BROCK

UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY
Presented by
Mr. William K.

Bailey

Toronto
January 1991

*
LIBRARY
BROCK UNIVERSITY

**

THE RARE
BOOKS OF FREEMASONRY

THE

BgdkmansJournal
and Print Collector
Monthly

2I-

AN INTERNATIONAL ORGAN FOR

COLLECTORS OF BOOKS & PRINTS
London:
173-5 Fleet Street, E.C.4

New

York:

R.R. Bowker

Company

THE
RARE BOOKS
OF

FREEMASONRY
By

LIONEL VIBERT
P.M. Lodge Quatuor Coronati,
Author

of

The Story of the Craft, etc.

Latomorum.

Editor Miscellanea

London:
'The Bookman's Journal" Office
173-5 Fleet Street, E.C.4

1923

Copyright, 1923

Printed in Great Britain

PREFACE

carefully compiled

list

of the rarer

masonic books has

been required for a long time past, and few students of

the literature of the Craft have had either a competent know-

them to investimanner
a methodical
the rarities which

ledge of the scarce works, or leisure to enable

gate and describe in

in the present

work are brought under review. Fortunately

the enterprise of the publishers has secured the services of Mr.

Lionel Vibert,

who

as Editor of Miscella?iea

author of some charming

little

Latomorum and

volumes on old-time masonry,

brings to bear on his present task both knowledge of masonic

literature

and care

in tracing out

benefit the facts here

embodied

The masonic student

for reference

and marshalling

in a concise

for our
and orderly form.

work

of material value

will find this

and comparison the

;

collector will likewise

a competent authority to consult;

have

while the beginner will

probably be encouraged to investigate more closely that class

of scarce books

which might otherwise never have been

brought to his notice. To these and

all

others interested, the

success of Mr. Vibert's former works

is

a guarantee that they

have now available a descriptive catalogue

of

Freemasonry which can be

relied

upon

of the rare

books

for its accuracy

and comprehensiveness.

Wm. Wonnacott
Librarian of the Grand Lodge

July 1923.

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in

2012 with funding from

Brock University

University of Toronto Libraries

http://archive.org/details/rarebooksoffreemOOvibe

CONTENTS
Page

Preface

Introduction

(a)

Constitutions

ii

(b)

Pocket Companions

20

(c)

Exposures

24

(d) Historical

29

(e)

Sermons and Speeches

33

(f)

Miscellaneous

37

INTRODUCTION

THE

Grand Lodge

of

England was formed

in 1717,

but did not attract any degree of public attention

up to which time the Freemasons had been
till 172 1
so inconspicuous that there are not known to exist more
than fifteen distinct references to them in print of an
earlier date.
These are collected in the appendix to the
Inaugural Address of Mr. E. H. Dring, which he delivered
to the Quatuor Coronati Lodge in 1912 (to which the
present article is very much indebted), and of them only
three can be said to be anything more than passing references
to the Craft and its customs.
It was not till 1722 that any work was printed which
can fairly be described as a work on Freemasonry. This
was the pamphlet known to-day as the Roberts Constitutions.
The Freemasons had possessed in manuscript, ever since
the fifteenth century at all events, documents containing
what purported to be a history of the Order, and a set
Versions
of ordinances comparable to those of a Gild.
actually made in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries have come down to us to-day, and of these there
are nearly a hundred in existence. They are known as the Old
Charges, and the versions are almost all so closely allied
textually as to make it obvious that they derive from a
single original.
They begin with a prayer, the opening
" The Almighty Father of
words of which are usually
Heaven "
and then, after an introduction beginning
" Good Brethren and Fellows, our purpose is," there follows
the historical section, and the Charges themselves in two
or more sections. Even to-day versions are still occasionally
discovered, and the great majority of those extant were
written in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The Roberts Constitutions was a printed version of such a
manuscript, and of this pamphlet until quite recently only
one copy was known to exist, which is in the library of
the Grand Lodge of Iowa. A reprint was issued by Messrs.
Spencer's, of Great Queen Street, in 1871.
;

The

title-page of the original

The / Old

is

Constitutions / Belonging

to
the /
Ancient and Honourable / SOCIETY / of / Free and
Accepted / MASONS. / Taken from a Manuscript wrote
about Five / Hundred Years since. / LONDON
/
Printed and Sold by J. Roberts, in / Warwick Lane,
:

MDCCXXII./

(Price Six-Pence.)

and the collation is Title, reverse blank four pages not

numbered, preface; pp. 1-26 History and Charges, but the
last two pages are erroneously numbered 23, 24.
The next half-century saw the Craft established on the
Continent, and two rival Grand Lodges working in London
itself.
But the output of books was not profuse, and such
as there were consisted largely of controversial pamphlets,
alleged exposures and reprints of speeches and sermons.
;

Still,

many

of the items of early date are extremely rare,

was not till somewhere in the eighties of last

century that there was any market for early masonic literature, the prices of an earlier date, when we can ascertain
them, are no criterion of value. To-day there is a far
larger public interested in the subject and prices are rising.
Wolfstieg in his monumental Bibliography, published in
1912 and containing well over 43,000 entries, recognises
but, as

it

It will be sufficient
eight classes with 174 sub-divisions.
Conhere to deal with the subject under the six heads
Exposures
Historical
stitutions
Pocket Companions
and Miscellaneous.
Sermons and Speeches
:

10

(a)

HIS

CONSTITUTIONS

title given by Grand Lodge since 1723 to

publication which to-day comprises certain
" Ancient Charges " and the Laws of the Craft.
The work
was first issued in 1723, and up to 1897 twenty-four editions
are recognised.
The idea was copied, and the actual
work also reprinted in Ireland, Scotland and America.
The name Constitutions was also that given in many cases
to the manuscripts of an earlier date, and as several of these
were now printed these works will also come as a subdivision under this heading.
Taking this class first we

the

have

is

the

official

(Part

I)

M
1722.

of 1722 already described. To

the copy belonging to the G.L. of Iowa, hitherto considered
unique, has now to be added a copy which recently
passed through the hands of Messrs. Fletcher, of Bayswater, and is now in private ownership.

The Roberts Constitutions

(2)

[1724].

The Briscoe

does not seem necessary to give

the first part of it is
The secret / HISTORY / of the / Free-Masons /
being an / Accidental Discovery / of the / Ceremonies
Made Use of in the several / LODGES, /
and it also contains Observations ... on the New
Constitution Book
written by James Anderson (vide
and " a short dictionary of private
infra, No. II., 1.)
Signs, or Signals."
Collation
Title with reverse blank
iv pp. preface
47 pages of text with reverse of p. 47
blank. The Imprint is
London
Printed for Sam.
Briscoe, at the Bell-Sauvage, on Ludgate Hill (etc.)
but with no date. Mr. G. W. Bain reproduced his copy
in facsimile in 1891
there may be other copies in private
ownership but no library appears to possess one.
Print.

the elaborate

It

title in full

(3)

1725.

