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Souvenirs of Masonic Travel at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library In 1880, James G. Elwood, along with thousands of other Knights Templar, attended the 21st Triennial Conclave of the Grand Encampment of the United States in Chicago. Elwood and other office holders in the Commandery of Illinois had special booklets of personalized calling cards, also called emblem cards, assembled for the event. Tied with red ribbon and protected by a colorful cover, each bundle contained cards related to one man’s Masonic affiliations. Elwood’s collections of gilt-edged cards noted his Blue Lodge in Joliet, his Royal Arch chapter, and his office in the Commandery of Illinois. These booklets were likely given to or exchanged with Conclave attendees and preserved as souvenirs of the event. Freemasons like James Elwood have long created and amassed souvenirs designed to commemorate travel, special meetings, ceremonies, and social gatherings. The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library is lucky to count many of these objects in its collection.
Booklet of James G. Elwood’s Calling Cards, 1880. Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, GL2004.11350.
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Drawing thousands of men—many of whom brought family members with them—the Knights Templar Triennial Conclaves held in the late 1800s and early 1900s were spectacles. Along with social activities, attendees marched in or observed elaborate parades. Out-of-
town participants also took advantage of the chance to take in new sights and scenes. Hoping to cash in on attendees’ urge to collect souvenirs of their travels, the Soule Company designed a distinctive photographic item to mark the 1895 Knights Templar Conclave in Boston. This card featured a portrait of Samuel Crocker Lawrence, the Eminent Grand Commander of Knights Templar in Massachusetts & Rhode Island, and several pictures of his gardens and estate in Medford, Massachusetts. The Soule Company proposed that this souvenir would be for sale at area hotels for 50 cents during the meeting. In 1892, the Grand Lodge of New York dedicated the first of several buildings of the Masonic Home and School at Utica, New York. The Grand Lodge established the Home with the purpose of helping destitute Masons and their children and widows. Several impressive buildings, including a hospital and a chapel, were later added to this campus and the complex became a local landmark. This pocket-sized mirror is a souvenir of the facility that was likely designed to appeal to the many tourists who came to see the Home over the years. In the early 1920s, the Bruton Studio produced another photographic souvenir, a postcard of the Prince Hall Masonic Temple in Roxbury, Massachusetts, home to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. The group purchased the building around 1920. Soon after, in 1922, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge held a celebration to burn the mortgage and mark the
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