies has become utterly mainstream, allowing the general population to think they know about the most important parts of this clandestine underworld.

However, the commonly known groups barely scratch the surface of the number of real-life secret societies that exist. In fact, if one didn’t know better, one might think the popularization of a few groups is a conspiracy, in of itself, to cover up for the many that are never acknowledge.

With help from the archives of HISTORY, Professor Spence leaves no society uncovered, and will open your eyes to the history and evolution of factions you think you know, introducing you to fascinating and illuminating stories and insights. Consider:

• The Illuminati—A group so pervasive in popular culture that their name has become synonymous with any generic conspiratorial group—noted throughout literature in everything from Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein to Marvel comic books. There are a variety of global groups which considered themselves Illuminati—or at least affiliated with them—but the Illuminati initially took root with a young lawyer who was obsessed with secrecy, rank and order, and creating a New World Order that echoed the promises of communism.
• The Shriners—Founded by a wealthy New York Freemason named William Florence, who enlisted a group of well-heeled masons to establish Mecca Temple, the first lodge of the Mystic Shrine. Exclusivity added to the mystique, growing the membership of The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine to hundreds of thousands over time. They adopted a motto of “Fun and Fellowship,” and they are known for wearing red fezzes and seen riding small bikes or cars in parades, though they also founded a number of children’s hospitals.
• The Freemasons—A group known for secret rings and handshakes, subtle symbology, dangerous initiation rituals, and a complicated hierarchy. You’d think with all this secrecy and protection of the group, the last place you’d find them is being parodied on The Simpsons. But the truth is that they are a hard organization to keep hushed up because there has never been just a single school of Freemasonry; many variations exist and they don’t play by the same rules.

Professor Spence also looks at groups who have become so ubiquitous in our history that it’s impossible to think of them as being secret, such as the Ku Klux Klan, the Mafia, the IRA, or the Nazi Party. But as Professor Spence explains, these were the groups which began to organize behind closed doors, and their original, secret—or at least exclusive—status was likely an impetus in the group’s successfulness and omnipresence. After all, half the power and draw of a secret society stems from the fact that everyone (secretly) wants to join one.

Myth and Reality

The time period from 1890 to 1930 is known as a “golden age of fraternalism,” when hundreds of lodges, mystical orders, and fraternal organizations came into existence in the United States. During this time, America accounted for more than half of the world’s Freemasons. And, millions of Americans were affiliated with lesser-known, oath-bound orders such as Odd Fellows, Red Men, Woodmen of the World, Knights of Columbus, B’nai B’rith, Elks, Owls, Eagles, and the Moose.

Some groups were organized to promote fellowship, mutual aid, or political and social causes during a trying time for the U.S. economy. Other groups took advantage of desperate times to turn groups of humans against each other, encouraging supremacy or separatism. Still, others simply came into existence for solely self-serving reasons and were not considered legitimate, yet their stories and reputations endure. Consider these groups:

• U. S. Secret and Civil Service Society, Self-Supporting Branch—Founded by Arthur Rochford Manby to “combat nameless evils that regular authorities couldn’t or wouldn’t handle.” This society was a cover for Manby to receive money, deeds, and mortgages from his followers in order to partake in bootlegging, extortion, fraud, robbery, and murder for hire. It also solidified the secret society mantra of “join or die,” as Manby preyed on well-to-do citizens and then showed the new initiates how broken oaths of silence or obedience would result in a beheading.
• The Learned Elders of Zion—A super-secret group of Jewish leaders purported to be bent on world domination through subverting the morals of non-Jews and by taking control of the press and the economy. Henry Ford fueled the fire of the Elders by paying for 500,000 copies of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion to be printed and distributed in the United States in a fit of anti-Semitism. This guide was also taught by German school teachers after the Nazis came to power. The real history? This group never existed and the Protocols was a hoax.
• The Priory of Sion—An uber-secret society claiming to be the restoration of an order dating back to the First Crusade in the 11th century that was created to protect the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The society’s objective was supposedly to restore a descendant as the ruler of a unified Europe. However, it was nothing more than the concoction of a career con man, who had developed a complete pseudo-history that was picked up and repurposed by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Victor Hugo, Claude Debussy, and, most recently, Dan Brown.