The Briscoe

second edition. Identical except for

the date on title-page. Also of great rarity
there is a
copy in the Worcestershire Masonic Library.
Print,

(4)

[1729]

Constitutions.
This consists of
Lord Kingston, the title as follows

Cole's

IT

Dedication

to

A / Book / of the Antient / Constitutions / of / the

Free & Accepted / MASONS
both being engraved, and fifty-one engraved copper
plates of text, followed by six more of songs.
Kingston
was Grand Master from December 27, 1728, to December
27, 1729, so that the work may be presumed to have been
It is found with 38 added pages in
issued in 1729.
ordinary type (two speeches, a Prologue and an Epilogue),
and may have been re-issued with this addition in 1730,
when

the combined work was advertised (on March 18)

as just published. There is in the Library of Grand Lodge
a specially prepared copy on a paper of a larger size.
(5)

1731. Cole's Constitutions, second edition. This consists of a

Frontispiece, a very lengthy title-page with imprint and
date, and the original plates
but with the Dedication
altered so as to read to Lord Lovel, and the imprint
obliterated from the title.
The six copper plates of songs
Then follow the speeches and Prologue
are also omitted.
and Epilogue, pp. 1 34 and two not numbered, and two
collections of songs, together occupying 64 pages.
But
the order of binding differs in different copies. The
speeches have their own pagination and title-page, which
describes them as the second edition with date 1734
while the songs are also separately paginated with a
Wolfstieg gives the first edition
title-page dated 1731.
a lengthy title-page almost identical with that of 173 1,
and with the date 1728. This does not correspond with
the descriptions given by Hughan in his introduction
to the Jackson reprint of the second edition (Leeds,
it may possibly refer
1897) and by Mr. Dring {op. cit.)
to the issue of 1730.
;

(6)

a reprint of the former

1751. Cole's Constitutions, third edition
but all in ordinary type. This has a new and much
and two plates.
shorter title-page.
8vo
78 pages
;

(7)

1762.

The fourth edition similar.

One masonic library in
;

this country (Worcestershire)

But it may be mentioned, as
possesses the quartette.
illustrative of how the prices actually obtained for these
things are no sort of guide to their intrinsic value or
their probable selling price to-day, that the set of four
was in the Spencer Sale of 1875 and went for 3 8s.

12

(8)

1739-

The Dodd Version. Title

The / BEGINNING / and / First Foundation / Of
the Most Worthy / Craft of Masonry / with / The
:

/ By a Deceas'd Brother,
/ LONDON / Printed
for Mrs. Dodd, at the Peacock without Temple Bar /
Charges thereunto belonging.
for the Benefit of his

mdcc

Widow

(Price Sixpence)

xxxix.

20 pages. This is the last of the printed versions

4to
of the old manuscripts, and is even rarer than the Cole.
Hughan (Old Charges, 1895, p. 139) says " I think there
must be four at least in existence." Nevertheless in the
Spencer Sale the copy then offered as one of the only
three known fetched 23/-. The text is all but identical
with that of the Cole.
;

We can now consider the series of Constitutions which

were issued by, or with the approval of, Grand Lodge,
and the reprints of them. We have
:

(Part II)
(1)

The Constitutions of 1723. The full title is

The / CONSTITUTIONS / of the / FREE-MASONS.
:

/ containing the / History, Charges, Regulations, &c.

/ of that most Ancient and Right / Worshipful
FRATERNITY. /For the Use of the Lodges. /
London / Printed by William Hunter, for John
Senex, at the Globe, / and John Hooke at the Flowerde-luce over- against St. Dunstans / Church, in Fleetstreet.
5723 / Anno
I In the Year of Masonry
Domini
x 723 /
Collation
half-title
Constitutions between ornamental
borders plate
title as above, reverse blank
dedication
in large type on two leaves not numbered
text pp. 1
74;
songs with music pp. 75 90
p. 91 contains a notice
about the rest of the music, the license to publish of the
Grand Master, and FINIS. The reverse of p. 91, not
numbered, has publishers' announcements.
Perfect
copies with the half-title are very rare.
:

(2)

1725.

Constitutions of 1723 re-printed in Dublin.

No copy
is known to exist
the work is only known from'* an
advertisement in The Dublin Journal of July 31, 1725.

The

(3)

Anderson's

1730- Penncll's Constitutions.

the imprint is

title

is

repeated, but

DUBLIN / Printed by /. Watts, at the Lord Caterets

/ Head in Dames-Street, for /. Pennell, at the / three
Blue Bonnets in St. Patrick' s-Street. /In the Year of
Masonry 5730 / Anno Domini 1730.
4to
plate and 96 pages. The work is Anderson more
or less reproduced, but with some added matter.
Dr.
Chetwode Crawley only knew of one perfect copy, in
private ownership in America.
;

1734. Franklin's reprint of Anderson in Philadelphia " by special

order, for the use of the brethren in North-America

1734."
(5)

Described as the New Book

1738. Anderson's second edition.
of Constitutions, by James Anderson, D.D., in a long
title-page.
Collation
plate ; title-page ; reverse blank ;
pp. i x, dedication and preface ; two pages not numbered,
sanction to publish, plate with the arms of Carnarvon
and his titles pp. 1 230 text two pages not numbered,
corrigenda and publisher's announcements. The songs
conclude on p. 215, and are followed by a reprint of a
Defence of Masonry, pubpamphlet (No. F. 7 infra) "
lished a.d. 1730.
Occasion'd by a Pamphlet call'd
Masonry Dissected " (as to which vide infra No. C. 3).
This also appears in a Pocket Companion of this same
year (vide infra No. B. 4). This is in turn followed by
Brother Euclid's letter to the Author against Unjust Cavils,
which is dated 1738, the authorship of which is unknown.
The leaf pp. 129 130 is substituted for an original
which contained various errors, the most conspicuous
of which was the writing
instead
of
FRANCIS, Duke of Lorraine. No copy appears to be
known with the original leaf in situ, but in one copy,
at present in private ownership, it is found attached
The Plate is the same as that of 1723,
to the cover.
with the exception of the lettering at bottom " En:

STEPHEN

graved by John Pine in Aldersgate Street, London,"

which is now deleted. This Plate measures 8$ X7f".
The work was printed with identical typing on paper
The
of two different sizes, 8f"x7i" and 7i"X5i*small paper copies could not therefore have taken
the Plate without folding, and as none appear to be
ff

14

known

in fact seem that none were

Mr. Hughan, in his Preface to
the facsimile issued by Lodge Quatuor Coronati in 1890,
stated that he had only succeeded up to that time in
tracing twenty-six copies of this edition. The imprint

that have

in fact issued

is

would

it, it

with

it.

LONDON / Printed for Brothers Caesar Ward and

Richard Chandler, / Booksellers, at the Ship without
Temple-Bar ; and sold at their / Shops in Coney -Street,
:

YORK,

and

at

MDCCXXXVIII.

