6 minute read
Outfitting the Fraternity From Head to Foot: Regalia Illustrations on Display
by Stacey Fraser, Assistant Curator Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library
In the 1900s, selling regalia and costumes to fraternal groups became big business. Regalia companies seeking to attract customers produced richly illustrated catalogs and colorful advertising material to highlight the costumes and uniforms they manufactured. Companies used posters, displays, and illustrations, like those now on view at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, to sell their products. These items can help us better understand how companies marketed and sold fraternal regalia between 1900 and 1970.
The number of Americans who were members of fraternal groups grew to more than six million by the beginning of the 1900s. Regalia companies attempted to outfit this large consumer base with everything they needed, from head to foot. The artwork and advertising material displayed in this exhibition were produced by the Cincinnati Regalia Company (1895-1998) and the Ihling Bros. Everard Company (18691995). These two companies, located in Ohio and Michigan respectively, operated for over 225 years combined. They and other regalia makers produced uniforms, regalia, and accessories for Masons, Shriners, Elks, and additional fraternal groups.
Some of the artwork displayed in this exhibition was created to be reproduced in catalogs. These catalogs, printed in black and white, featured a variety of items, including hats, shoulder braids, jackets, pants, robes, tights, and shoes. Fraternal groups used these catalogs to order uniforms and regalia for their members to wear for meetings, ritual work, parades, and other activities. As stated in an Ihling Bros. Everard Company catalog published around 1970, “In order that a beautiful and appropriate presentation of the degrees may be complete, your Master of Wardrobe should insist that each character be completely costumed… with particular attention being focused on the feet and to the use of wigs and beards, thus enhancing the illusion.”
Some of the colorful illustrations shown here were sent to customers to present color and design variations to supplement the black-and-white images in catalogs. In this drawing (left) from the Cincinnati Regalia Company, the model wears a purple evening wear suit and a Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks fez. In some catalog illustrations, every detail was drawn by hand. In others, like this one, an artist inserted a photograph of a face into the drawing and colored the lips, cheeks, eyebrows, and hair by hand to add visual interest. Regalia companies catered to both women’s and men’s fraternal groups. They produced catalogs specifically designed for women’s organizations which displayed the regalia and costumes of particular orders. Because of this costume’s distinct American flag-inspired design (middle), it was likely created for a patriotism-themed group, such as the Daughters of America, a Junior Order of United American Mechanics auxiliary.
This illustration (above) appeared in an Ihling Bros. Everard Company catalog, printed around 1970, that featured costumes and accessories for the Knights Templar. This group, part of the York Rite of Freemasonry, draws inspiration from the crusading knights of medieval Europe. This model is presented in a “Pilgrim Warrior” costume, which, in addition to a pointed helmet, a sword, and a cape, included a full suit of what Ihling Bros. Everard Company called “armor cloth.” This cloth was patterned to look like scale mail, protective metal clothing worn by medieval knights and soldiers. This illustration appears in its final form (below) in a regalia catalog in the collection of the Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives.
Inspired by the growth of two national Shrine organizations, the Ancient Arabic Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (with 87,000 members by 1904) and the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (which had established more than 60 temples across the US by the start of World War I), Ihling Bros. Everard Company offered many types of Shrine regalia. Shrine organizations took inspiration from traditional Middle Eastern clothing for their ritual and regalia. This taste is illustrated in this flyer (far right) by the turban, wide-leg pants, and curved-toe shoes worn by the model.
This large pen and ink illustration (below) presents a Shriner in a tuxedo and cape standing near a mirror. The reflected image depicts how the uniform could be customized.
Regalia makers often illustrated their products with the names of existing temples or other groups to show customization options. This uniform was created for the Orak Tuxedo Patrol, a Shrine parade unit based out of Orak Temple in Michigan City, Indiana.
This large pen and ink illustration (below) for Ihling Bros. Everard Co. displays 27 uniform accessories. Accessories included smaller items like gloves, spats, leggings, cummerbunds, and hats, as well as parade-related accessories such as flag-carrying belts and rain covers for flags and flagstaffs. Some of the items bear the name of Saladin Temple, a Shrine Temple in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Though the regalia illustrations on view in From Head to Foot: Fraternal Regalia Illustrations have been in the museum’s collection for many years, this exhibition is the first time many have been gathered together and displayed for the public to enjoy. These attractive advertisements, on view in Lexington until July 2024, offer insight into the vibrant regalia industry during the 1900s.