Secret societies, real or not, were often a mirror of their times, in some cases, reflecting exclusionary practices with religious, racist, or classist overtones. In other cases, they could be considered America’s first social welfare system, as many groups established programs to bridge the very divides caused by others.

But as much as these societies echoed the consciousness of America, they were fundamentally un-American. As Professor Spence points out, John F. Kennedy said in 1961: “The very word ‘secrecy’ is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings.”

A Personal Connection

to History

Professor Spence opens each lecture with a story—a specific glimpse at another time, another place, and a real person or group who is connected in some way to the secret society being examined. This approach introduces you to these societies from both the inside-out and on a personal level. You’ll also get unprecedented access to images, photographs, and more, provided by HISTORY, which give you a true picture of what these societies looked like and how they were organized.

As you uncover secret and often now-defunct societies from around the world—including Ancient Greece, Japan, Korea, Ireland, Russia, France, Germany, and more—you’ll feel like you are there with them, whispering in underground meeting rooms or conspiring around a table in Bavaria. You’ll get to know the founders, leaders, and famous and influential members associated with these groups. And you’ll follow many of the well-known clandestine conspiracies back to their roots, through their uprising, their unearthing, and into the new secret societies that almost always sprang up to take their place.

Secret societies have attracted some of history’s most brilliant, and some of its most evil, minds. Often demonized by their enemies, many secret societies have become the stuff of myths and conspiracy theories. Why do they exist? And when they are invented or imagined, why would someone pretend they exist? What do secret societies believe? Who do they recruit? Most important, what influence do they have? Buckle up and get ready to find out.


The 26 lectures, with an average duration of 29 minutes, include: Knights Templar, Freemasons (several times), Illuminati, Cathars, the Klan, Crowley, Bohemian Grove, and UFOs. Click here for the complete list, and click on each title for its synopsis.

The Great Courses currently offers a sale price of 70 percent off. Let me know how it goes.
     

‘The Great Escape’

     
Every day is Plato Day for Magpie Mason readers, but October 13 especially is Plato Day, thanks to the School of Practical Philosophy. From the publicity:

Plato’s dialogue “Crito” enables us to listen in on a dramatic conversation in an Athenian jail cell in 399 BC. The great philosopher Socrates’ execution is set for the next day, and his closest friend Crito arrives offering a foolproof plan of escape. The question is can he convince Socrates to flee?

Socrates makes it clear that he will only consent to escape if he can be shown that it is the right thing to do—the just and virtuous course of action. Crito, convinced that he has excellent reasons for escape, eagerly presents them one after another. How does he fare? What does Socrates decide? What is his reasoning?

Join us to discover why Socrates said the “unexamined life is not worth living,” and enter into a conversation involving life’s most important questions. In giving serious consideration to these, you may well discover answers for yourself that will positively impact your daily living.

The day includes an opening presentation, group study sessions, a great Greek lunch, light entertainment, and closing reception. Family and friends are welcome and no prior study of Plato is required.

Sunday, October 13

Registration opens at 8:30 a.m.

Program: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Wine reception to follow

12 East 79th Street, Manhattan

Fee: $50: includes materials, refreshments, lunch, and wine reception, or $25 for people enrolled in a full-time course of study (i.e. high school, university, etc.)


I enjoyed this discussion one day a couple of years ago, so I’m going to sit this one out, but you should go. Click here to book seat. Enjoy.
     

‘Weird Fact Wednesday: Amity with the Grand Orient’

     
I hope to make Weird Fact Wednesday a regular feature here on The Magpie Mason, but I also said that of Throwback Thursday, and that isn’t working out. Anyway, today’s Masonic Weird Fact comes from 100 years ago.

You know that the Grand Orient of France became estranged from the mainstream Masonic world in the 1870s after deleting from its constitution an affirmation of belief in deity,* but did you know that grand lodges in the United States re-established relations with the Grand Orient during and after World War I?