SCARBOROUGH-SPAW.

/ In the Vulgar Year of Masonry,

5738.
(6)

1746.

Constitutions /of the / Most ancient

and honourable Fraternity / of / Free and Accepted
MASONS / (etc.). This is a reissue of the previous
work, obviously the publisher's remainders, as it is
identical in all respects, save that it has a new titlepage beginning as above and with the imprint
and sold by J. Robinson, at
Printed
/ the Golden-Lion in Ludgate-street. / In the vulgar

The / History and

:

LONDON

Year of MASONRY 5746.

As before some copies were small

paper, and were apparently originally issued without the Plate.

It is still
rarer than the 1738 edition
Mr. Hughan in 1890 only
knew of nineteen copies.
;

175 1.

(7)

second edition of Pennell, (No. 3 supra), with a long title

which concludes
Collated from the Book of Constitutions published
in England, in the year 1738, by our worthy Bro. James
Anderson. For the Use of the Lodges in Ireland. By
Edward Sprat t. Dublin.
175 1.
viii, 172 pp.
4to
plate
A very rare work, almost (as
.

much

so as the first edition.

third edition of the Book of Constitutions was
published in 1756 with a frontispiece by B. Cole. The
author was Entick. He used the enlarged history that
Anderson had written for his 1738 edition, but the
Regulations were entirely recast. The fourth edition
was published in 1767. It is described as
New
Edition, with Alterations and Additions, by a Com-

The

"A

mittee appointed by the Grand Lodge." Entick's name

still appears (as well as Anderson's), but in fact he had
nothing to do with it.
15

(8)

1776.

The Appendix

the fourth edition. This, written by

William Preston, is rarely met with. It occasionally
occurs bound up with the fourth edition. It consists
of lxxvi pages.
Page i has a half-title
Appendix / to
the / Constitutions / of the / Society of Free and Accepted Masons. Page ii has the Resolution ordering
the Appendix.
Page iii commences " Appendix " and
to

the text goes to lxx

then come an anthem and ode,
and lxxvi, not paged, is blank.
Of the fourth edition there were two unauthorised
issues, one in 8vo, published by G. Kearsly, London,
and the other, also 8vo, but with another title-page and
plates, published by Thomas Wilkinson, Dublin.
Both
;

appeared in 1769.

The fifth edition, of 1784, is described as " A New

Edition, revised, enlarged and brought down to the year
1784, under the direction of the Hall Committee, by
NOORTHOUCK." The frontispiece shows the
interior of Freemasons' Hall, and is dated 1786.
The
usual collation is
Frontispiece
page not numbered
"Explanation of the Frontispiece," reverse blank; i xii,
dedication, laws relating to the Charity, sanction, preface,

JOHN

contents;
pp. 176, 77 134, 135204, 205350,
351 414, history in five parts (including Charges,
Regulations, etc.)
415 459 poetry. On p. 459 is a
note to the binder regarding the cancelled leaf. This
was pp. 67, 68 the original p. 67 is headed " In Italy,"
the corrected page being headed " Gothic Architecture."
The cancelled leaf is rare, and although the work was
issued originally presumably without the plate, there do
not seem to be any copies bound up without it, although
some omit the laws relating to the Charity (*).
In 1753 a rival Grand Lodge had been founded in London
which also issued an official publication with the title
Ahiman Rezon. Of the eight editions issued the first four
are rare
indeed, of the fourth itself only two copies
appear to be known.

(9)

1756.

Ahiman Rezon.
mencement is

410.

long

title

of

which the com-

AHIMAN REZON

or,

Help to a Brother

A copy with the plate was sold at Sotheby's in 1008, for

1 3s. od.; but whether it contained the original cancelled leaf
or not does not appear.
*

I6

/ Shewing the /
the

first

EXCELLENCY
or Motive,

Cause,

FREEMASONRY
and the imprint

LONDON

of

SECRECY,

of

the

Institution

And
of /

/ Printed for the Editor, and sold by

Brother James Bedford, at the / Crown in St. Paul's
Church-Yard. / MDCCLVL
The work was written by Laurence Dermott, the Secretary
of this Grand Lodge, and the preface contains sarcastic
references to the current histories of the Craft with
allusions to other works, not all of which can now be
i
iii dedication
iv blank
Collation
title
traced.
blank page not
v xvii The Editor to the Reader
four pages not numbered, subscribers'
numbered
numbered,
contents
four
208
not
i
names
and one page not numbered, text, headed Ahiman
Rezon songs preceded by a title-page with blank reverse
:

prologues and epilogues, and an Oratorio.

(10)

1764.

Ahiman Rezon, second edition. An ornate title-page

border with much less text and the imprint

in a

Printed for the Author / and sold by Br. ROBERT

/ Bookbinder & Stationer / in George Yard,
Tower Hill. / LONDON, 1764.
The text differs considerably from that of the first edition.
There is a plate of the Arms of the Masons and those of
the Operative or Stone Masons.

BLACK.

(11)

1778.

Ahiman Rezon,

third edition.

AHIMAN REZON

The

title-page

is

/ or a / Help to all that are,

or would be / Free and Accepted Masons.
/ (With
many ADDITIONS) / The THIRD EDITION. /
By Lau. Dermott, D.G.M. / (four lines of verse) /
Printed for / JAMES JONES, Grand Secretary, / and
Sold by /PETER SHATWELL, in the Strand,/

LONDON,

1778.
(12)

1787.

Ahiman Rezon,
is

fourth edition.

Similar but the publisher

Frakins.

The remaining

editions were issued in 1800 (v)

1801
and 1813 (viii) the last two have
1807 (vii)
lists of Lodges.
After the Union of the two Grand Lodges steps were
taken to issue an official Book of Constitutions for the
(vi)

17

united body. The Regulations were drafted by a joint

committee, and as to publishing these there was no
particular difficulty.
But the history was another
matter as the two bodies had taken very divergent
views on that subject. Accordingly the historical
section, or " first part," was held over, the Charges
and Regulations being issued as a " second part," and
this description " second part " was maintained for three
editions but was then dropped, and no official history
has ever been promulgated. But inquiries are still
occasionally
sixth,

made

for the non-existent first parts of the

seventh and eighth editions.

after the

Union was that

The

first

edition

of 1815.

(13)

1815. Constitutions, sixth edition.

Title-page

CONSTITUTIONS

/ of the / Antient Fraternity /

of / Free and Accepted Masons.
/ Part the Second
/ containing / The Charges, Regulations, / &ct, &ct.
/ Published, by / the Authority of the United Grand
Lodge, / by / William Williams, Esq. / Provi?icial
Grand Master for the County of Dorset. / LONDON
/ Printed by W. P. Norris, Printer to the Society,
/ Little Moorgate, London-Wall. / MDCCCXV.
On the reverse of the title-page was a notice that the
First Part would be printed with as little delay as possible,
and that the laws would be revised after three years
when sheets in which alterations had been made would
be reprinted and sent to subscribers. The edition in its
:

otiginal state

is

The seventh

rare.

was issued in 1819, with the

and sanction of the previous edition
unchanged, but there was now added a Preface to the
Corrected Edition, dated from Belmont House, 19 February, 1819. Apart from the variations in the actual
edition

title-page, foreword,

text this Preface alone serves to distinguish this edition.

