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Recent Acquisitions at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Every month, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library adds new objects to its collection. The goal is to expand the ways both we and our audience can explore and talk about the history of Freemasonry and fraternalism in the United States. Additions to the collection through purchase as well as generous gifts from donors help visitors, researchers, and museum supporters connect with the past and bring new stories to light. Here are some highlights of new acquisitions. The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library recently purchased a group of material that originally belonged to members of the Morse family of
Certificate Issued to George W. Morse, Concordia Lodge No. 67, 1805. Special Acquisitions Fund, A2022/241/002.
Philadelphia. George W. Morse signed this certificate issued by Concordia Lodge No. 67 in 1805. Morse, who earned his living as a ship’s captain,
also owned this attractive apron embroidered with Masonic symbols rendered in colorful silk thread. At the center of the square and compasses on the apron is the number of his lodge, 67. Records at the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania note that Morse took his degrees at the lodge in 1800 and demitted in 1812. Among our notable recent acquisitions, and also related to Freemasonry in Philadelphia, is an intriguing mark medal. Along with the name of its owner, Conrad Poshardt, this keystoneshaped badge was inscribed by the craftsman who engraved it, John Bower. In addition to Poshardt’s name and his personally chosen mark–a group of Masonic symbols contained within the letters HTWSSTKS–this medal bears the name of the owner’s lodge, “Herman’s Lodge N. 125,” and a date, “Feby 5812” (1812). The engraver signed the other side of the medal “Br. J. Bower, Sculp.” on the lower edge. In adding “Br.,” an abbreviation of the word Brother, and “Sculp.,” meaning engraved by, to his signature, Bower identified himself as a Freemason who ornamented this work. J. Bower is likely John Bower who took his degrees at Lodge No. 72 in Philadelphia in the first half of 1811, according to records at the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. In December of 1859, twelve men applied to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts for permission to form
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The Northern Light