(Actually, nearly every grand lodge in the United States broke off relations with the Grand Orient in 1867 on account of the GOF’s meddling in Louisiana Masonry, but that’s another story.)

The First World War transformed Western Civilization and many parts beyond, and it made lasting changes on Freemasonry as well. In the United States, there took place a membership boom that caused the chartering of lodges throughout the then 49 grand lodges, as newly sworn military men sought the rights and benefits of Masonic membership in anticipation of being sent overseas. Plenty of civilians petitioned for the degrees of the Craft as well, of course, and the cumulative effect of all this prompted the construction of who-knows-how-many Masonic temples, Scottish Rite cathedrals, Shrines, and other infrastructure nationwide—those grand marble or limestone or brick, etc. edifices that today have been or are being abandoned as we speak.

In Masonic international relations, the influx of more than a million Americans into France created situations where U.S. soldiers sought lodge memberships in France. The National Grand Lodge of France was only a few years old, but enjoyed the approbation of the United Grand Lodge of England because, frankly, the English created it. There also existed the Grand Lodge of France, which too had been delegitimized and then found itself embraced anew because of the war, but this Masonic Weird Fact concerns the Grand Orient, into whose lodges a number of Americans sought entrance.

“New York set the ball rolling in September 1917 by granting to its members the right to fraternize with the Masons of France during the war,” says a 1918 report by the Grand Lodge of Nevada. “New Jersey went further and unequivocally recognized the Grand Lodge of France and repealed its edict against the Grand Orient. In December 1917, the District of Columbia recognized the Grand Lodge of France without a dissenting vote. California appointed a committee to devise plans for renewing relations with the French brethren, and extended the right to its brethren to visit any lodges in France, Belgium, and Italy. In Kentucky, Utah, Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Alabama also favorable action has been taken enabling their members to fraternize with the craftsmen of France. With the return of peace, this will make easy the establishment of permanent relations of amity and good will.”

Nevada itself joined that list of U.S. grand jurisdictions in 1918. Others, as far as I know (there may be others), would include Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Rhode Island. (Louisiana rescinded recognition after a couple of years.)

In New Jersey, on May 18, 1918, MW Bro. William M. Thompson was appointed Grand Representative to the Grand Orient of France near New Jersey. On July 25, RW Bro. Justin Sicard de Plauzoles was appointed Grand Representative of New Jersey near the Grand Orient. Plauzoles writes:


Dear Brother and Most Worshipful Grand Master,

I have received with joy and gratitude the patent by which the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of New Jersey has constituted and appointed me its representative to the Grand Orient of France. I am very happy and proud of the title, and of your trust and confidence. The Freemasons of France and of the United States possess the same ideals for which formerly Lafayette and now Pershing have crossed the ocean.

At that time, at this time, at all times, we have fought together the same battles for right and liberty.

Henceforth, nothing shall be able to break the bonds of friendship which unite our nations.

The admiration and gratitude for your heroes make more precious the title which you have conferred upon me.

I thank my beloved brethren of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of New Jersey most heartily, and beg you to believe me to be your faithful and devoted brother.

Maréchal Bernard Magnan

Further correspondence between New Jersey and the Grand Orient ensued. In October 1918, the secretary of the GOF’s Council of the Order (in 1871, after France’s defeat by Germany, and the fall of the Second French Empire, the office of grand master was abolished—its final grand master being Bernard Pierre Magnan, Marshal of France—and was replaced by a President de l’Ordre) wrote to ask if GLNJ would object to the Grand Orient conferring the degrees of Freemasonry upon New Jersey natives currently located in France. New Jersey’s response was to say no blanket approval was possible, but that a waiver of jurisdiction would have to be granted on an individual basis. New Jersey’s Grand Master, speaking to the 132nd Annual Communication of his Grand Lodge in Trenton on April 16, 1919, said:


The resumption of our former friendly relations with the Grand Orient of France by the rescission of the interdict of non-intercourse led to correspondence which has indicated not only a lively appreciation of our action, but as well an apprehension of conditions arising from the war and American participation therein and a sense of the Masonic properties involved, that justifies making it in part a matter of record in this address.