This was the last edition to be issued in 4to.
In 1823 the Provincial Grand Lodge of Upper Canada
reissued this edition, with the same title-page except for
the imprint, which now read
First Canadian Edition. / Republished by order of
the Provincial Grand Lodge of / Upper Canada. /
Kingston:/ Printed byH. C.Thomson. / MDCCCXXIII.
There was also a dedication which occupies the
second leaf. Of this reissue there is a copy in the
Library of the Supreme Council at Washington, D.C.
:

18

later editions, the eighth, of 1827, was the

retain the description " Second Part " ;
but
only three of those of more recent years can be styled
rare.
These are

Of the

last

to

(14)

1855. 12th edition, the 321110 issue.

(Also issued in 8vo.)

(15)

1865. 16th edition.

This

321110.

is

so rare that its very existence

and it is only within

the last year that Grand Lodge has become possessed
of a copy.

was doubted

until quite recently,

(16)

1866. 17th edition, another 32mo, issue.

The Bain Reprint of the Briscoe Print has already

been referred to. Of the Constitutions of 1723 complete
or partial facsimiles have been issued at New York in
1855 and 1905, at Philadelphia in 1906, and at Wiesbaden
in 1900.
Of the 1738 edition an absolute facsimile was
issued in 1890 as vol. VII of the Quatuor Coronati Antigrapha, with an introduction by Mr. Hughan. Of
Ahiman Rezon there are as yet no facsimiles. But there
is one work of this class which has to be reckoned among
our Rare Books to-day, and that is
:

(17)

Freemasons. By William James

Spencer and Co. 8vo. pp. xxii, 38,
The Introduction deals with the Constitutions
51.
generally, and the Text consists of a reproduction of
those of 1723, with the exception of the historical portion
and the songs, and of the Cole Text. Only 70 copies
were printed.

1869. Constitutions

Hughan.

of

the

London

19

POCKET COMPANIONS

(b)

ANDERSON'S

first edition was exhausted by the

beginning of 1735, and to meet what was no doubt a
fairly extensive demand there was now published a work
styled A Pocket Companion for Freemasons, the greater
part of which was in fact simply a piracy of Anderson.
This was the first of a series of similar works, which
mostly contained a history, the Charges and Regulations,
and other matter of the same kind, collections of songs
and poetry, and lists of Lodges. After No. 1 in the list
I now give, they usually have
very long title-pages.
Wolfstieg gives most of these fairly fully
I give in full
one that he does not reproduce. They are all of considerable rarity in anything like perfect condition.
;

(1)

1735. Smith's Pocket Companion.

Title

Companion / for / Free-Masons. /

/ Pocket
Deus Nobis Sol & Scutum/ Dedicated to the Society.
/ Printed and sold by E. Rider in Black/ London
more- / street, near Clare-Market. / mdccxxxv.
The collection of songs, etc., is preceded by a sub- title
with the date 1734 (p. 47).
:

to
1735.

Probably this was

at Dublin.
done with Smith's permission. This edition has a long
and whereas the London edition
title-page and a plate
was condemned by G. L. at London, where Anderson

The same work printed

;

still there to protest and was preparing his own

second edition, the Dublin reprint was sanctioned and
adopted by the Grand Lodge of Ireland.

was

1736. Smith, a re-issue.

(3)

long title-page and plate

printed

by Torbuck.
(4)

" with large additions.

1738. Smith, the second edition,
a long title-page, but no plate.

Again,

(5)

1752.

Pocket Companion, published at Edinburgh, of which

Wolfstieg gives no details further than that a copy is
in private ownership in Germany.
(6)

1754. (Entick).

win

Scott's Pocket

8vo,

viii,

328

Companion, published by Baldwith plate.

20

The

author's

name

does not appear, but he takes the course that he was

again to take in the official third edition of the Constitutions (supra) of discarding the confusions of Anderson's
1738 edition.
(7)

1759. Scott, a second edition.

(8)

1764. Scott, a third edition.

(9)

1761.

The Edinburgh Pocket Companion.

8vo, with a long

Published by Auld,

title.

(10)

1763.

I give the title-page in full

second edition of No. 9
as a specimen of their general style
The / Free-Masons / Pocket-Companion / containing
/The History of Masonry from the Creation to /
the present Time
/ The Institution of the Grand
Lodge of Scotland
/ Lists of the Officers of the
Grand Lodges in / England & Scotland / WITH /
A Collection of Charges, Constitutions, Or / ders,
Regulations, Songs, &ct / The Second Edition / Edinburgh. / Printed for Alexander Donaldson / and sold
at his shops in London and Edinburgh / mdcclxiii
;

8vo.

1765.

1764.

vi,

274, pp.

third edition.

in)
Published by Auld and Smellie.
(12)

Pocket Companion.

and described as the

Published at Belfast by Magee,

fifth edition.

(13)

Published at Glasgow by Galbraith.

There is another Glasgow edition of 177 1, and others
elsewhere of later dates, but none that can strictly be
called rare. But there is one other rare work that comes
into this category, although it is not styled a PocketBook and its contents are of a somewhat different

1765. Another.

character.

It is

(14)

1775.

The Free-Masons-Calendar, or An Almanac for the year

Containing,
of Christ 1775, and Anno Lucis 5775.
besides an accurate and useful calendar of all remarkable
occurrences for the year, many useful and curious
21

particulars relating to Masonry.

Inscribed with great
respect to Lord Petrc.
By a Society of Brethren.
London Company of Stationers 1775.
:

be observed that these works nearly always

contain a List of Lodges, and this will be a convenient
It will

place in which to notice the publications known as the

Engraved Lists. An official List of Lodges was drawn
up by Grand Lodge in 1723, but it was also necessary
for each individual Lodge to possess at all times an
authorised List, corrected to date, and accordingly in
this same year the first Engraved List was issued, and
they were continued up to 1778, one or more appearing
annually. Until 1741 the engraver was John Pine who
had done the Frontispiece to the Constitutions of 1723.
In 1744 the engraver was Eman. Bowen, and from now
onwards the engraver was either William or Benjamin
Cole.
These Lists are all more or less in the same style ;
they are engraved on plates measuring six inches or
slightly less by 2j", and each plate contains spaces for
12 Lodges, but blanks occur where Lodges on previous
Lists have ceased to exist.
The sign of the tavern where
the Lodge meets is usually depicted, or the name, or
both, and the street if in London, as also the days of
meeting and the date of constitution. In the Lists
from 1729 onwards a serial number is assigned to each
Lodge and blank. The Lists for the earlier years are
very scarce. Indeed as yet none are known to have
survived for 1726-8, 1730-3, 1742, 1743, 1746, 1748 or
1749 ; and all other issues, except three, previous to 1765
are at present represented by single copies, and the same
is the case with regard to several later ones.
The Grand Lodge of 1753 issued similar Lists but
only two are known to exist, both for the year 1753,
the earlier being in the Library of Lodge Quatuor Coronati,
and the later at the South Kensington Museum. These
are engraved on plates measuring 4"x2f", which have
two Lodges to a plate, the information as to each being
enclosed in ornate borders of Chippendale design, almost
all different.
There is also a title-page on a separate
plate with an elaborate design of its own. The earlier
List is reproduced in full in vol. xix of the Transactions
the engraver was Jeremiah
of Lodge Quatuor Coronati
Evans, who does not however seem to have been a
;

person of any note in his profession.

