“Take good Care of this Picture,” Collecting African American Fraternal Material

Cover Photo: Grand United Order of Odd Fellows Outside of City Hall, Brockton, Massachusetts, ca. 1897. Massachusetts. 89.1. Man in Regalia, 1855-1865. 85.41a-b. Photograph by Frank E. Graham.

by Stacey Fraser, Assistant Curator, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

In 1897, a group of 13 men in top hats and suits gathered on the steps of City Hall in Brockton, Massachusetts. The photograph shows the men in the regalia of their order, the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, an African American fraternal group active in the United States since 1843. On the back of the photograph is written, “Jas R. Thompson, Washington St, Below Post Office, Assinippi, Mass, Take good Care of this Picture.” In 1989, this photograph was accessioned into the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library’s collection, and it is currently on display in the exhibition, “What’s in a Portrait?” From photographs of men’s fraternal groups to the rhinestone-decorated fezzes worn by a member of a women’s auxiliary group, the museum aspires to both expand and “take good Care of” our collection of objects and images associated with African American fraternal groups.

The museum opened in 1975 with the goal of telling “the story of Freemasonry and fraternalism in the context of American history.” Since then, the museum has collected, preserved, and interpreted more than 25,000 objects related to Masonic, fraternal, and American history. African American fraternal groups are part of this story.

Man in Regalia, 1855-1865. 85.41a-b.

Photograph by Frank E Graham.

From the Civil War-era ambrotype of an unknown man in regalia acquired in 1985 to the group photographs of Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine members acquired in 2022, objects related to African American fraternal groups are a small but growing part of the museum’s collection. Highlights include two photographs taken by James Van Der Zee (1886-1983). Van Der Zee was a Black Massachusetts-born photographer known for his evocative images of people and events in Harlem starting in the 1920s. In 1930, Prince Hall Masons gathered in Harlem to lay the cornerstone for a new Masonic temple. Van Der Zee captured an image of the ceremony that was acquired by the museum decades later.

Cornerstone Laying of Masonic Temple, 1930. James Van Der Zee (1886-1983), New York, New York. 94.052.

In 1928, Van Der Zee took a photograph of members and officers of the Independent United Order of Mechanics (I.U.O.M.) in their New York City meeting room. This fraternal association, founded in England in 1757, came to the United States in 1910, and membership was open to men and women, regardless of race or religion. Perhaps due to this tolerance, it counts many African Americans among its members. Another I.U.O.M. item at the museum is a striking red, white, and green silk apron. This apron, made around 1920, belonged to Torrance Ashby (1897-1966), a member of I.U.O.M.’s Star of Cambridge Lodge in Massachusetts.

Independent United Order of Mechanics Fraternal Apron, ca. 1920. 2007.029.2.

The museum holds half a dozen other aprons owned by members of African American fraternal groups. This Prince Hall Past Master’s apron, circa 1950, bears an all-seeing eye on the flap, a design of compasses and an arc enclosing a radiant sun, and crossed olive branches joined by a ribbon tied in the knot of Brotherhood. This design has since been superseded, and wreaths on Masonic regalia are worn only by Grand Lodge officers and Past Grand Lodge officers. This apron came with a case inscribed with “127th Annual Grand Communication, Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, F.& A.M. State of New York, June 7, 8, 9, 1972 New York Hilton, New York, N.Y., M.W. Vincent E. Best Grand Master.” The item was likely either purchased or worn at the 1972 Prince Hall Annual Communication, which was named after Grand Master Vincent Best in ensuing years.

Masonic Prince Hall Past Master Apron and Bag, ca. 1950. New York, New York. Gift of Roland K. Woodberry, 97.050a.

The group of men gathered in front of Brockton City Hall wore aprons similar to a Grand United Order of Odd Fellows apron in the collection. The reverse of this apron bears information about its maker, noting it was “Manufactured at Mrs. D.B. Bowser’s Odd Fellows & Masonic Depot” located at 481 North Fourth Street in Philadelphia. Regalia maker Elizabeth Harriet Stevens Bowser (1831-1908), who stamped this apron with her mark, was married to David Bustill Bowser (ca. 1820-1900), a Philadelphia regalia manufacturer, abolitionist, and artist who served in the G.U.O.O.F. Grand Lodge in the 1860s through 1880s.

Grand United Order of Odd Fellows Apron, 18551875. Elizabeth Harriet Stevens Bowser (1831-1908), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2014.028.

Photograph by David Bohl.

The museum’s African American fraternal material collection continues to grow. New acquisitions can help clarify or supplement existing items. Often, years pass before two objects “meet,” and sometimes it’s much quicker. Early last year, the collections department purchased a photograph showing a group of African American women wearing fezzes. While researching the photograph, staff identified the group as members of Pyramid Court No. 17, Daughters of Isis, Philadelphia. The Daughters are a women’s auxiliary group to the A.E.A.O.N.M.S. When a fez from the Daughters came up for sale in October 2022, staff were able to recognize the distinctive fezzes of that group and prioritize the acquisition.

Menelik Court No. 53 Fez. Cincinnati, Ohio. 2022.067.

Members of Pyramid Court No. 17, 1960s. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2022.008.4.

Museum staff also practice what is called “rapid response” collecting— collecting contemporaneous material to capture history as it’s happening. In 2004, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts hosted a ceremony to celebrate the 229th anniversary of Hall’s initiation into Freemasonry. Participants wore white leather aprons bearing the name “African Lodge No. 459.” One of these aprons was donated to the museum following the event and is now on display in “The Masonic Hall of Fame: Extraordinary Freemasons in American History.”

Masonic Prince Hall African Lodge No. 459 Apron. Gift of Richard H. Curtis, 2004.024.

Photograph by Frank E. Graham.

In 2022, the museum added more than thirty photographs, commemorative items, and examples of regalia from African American fraternal groups to the collection. We look forward to continuing to “take good Care of” these objects and help tell the story of African American Freemasonry and fraternalism in the future.

If you would like to learn more about African American Fraternal Material in the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library collection, visit our online collections database at https:// www.srmml.org/collections/.