And later:

The great war has convulsed nations, cost emperors and kings their heads, and disturbed the great heart of mankind, but Freemasonry emerges from the conflict stronger than ever in her history. The eyes of all the world are upon the craft. They realize the tremendous possibilities for good that rest in our organization, and expect great things from us in the reorganization of society. I have no hesitation in affirming that we will live up to every expectation.

Ours in an order that shall stand

A light upon a nation’s hill,

A voice forbidding all that’s ill—

A source of strength for all that’s good

In Justice, Love, and Brotherhood.

In the Grand Lodge of New York it was said: “We still question, nevertheless, the wisdom of the move, from a Masonic standpoint, and we trust New Jersey will, before long, reconsider the matter. We love her too much to see her go astray unwarned.” (The Grand Orient had chartered a lodge in New York City, which didn’t sit well with GLNY.)

I do not know when the American grand lodges resumed their fraternal divorce from the Grand Orient—or maybe they never did, and everyone forgot? Maybe the amity lasted to 1940, when the Grand Orient was shuttered during the Nazi occupation? I’ll keep reading.





*The story is more complicated than that. Writing his Modern Masonry, Joseph Fort Newton explains:

As a matter of fact, from its foundation till 1849, the Constitution of the Grand Orient contained no declaration of belief in deity, yet during all those years it was fully recognized by the Masonic world. In August 1849, the following clause was inserted in the Constitution: “Freemasonry has for its principles the existence of deity and the immortality of the soul.”

As this declaration brought the Grand Orient into direct conflict with the Church—on the ground, as the clerical party affirmed, that it was setting up a rival religion—in September 1877, the following words were substituted:

Bro. Frédéric Desmons

“Masonry has for its principles mutual tolerance, respect for others and for itself, and absolute liberty of conscience.” For making this change, the Grand Orient was disfellowshipped by nearly every Grand Lodge in the world, especially in English-speaking lands, whereas it was only a return to its original position, when, as has been said, it was regarded as truly Masonic. The change was proposed, not by an atheist—if there be such a thing outside an insane asylum—but by Brother [Frédéric] Desmons, a Protestant Christian minister, the object being to parry the criticism that Masonry was trying to foster a spurious religion. At the same time it was left optional with the lodges to display or not to display the Bible in their ceremonies.
     

‘A Mark Mason’s marvelous remuneration’

     
As the Royal Arch Grand Chapter of New York’s Grand Representative Near New Jersey (I never can remember the title properly), I am duty bound to stay up to date on the fantastic happenings of all kinds in the Royal Arch chapters of New York. So here is something really cool.

Tonawanda Keystone Chapter 71, way up and out in Amherst, is making a new chapter penny available to the companions there. Actually it is a reboot of a design from the 19th century used by Buffalo Chapter:

Chapter penny obverse.

Chapter penny reverse.

Companions need only attend a chapter meeting and plunk down ten bucks to have one. (Needless to say, these beauties were brought to fruition by Bro. John Bridegroom of The Masters Craft.)

The penny is yet another instructive symbol in Masonic learning. In the Mark Degree—and Tonawanda Keystone Chapter terms this token a Mark coin—it is the compensation paid to a laborer for his daily toil. Its small denomination rings odd to the modern ear, but of course it simply represents any remuneration.

Tonawanda Keystone Chapter convocations are held on the fourth Tuesday of the month, and the companions have an active schedule: the MEMº today, a table chapter October 22, and the Royal Arch Degree November 26. I wish they weren’t 5,000 miles away.

Well done, Companions!
     

‘Sing a song of seasons!’

     

Autumn Fires

Robert Louis Stevenson

In the other gardens

And all up in the vale,

From the autumn bonfires

See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over,

And all the summer flowers,

The red fire blazes,

The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!

Something bright in all!

Flowers in the summer,

Fires in the fall!