22

In 1775 Grand Lodge commenced the issue of an annual

Calendar and List of Lodges and this superseded the
Engraved Lists, the series having been continued till the
present day. But no copy of the Calendar for 1816
appears to be in existence
at all events none was
known to Mr. Lane when he published his Masonic
Records, which puts in tabular form the information as
to every known Lodge in the English Craft.
;

23

(c)

EXPOSURES

being understood that the Society which had so

ITsuddenly
sprung into prominence possessed secrets and
practised ceremonies of an esoteric character, it was
not long before persons of enterprise, if not of honesty,

began to print alleged revelations of these mysteries.

That they were at once denounced by the Fraternity
as false and inaccurate would perhaps not by itself
discredit them for us to-day
but, in fact, their interest
;

now

is

They offer a possible basis

what was the practice of the

purely antiquarian.

for investigations as to

period in these matters

but if it at all resembled the
accounts given in the various exposures it must have been
greatly metamorphosed in the intervening years.
Some
were mere broadsides, but for the sake of completeness
it is desirable that they also should be described.
Accordingly, taking this class first, we have
;

(Part

I)

M
1725.

The Whole Institutions of Free-Masons Opened,

Printed by William Wilmot on the Blind-Key,
This consists of a

folio sheet

(etc.).

1725.

printed on both sides.

place of publication is mentioned.

Only one copy
known, which is in private ownership.

No
is

(2)

1726.

The Grand Mystery laid open, or the Free Masons Signs

and Words discovered. Printed in the year 1726. This
another single folio sheet, but printed on one side
Again, only one copy is known, which is in the
possession of the same owner as No. I.

is

only.

(3)

1730.

The Mystery of Freemasonry.

This was a broadside which was reported as being
" lately published and dispersed about the Town,"
and which was reprinted in the Daily Journal of Aug. 15,
It was again reprinted in the issue of Aug. 18.
1730.

No

specimen of the original appears to be known, but

an engraved broadside with the same
text, which is apparently a separate and later publication,
It was
are in the B.M., and three masonic libraries.
also reprinted with the heading
single copies of

24

The Mystery and Motions of Free-Masonry disLondon, Printed by Edward Nash, in King
mdccxxx.
Street, Covent Garden,
covered.

Of this there is a copy in the Rawlinson Collection

There was a second reprint, also in
at the Bodleian.
1730, with the heading
The Puerile Signs and
:

Wonders of a Free-Mason (etc.)

which a copy exists in the Guildhall Library. The
text with some small variations was published in the

of

Pennsylvania Gazette of Dec. 5 to 8 in this year, a journal

of which Benjamin Franklin was the Editor at the time.
*

Coming now

to the Exposures in book-form

we have

(Part II)

M
1724.

The Grand Mystery

London
Printed

Free-Masons Discover'd

of

Payne near Stationers' Hall.

Folio 12 pp.
Reprinted at various times in last
1724.
century, the most adequate reproduction being that
issued by Mr. Carson, of Cincinnati, in 1867.
There
is a copy among the Rawlinson papers in the Bodleian.
;

for T.

(2)

1725.

The Grand Mystery, the second edition. The imprint

London
is
Printed for 'A. Moore, near St. Paul's.
Folio, 20 pp.
The copy in the Bodleian, which is
1725.
also among the Rawlinson papers, and another in Dresden,
were the only ones Dr. Chetwode Crawley knew of.
:

To each

containing the
that the
text is
of a Free-mason
who died suddenly. The second edition also contains
" Two Letters to a Friend
The First Concerning the
Society of Free-masons. The Second, Giving an Account
of the Most Ancient Society of Gormogons," which are
edition

there

is

a long

title

which is stock form in these

from papers found in the custody

assertion,

affairs,

of

some importance

duced

historically.

in Gould's History, in the

The text was reproAppendix to vol. III.

(3)

1730. Prichard's

The

Masonry Disected.

MASONRY

title

commences

/ being / A Universal and

Genuine / DESCRIPTION / of / All its Branches,
from the Ori- / ginal to this Present Time. /
The imprint is
/ Disected

London / Printed by Thomas Nichols, at the Crown,

without Temple Barr. / mdccxxx.
:

This was also reprinted by Mr. Carson, of Cincinnati,

The work went through 21 editions by 1787,
some of which, however, would seem to have been reprints in Read's Weekly Journal and the like.
The
earlier editions are extremely rare, only one or two of
those up to the eighth being known apparently, with
the exception of the fifth, of which no specimen at all is
known to exist. The dates of the earlier editions are
I, as above, 1730
II, a reprint in Read, 1730
III,
IV, 1731
V, n.d.
VI, 1736
VII, 1737
1730
VIII, 1737. These two last have " a new and exact
list of regular Lodges."
in 1867.

The work was

reprinted

also

Torbuck) with a different

in 1737, the title

now

being

(the

printer being J.

and unimportant variations

title
:

Secrets of Masonry, / Made known to all

Men, / By S. P. late Member of a / Constituted Lodge.

The /

(etc.).

work issued in Glasgow in 1803 by Robertson with

" The entertaining Mystery of freemasonry
(etc.).
By Sam. Pritchard " is also apparently a reprint
of part of the original, and there is an earlier work with
this same title which is no doubt of the same character,
but the only copy known to me at present is in New
Zealand. The 1803 work is also quite rare.
the

title

(4)

1738.

Masonry farther Dissected.

This is a translation of a French exposure L'Ordre des
Franc Magons trahi., but of an edition earlier than that
of 1745 which has usually been considered the first.
There is a very long title-page and an imprint London
Printed for J. Wilford, .... Where may be had,
Masonry Dissected. The Seventh Edition. Pr. 6d.
:

8vo, pp. 32.

Notwithstanding this announcement and the title

chosen for the work, it has nothing in common with
Prichard, with which indeed it is utterly at variance.
Dr. Chetwode Crawley remarks (Trans, of Lodge\Quatuor
Coronati, ix, 84), " It is excessively rare, and fetches
to-day, in open market, more than a hundred times its
original price."