There isn’t much talk in Freemasonry of the equinoxes. It’s all about the solstices, starting, even, with an allusion during the First Degree—as another dichotomic pair, like checkered pavement, directional opposites, twin pillars, spirit and matter, and other contrasts balanced for harmony.

My lodge is located in the middle of Manhattan, so an autumn bonfire like Stevenson recommends would be impractical. The building trustees would suffer paroxysms of all sorts. Still, there is much the individual can do to acknowledge the quick period of “equal night” that strikes at this very moment. For me, the autumn fires will involve the transition from Virginia pipe tobaccos to mixtures containing healthy doses of Latakia. Maybe wear some tweed to lodge. Nothing pumpkin spice, thanks.

Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have been a Brother Mason in Scotland. My query via social media to the Grand Lodge there went unrequited, but in his Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, he delves very much into paradoxical human nature: good versus evil; public versus private; civilization versus barbarism. Just as we do in our lodges.

From Stevenson’s novella: “I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both.”

And so it goes in our initiatic rituals. Darkness overcome by Light at first; Ignorance cleansed by Knowledge in the second; and Death defeated by Eternal Life in the Sublime Degree. We can’t have one without the other in the perpetual labor.
     

‘Journal of the Masonic Society 46’

     
Editor-in-Chief Michael Poll announces the new Journal of the Masonic Society:

Issue 46 of The Journal of the Masonic Society is at the printers. Before long, it will be showing up in the mailboxes of members and subscribers. The line-up for this issue is an impressive one. Papers include:

• “Personal Ritual: A Contemplative Tool for Masonry Beyond the Lodge,” by C.R. Dunning, Jr.
• “Ancient Charges Scroll Case: Putting Craftsmanship Back into the Craft,” by Martin Bogardus
• “Who Are We, and Where Do We Stand?” by Robert L. Poll
• “The Boyer Model of Scholarship: Application to the Craft,” by Michael L. Moran and Seth C. Anthony
• “The Symbolism of Preparation,” by Mark St. John
• “Brother, Brother - Brother, Brothers,” by Anthony Whitehawk Cabello
• “Concept of Masonic Renewal: What Does it Mean to You Now and in the Future?” by Christian M. Christensen
• “Why Freemasonry?” by Barry A. Searle
• “Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism: Ludibrium or Logic?” by Michael E. Ludwig

The great collection of reading in this issue will also include the regular book reviews, “Editor’s Corner,” W. Bro. Greg Knott’s great “Camera’s Lens” feature, W. Bro. John Bridegroom’s “Masonic Treasures,” and more. If you are not a member or subscriber, you should be!


And in other Journal news, Mike shared this recently:


I have an announcement to make concerning The Journal of the Masonic Society that I am not happy about, and a second one that does bring me pleasure. First, it is with regret that I announce the retirement of Bro. Tyler Anderson as Book Reviews Editor of The Journal. I have very much enjoyed working with Bro. Anderson, and his work for the Society has been outstanding. We all wish him the greatest success in the future.

So, who will be the new Book Reviews Editor? That brings me to the second announcement. It is with pleasure that I announce the appointment of Bro. and Dr. Michael Moran as the new Book Reviews Editor of The Journal of the Masonic Society. Bro. Moran comes to us with considerable editorial experience and has been a frequent contributor to The Journal. I know Bro. Moran from his work with the Pennsylvania Academy of Masonic Knowledge and do look forward to working with him. I know he will bring The Journal top quality work and reviews.


The next major event on the Masonic Society calendar will be our annual meeting during the Masonic Week festivities on Friday, February 7, 2020. Come here Bro. Mark Tabbert present his new research into the Masonic life of George Washington, and enjoy a great meal together. The reservations info should be available soon.
     

‘New Jersey’s Masonic lodges’

      

Lots of great news coming out of the weekend.

Research lodge’s

festive board

First, mark your calendars for Saturday, November 30 for New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786’s Festive Board at Cranbury Inn. That’s the Feast Day of St. Andrew, patron saint of Scottish Freemasonry. Details are still being worked out, but 65 guests are welcome at $40 each, payable in advance. I’ll have more info soon and will post it on the Magpie.