26

(5)

1754-

With a long title, and a

came by the alleged

The Freemasons examin'd.

preface explaining

how

the author

his account of which is to replace Prichard,

unworthy of credit. The whole thing is an elaborOf the original edition the Library of the
ate skit.
Prov. Grand Lodge of Worcestershire possesses what
appears to be the only copy known. Editions followed

secrets,

who

is

one another in rapid succession, but are all now very

rare, the dates being
II, 1754, a copy in the B. M.
and one other known in private ownership
III, ?, no
copy known
IV, 1754, one copy in private hands
VI, N.D. ? 1758.
V, N.D. ? 1758
(Vide article by
:

Mr. J. T. Thorp in Trans, of Q.C.,

XX,

96).

(6)

1759.

The SECRETS
brother,

32 pp.

and

Masons revealed by a disgusted

Second edition
London Scott. 8vo,
The first edition does not appear to be known,
of the Free

(etc.).

this is rare.
(7)

This also went through many

1760. Three distinct knocks.
editions during the century, several bearing no date,
and was reprinted at Maidstone and in Ireland. The
original publisher was Serjeant
the earlier editions 4to.
;

(8)

London
Nicoll.
Of this work
4to.
1762. Jachin and Boaz.
there were twenty-six editions up to the Union of 18 13.
There were also American editions in 1793 and 1803,
and even after the Union it continued to appear. The
early editions are rare, the first few being very scarce
indeed.
:

A
its

reply

was issued

appearance which

was

entitled

and Boaz immediately on

to-day even more of a rarity. It

to Jachin
is

free-mason's

ANSWER

to the suspected author

pamphlet entitled Jachin and Boaz, or An authentic

key to freemasonry. Addressed to all masons, as well
of a

as to the public in general.

London

A
is

Cooke, 1762.

copy is in the British Museum, and a

also known, published by Nicholl in 1764

intermediate editions, or of later ones

no copies appear to have come to

27

if

light.

fifth edition

but of the
there were any,
;

(9)

long title. Published in London by Griffin.

1764. Hiram.
4to, plate, 96 pp.
Reprinted in Belfast by Joy in 1765,
and a second edition in London in 1766. All are ex-

tremely rare.
(10)

Dublin, Sleater, with a long title of the usual

1765. Shibboleth.
type.
4to, 52 pp.
There was also an issue in London
of the same date.
Both are very rare.

(")
1766.

Mahhabone

1766.

Solomon

The Grand Lodge door open'd. London

Johnson and Davenport. With an exceptionally long
title.
There was a second edition in the same year.
or

(12)

This is another translation from

the French, the original in this case being Le Magon
demasque. The Library of Lodge Quatuor Coronati
possesses a copy of this edition.
A second edition,
" with the addition of two beautiful copper-plates " was
issued by Robinson and Roberts, London, in 1768.
Wilkinson issued a reprint of this, with four copperin all his Glory.

plates, in

Dublin

in

1777

4to, viii, 72 pp.

(13)

[1777].

being the second part of Solomon in all his

Glory.
With a very long title, the only edition known
London,
being published by Wilkinson with the imprint
Wilkinson. There would
Nicoll.
Reprinted Dublin

Tubal-Kain

4to,
therefore appear to have been an earlier edition.
above, are the rarest
This and Mahhabone, No.
of the whole series.

32 pp.

(14)

1824-5.

Containing the whole secrets

The Cat out of the bag
and mysteries of freemasonry never before devulged (sic).
By Runt & Pitcher. London.
Published in four parts, but I do not know of any
copies in libraries or museums, and Wolfstieg gives
none. Some account of it will be found in the Freemason,
!

vol. xlvii (1907-08).

28

HISTORICAL

(d)

(i)

1746.

'""pHE

Sufferings

1 MASONRY

JOHN COUSTOS

of

(etc.).

for

FREE-

London Printed by W. Strahan

:

(Also includes a long account of the

the Author.
8vo, 400 pp.
Also issued in Dublin in the same year and a second
edition with additional masonic matter was published
These are all of some rarity.
at Birmingham in 1790.
Later editions at Hull in 1810, and by Spencer, London,
for

Inquisition.)

in 1847.
(2)

[1764].

The complete Free Mason,

or Multa Paucis for Lovers of

Contains a history which
although based on Anderson and the 1756 Book of
Constitutions has important variations of its own. Also
a list of Lodges which enables us to date the work
there is no date on the title-page.
The late Mr. Whymper
catalogued an edition of the previous year with 162 pages.
Secrets.

4to, plate, 176 pp.

Of extreme

rarity.
(3)

of Masonry.
A work that ran
through seventeen editions up to 1861, being revised
and brought up to date periodically by Oliver and others.
It is only the original edition that is rare.
8vo, xxiv.
264 pp.

1772. Preston's

Illustrations

(4a)

1777.

The

Principles of

Freemasonry delineated. Exeter. Printed

by R. Trewman, behind the Guildhall.

With a plate of the medal of the
Union Lodge at Exeter, This work consisted of a collection of charges and addresses appropriate to various
(and

sold)

MDCCLXXVII.

occasions, or given at Exeter and elsewhere, together

with an account of the proceedings at the dedication of
Freemason's Hall and other matter. There was also a
collection of songs, prologues and epilogues.
It was
published by subscription and there is a list of subscribers and a list of Lodges.
In 1782 there appeared
;

(4b)

1782.

The

Elements of Freemasonry delineated.

Kingston,
Jamaica: Printed by Brother William Moore (etc.).
There is no plate, but the text, as far as the prose portion
is

concerned,

is

practically the text of the earlier

29

work un-

Certain sections come in a different order, and

some passages are left out it also has its own list of
subscribers and, what is of some interest, a list of the
Lodges in Jamaica in 1781, with the names of their
officers.
The songs, etc. are however a different collection.
Neither of these works is known to Wolfstieg.

altered.

He

gives however the third of the series, which

is

(4c)

1788.

Freemasonry delineated. By R. Ray.

Liverpool
This is only known from a catalogue
1788.
reference of 1861
no library appears to possess a copy.
There was a second edition published at Belfast in 1808,
which is also of considerable rarity a copy is in the
Library of Quatuor Coronati. The work is practically a

The Elements

of

reproduction of the publication of 1782, except for the

omission of the lists of subscribers and local lodges
also there is now no locality mentioned for any of the
;

prologues.
(5)

1797.

The Freemason's Monitor,

By a Royal Arch Mason.
1797.

The

8vo.
writer

or

of Masonry.
Spencer and Webb.

Illustrations

Albany

was Thomas Smith Webb, and the work

is

two

parts, but with continuous pagination, of which

the first is merely a version of Preston's Illustrations,
No. 3 above, the second being a description of the
" ineffable degrees."
There were many editions, and in

in

the later ones additional matter was introduced relating

to the history of the Craft in America.
The original
edition, pagination 1-216, 217-284, is of exceptional
rarity.
A reprint was issued in New York in 1899.
(6)

on Masonry. W. Finch. No place or date of

publication, but from what is known of Finch's career,
the work can be dated with approximate accuracy.