A brother’s book

to be published

A relatively new Master Mason, Bro. Erich Huhn, will have a book published next month. New Jersey’s Masonic Lodges is due out October 28 from Arcadia Publishing. This is one of those 128-page paperbacks filled entirely with archival photographs that Arcadia prints. $21.99, available for preorder. From the publicity:

Across New Jersey, thousands of men have entered through the doors of Masonic Lodge buildings, also known as “temples,” over the fraternity’s more than 250-year history in the Garden State. These buildings, from humble meeting spaces to elaborate single-purpose centers, stand tribute to the memory and influence of one of the oldest fraternities in the world, founded on the tenets of faith, hope, and charity. From governors and U.S. Supreme Court justices, to carpenters and stonemasons, Freemasonry has welcomed men from all walks of life, and the temples they built have played important roles in the civic, social, and charitable life of many towns. Although some lodges have been lost, many still remain and are presented here for the first time through photographs and images collected from various historical societies, museums, libraries, and Masonic organizations. This book attempts not to serve as an encyclopedic source but rather to catalog and organize the development of the Masonic temples in New Jersey.

Erich Morgan Huhn is a historian of Freemasonry and fraternalism and a member of Cincinnati Lodge 3 in Morristown. He has degrees from Rider University and Seton Hall University. His work focuses on demographics and social history, with a concentration on the Freemasons and fraternities of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Adam, Ryan,

and Yasser to speak

I haven’t seen any of these outstanding Masons in years, especially Adam, and it’ll be good to shake their hands again.

Admission is free. This flier says it all. See you there.

Click to enlarge.

     

‘How to serve as lodge historian’

     
Busy day today. This morning, at New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786, I presented this brief talk on the practical means of serving as historian of your lodge. This evening, I’ll do it again in J. William Gronning Council 83 of Allied Masonic Degrees. Fortunately, both groups meet in the same place: Hightstown-Apollo Lodge 41 in Hightstown, New Jersey.

What we have here is nothing I have written myself, but is an item I discovered inadvertently in the pages of the Grand Lodge of California’s annual book of proceedings for 1919. Actually, it originates in a Grand Lodge of Texas report, but I have not been able to find that. I don’t know if it also is from 1919 or from a previous year, or in what form it takes.

These books are excellent starting points for research into Freemasonry. They contain tons of statistics on demographics, finances, lodge locations, and other data, so much of the content is quite dry, but there also are written texts that make for interesting reading. The grand master’s message to the grand lodge assembled is one such item. Of wider interest is the report of the correspondence committee, assuming the committee has material to work with and that it knows what to do. What happens—or should happen—is the grand lodges in amity with the grand lodge in question send in their news (sometimes their own books of proceedings) to the correspondence committee, and this committee collates the information, selects what is thought to be most relevant, and compiles it all in its report for publication (not for reading aloud to the grand lodge meeting). Some grand lodges provide only basic news of who has been elected/appointed to grand rank, of notables who have died, and maybe some major legislation that passed. But then, other grand lodges provide troves of information for the enlightenment of Masons wherever dispersed about the face of the earth.

I gather that is what happened here. The Grand Lodge of Texas forwarded to California this primer on what a lodge historian can do to preserve the story of his lodge, keeping information that otherwise would go the way of most ephemera, so that future generations may know the real way and manner others have gone before. It’s a solid framework, but of course it could be expanded, depending on the needs and wants of your lodge.

Also, as you read, do keep in mind that this dates to an era when lodges were being chartered rapidly and in numbers across the nation.

So, here it is, verbatim from the book:

GRAND LODGE OF CALIFORNIA

BOOK OF PROCEEDINGS

1919

Correspondence Committee Report

HISTORY

If the Educational Committee could enlarge their activities so as to gather valuable material regarding the past history of the men and events connected with Masonry that are not embodied in the Grand Lodge Proceedings, and which will soon be lost, they would perform a lasting service.