[1816]. Lectures

(7)

[1816]. Lectures

and Ceremonies

of

Freemasonry.

W.

Finch.

8vo.

As before, there is no date or place of publication,

and the work is only dated by reference to the known
facts of Finch's career.

He

is

usually referred to as the

masonic charlatan he devised a system of Freemasonry

of his own, for the imparting of which he exacted fees.
The catalogue of 1861, referred to above (under No. 4),
mentions both these publications,
;

(8)

1847.

pamphlet printed by William Piatt, the Wor. Master

of the Lodge of Friendship, No. 26, with a long title
dedicating to the members of the Lodge " this cento
eighteenth
of shreds and patches gleaned from the
century," etc. A reprint of an address delivered in the
there is a
Lodge. The contents are mainly biographical
copy in the Worcestershire Masonic Library.
.

(9)

1870. Masonic Lectures delivered in open Lodge, Chapter, etc.,

by R. W. Br. Col. Alexander Greenlaw (etc.). Madras,
Higginbotham & Co., Publishers and Booksellers. 1870.
Printed at the Asylum Press, Mount Road, by William
Thomas. With a dedication to Earl Mayo, and preface.
8vo.
pp. viii, 240.
Wolfstieg gives the publisher as Triibner, but they can
only have published as London Agents for the Madras
firm.
He also gives the date with a query, but there
is no doubt about it.
He only knew of the work from a
reference in a masonic periodical.
;

(10)

1871. Unpublished

Hughan,
Kenning.

Only

Records of the Craft. By William James

with valuable appendices (etc.). London:
1871.

8vo.

54 pp.
were printed.
;

The

great xeputation
as a masonic student
eagerly sought after
but this and No. A, ii, 17 have the added value of having
been originally published in a very restricted edition.

Mr.
has

fifty copies

Hughan subsequently attained

made all his early works to be

(11)

1874. Memorials of the Masonic

long

title.)

Hughan.
Plate

Union of A.D. 1813 (etc.). (A

Compared and arranged by William James
London
Chatto & Windus. 1874. 4to
:

119 pp.

The work also included (and the title referred to)

Dassigny's Serious and Impartial Enquiry, No. F 6 infra.
A reprint was issued with additional matter, by the
Leicester

Lodge

of Research in 1913.
(12)

Rite (etc.). By William James

preface by T. B. Whytehead.
London
Kenning. 1884. 8vo
vii, 150 pp.
4 plates
In the preface to the second edition, of 1909, Mr. J. T.

1884. Origin

of

Hughan.

the

English

3i

Thorp of Leicester speaks of this first edition as follows

" The limited edition was soon exhausted, and at the
present time it is almost impossible to obtain a copy
:

of the book,

even at a very high price."

(13)

Two Lectures on the

Masonry, delivered by G. W. Speth to the
members of the Church Institute, Margate, on the 30th
October and 13th November, 1893. Margate
Printed
at Keble's Gazette Office.
Paper covers
8vo
1894.
52 pp. Only 200 copies printed.

1893. Builders'

Rites

and Ceremonies.

folk-lore of

(14)

1907.

history of the Westminster

S.

Godding.

numbered

Plymouth

and Keystone Lodge. J. W.

Brenton & Son. Only 250

copies printed.

There are numerous Lodge and

many

cases privately printed,

and

local

Histories,

in

in limited editions.

Mr. F. Leigh Gardner has catalogued all that he could

trace in Vol. Ill of his Catalogue Raisonne of works on
the Occult Sciences (1912), but it would serve no useful
purpose to attempt, in this place, to discriminate between

them

even if it could be done

however, specifies one work
of the kind as rare, which I should perhaps give.
It is
in respect of their rarity,

satisfactorily.

Wolfstieg,

(15)

1882.

An

attempt at compiling a History of Freemasonry in

By T. Ward Chalmers. Wright. StafStafford (etc.).

ford.

Of

this there is a

copy

32

in the Worcestershire Library.

(e)

SERMONS AND SPEECHES

(i)

[1727].

A / SPEECH

/ Deliver'd to the / Worshipful and Ancient

Society of / Free and Accepted Masons, / At a Grand
Lodge, Held at Merchant's- / Hall, in the City of
YORK, on St. John's / Day, December the 27th, 1726.
/ The RIGHT WORSHIPFUL Charles Bathurst, Esq.,
/ Grand-Master. / By the Junior Grand-Warden. /
Printed for Thomas
Olim Meminisse Juvabit. / York
Gent, for the / Benin t of the Lodge. /
The only copy that has been traced so far is in the
The Speech attracted much attention
British Museum.
at the time and there were several reprints in Cole's
It is also
Constitutions, A (1) 4 supra, and elsewhere.
of considerable historical importance and has in more
recent years been reproduced in Hughan's Masonic
Sketches and in other works.
:

(2)

Love Recommended.
A sermon with a long title preached at Boston,
PubU.S.A., on 27th Dec. 1749, by Chas. Brockwell.
lished at Boston in 1750, the printer being John Draper.
The only copy known is in the British Museum. This
was also reprinted in the Pocket Books.

1750. Brotherly

(3)

1750.

Sermon preached at Gloucester on 27 Dec, and printed

The name of the
for the Author by Robert -Raikes.
preacher is unknown, and the only copy of the sermon
itself is an imperfect one in the Library of Lodge Quatuor
Coronati.
cited.

8vo

Vide No. 231 of Mr. Dring's appendix already

24 pp. There was a second edition in
;

1752 of 30 pp.
(4)

1752.

Sermon preached at
Chatham on New Year's Day, 1752, by William Williams.
London 1752. 4to. Mentioned in the 1861 catalogue

Masonry founded on

Scripture, in a

already referred

to.
(5)

1757.

The Light and Truth of Masonry explained. (With a long

title.)
By Thomas Dunckerley. London
Davey &
:

Law.

8vo

40 pp.
Two charges, one delivered at Plymouth on the occasion
of the dedicating of a new Lodge room at the Pope's
;

33

Head Tavern, and

the second at the same Lodge on the

24th June in that year. The Lodge Quatuor Coronati
possesses what appears to be the only copy known.
There was a second edition in 1758, 4to, 24 pp., which is
also of great rarity.
(6)

1757.

Discourse upon Masonry. By George Minty. Dublin

Printed for the Author, by Alex. M'Culloh, in Skinner
:

Rom, 1757.

With a very long title. The actual discourse was

when the author was Master of a Lodge

delivered in 1742

England (which he does not specify). He appears to

have embarked on the publication as a means of raising
funds, and in 1772 he brought out a second edition,
with the addition of " fraternal melody," the publisher
being Wilkinson of Dublin, only on this occasion he stated
that the oration had been delivered in that same year,
in

the locality being unspecified.

Both

editions are quite

rare.