The same statement also applies to individual Lodges. It is a most interesting study, but like the work of a Correspondence Committee, it must be necessarily a labor of love.

Texas

With a view to uniformity and comprehensiveness, and to assist those Brethren appointed to prepare their lodge histories, we suggest the following skeleton or outline of the work, which should be varied according to circumstances. And we here remark that all members of the lodge should lend their assistance and co-operation in this work, especially in gathering up the facts that do not appear in the lodge records.

SKELETON OR OUTLINE

OF LODGE HISTORY

CHAPTER I

Section 1 Geographical location surroundings, history, population, development and general conditions social, and otherwise, of the community

Section 2 Preliminary steps to formation of the lodge. Names of the Brethren actively concerned in the movement and of those who signed the petition for the dispensation or charter, their occupations. Masonic records and brief biographies. Other particulars of interest connected with them or the lodge in its early stages.

Section 3 If an old lodge formed prior to the adoption of the present form, a full copy of the petition with signatures would doubtless be of interest. Give name and number of the lodge that recommended the petition.

Section 4 To what Grand Master or Deputy Grand Master the petition was presented. His action thereon and the date. Names of the Brethren appointed Master and Wardens of the new lodge.

Section 5 When, by whom, and in what building the lodge was opened under dispensation. Minutes of the first several meetings or copious extracts or summaries thereof showing how the new lodge started off.

Section 6 If an old lodge chartered prior to adoption of present form, a full copy with signatures of the petition for a charter. To what Communication of the Grand Lodge was it presented, when, and where did the Grand Lodge meet, the report of the Committee on Lodges Under Dispensation or other committee thereon, and the action of the Grand Lodge. If refused, follow up the doings of the lodge till the charter was granted.

Section 7 Where, by whom, and in what building was the lodge constituted. Names of its officers given in the charter and installed, minutes or summary thereof, and the social or other functions incident to the occasion, if any.

Section 8 Any facts of general Masonic historical or local interest connected with the experiences and progress of the lodge, and of Masons in the community. Copious summaries of the minutes might be of service.


CHAPTER II

Section 1 List of all the Worshipful Masters of the lodge and the year in which each was elected and installed in chronological order.

Section 2 A roll, in chronological order, of all the members of the lodge since its first organization, those made Master Masons by the lodge in one column, and those affiliated in another.

Section 3 A list of all Brethren who have died while members of the lodge, with date of death and noting observance of the burial service, if any, with names of officers performing same, and other Brethren present.

Section 4 A brief historical account of the several lodge rooms occupied, the time of the occupancy of each and the circumstances connected with or causing the changes, the leasing or building of each. A mention of any of the old lodge furniture or appurtenances might be of interest.

Section 5 All traditions of interest connected with the lodge especially in the early days and contemporaneous events in the community in which the lodge or any of the Brethren were directly or indirectly concerned.


CHAPTER III

Section 1 Note time and circumstances connected with each visit of a Grand Officer, including the District Deputy Grand Master, to the lodge and the social functions, if any, incident thereto.

Section 2 If the lodge was named for other than the town or some noted historical or Biblical character, explain the circumstances with biography of the namesake if a person or history of the case.

Section 3 Biographical sketches of other prominent and deserving members of the lodge, past and present, but avoiding fulsome praises of the living.

Section 4 Special mention of any member or members of the lodge who have held office in any of the Grand Bodies of Masonry in Texas or elsewhere before coming here or in the public service local, state, or national.


CHAPTER IV

Section l Accounts with dates and full particulars including officers, members present, etc. of all notable functions or events in the lodge, public or private, such as a St John’s Day celebration, and public installations, Cornerstone ceremonies, or any other Masonic, patriotic, etc.


CHAPTER V

Section 1 Brief mention of other Masonic bodies in same town or county, with date of charter and other particulars.

To these outlines could be added other features of interest, especially of things not preserved in Printed Proceedings of the Grand Lodge.

Jesse M. Whited, Chairman
Committee on Correspondence