At p. 104 of Vol. IX of the Transactions of Lodge

Quatuor Coronati will be found comments on the work
and its author by Mr. Conder, who also transcribes in full
the title page to the first edition.
(7)

1766.

The Excellency and Usefulness of Masonry (etc.). By

Thomas Bagnall. London Stuart. 8vo pp. iv, 5-32.
There is a copy in a masonic Library at Hamburg.
:

(8a)

1768.

FREEMASONRY /The
/ Wherein

High-way

to Hell. / a /

SERMON:

clearly proved, / Both from Reason and

That / all who profess these Mysteries are /

is

Scripture
a State
;

in

London
8vo

of Eternal Damnation. / (Two texts) /

/ Printed in the Year m,dcc,lxviii. /

22 pp.
(8b)

1768.

The same title, but " eternal " omitted, and the imprint
Printed for Robinson and Roberts, at
London
is
No. 25, in Paternoster Row, m,dcc,lxviii.
:

8vo 39 pp.
Except in respect of pagination and title, these are
identical works and it is not possible to say which
appeared first. Robinson and Roberts were the publishers
of C 12 supra.
The so-called Sermon was in practice a
scurrilous pamphlet, and is quite unlikely to have been
A second edition
ever delivered. The writer is unknown.
;

34

was published on May 2nd, in this same year, also by

Robinson and Roberts, " and sold by R. Goadby in
Sherborne." There was a reprint by W. G. Jones and
There was
J. Millikin, at Dublin, also in this same year.
further a German translation now and a French in 1769.
The pamphlet has been reprinted with an introduction
No
as No. V of the Leicester Masonic Reprints (1922).
Masonic Library appears to possess a copy of any edition.
Wolfstieg gives the date of the
(his

1768.

No. 3598), but

an

this is

first

edition as

1761

error.

MASONRY / the / Turnpike-Road / to / Happiness m

this

and / Eternal Happiness hereafter. / Dublin

Printed by James Hoey, senior, at the/ Mercury,
Skinner- Row. m dec lxviii. /
8vo 32 pp.
Life /

/
in

1768.

is
London Published April 18,
Printed for S. Bladon in Paternoster Row and
1768.
sold by R. Goadby in Sherborne.
These again are duplicates. The former is reprinted
of the Leicester Reprints.
with No. 7 supra in No.
The pamphlet is a reply to the Sermon by an unknown
author. There is a copy of the Dublin edition at Leicester.
There was a German translation published at Frankfort
The Sermon provoked three other rejoinders,
in 1769.
They are
all of great rarity to-day.

The same, but the imprint

(10)

1768.

Remarks on a Sermon
Thompson. London
for T.

(Price

By John
and H. Hardy,
Pater-noster Row. mdcclxviii.

lately Published (etc.).

:

Printed by

Evans, at No. 20, in

One Shilling.) 8vo

S. Axtell

35 pp.

(")
A sermon (with a very long title).
1768. Masonry Vindicated.
printed for J. Hinton.
8vo
London
1768.
35 pp.
:

(12)

1768.

An Answer

to a certain Pamphlet lately published under

the solemn Title of " A Sermon, or Masonry the Way to
Hell."
By John Jackson. Philanthropos. 1768.
In the Leicester Reprint Mr. J. T. Thorp, in the
introduction, observes that of the whole series there are
probably not more than a dozen copies in existence.
These last three are unknown to Wolfstieg.

35

(13)

1776.

An

Oration.
Delivered at the Dedication of Freemason's
Hall on Thursday May 23 1776. By William Dodd.
Published by general request under the sanction of the
Grand Lodge. London Robinson. 1776.
The Hall referred to is the present building in Great
Queen Street. The speech was frequently reprinted in
miscellanies, but copies of the original publication are
scarce.
There is one at Worcester.
:

(14)

Reprinted by permission of
1808. Orations of Fred. Dalcho.
the author under the sanction of the 111. the College of
Knights of K.H. and the Original Chapter of Prince
King.
Masons of Ireland. Dublin
a copy in the Library of Lodge
Of extreme rarity
Quatuor Coronati, and another at Worcester.
:

36

(f)

MISCELLANEOUS
(i)

[?

'HP* HE

Free-masons, an Hudibrastic Poem. 8vo, 24 pp.

with a long title. The second edition of this with date
the advertisement of this second
1723 is in the B. M.
edition appeared in the Daily Post of Feb. 15 of that
(Robyear, as well as in other contemporary journals.
Wolfstieg dates the first
bins in Trans. Q.C. xxii, 75).
edition 1722, but Begemann states {History, ii, 173)
that the work first appeared in 1723. These two editions
a third
were " Printed for A. Moore, near St. Paul's "
edition was published in 1724 by Warner.

1722]

(?)

1725.

ANSWER

Vindication, / being an /
/
To a Scandalous Libel, entituled the Grand Mistery /
of the Free Masons discover'd &c. / wherein is plainly
prov'd the falsity of that / Discovery, and how great an
imposition it is on the Publick. / .
there is a copy in the British
foolscap broadside
Museum, and another in the Rawlinson papers at the
It is an answer to No. C ii, 1.
Bodleian.

The / Freemasons

(3)

1726.

The Freemasons Accusation and Defence.

8vo, 39 pp.
and
with a long title. Printed for J. Peele
N. Bradford. Advertised in Jan., and a second edition in

March

of that year.

but without any

Wolfstieg also gives a third edition

There is a copy in the B. M.

details.

(4)-

1726.

By

a Lover of Harmony and

Printed for J. Roberts in
Warwick Lane, 1726. Svo, 27 pp. A reply to the
previous work. The only copy known is in the Bodleian.
Full Vindication
Good Fellowship.

etc.

London

(5)

1726.

An Ode

to the

Grand Khaibar .... London

Printed

and Sold by J. Roberts in the Oxford Arms Passage

near Warwick Lane. 4to, 9 pp. The only copy known
is in the Library of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge.
It is
written to bring into contempt the history and poems
in the

Book

of Constitutions of 1723.
(6)

1730.

A New

Model For the Rebuilding Masonry

Farmer.

etc.

Dedicated to Mr. Orator Henley.

37

By Peter
Printed for

J.

32 pp., of which the last 16 are songs.

is in the B. M.

Wilford.

The only copy known

1731.

(7)

DEFENCE

/ of / MASONRY, / Occasioned by a
Pamphlet, / called / Masonry Dissected. / / Rams
magna Libido Tacendi.
Sermo Mis,
Juv. Sat. 2. / /
London / Printed for J. Roberts, near the OxfordArms, / in Warwick-Lane. / M.DCC.XXXI.
Until within a few years ago this work was only known
from the advertisements of its publication in the Daily
Post and Daily Journal of Dec. 15th and 16th respectively,
There is now a copy in the Grand Lodge Library.
1730.
8vo
half-title
title
Collation
It was
pp. 1-27.
reprinted in the Constitutions of 1738 with the same title,
as also in Smith's Freemason's Pocket Companion of
(B. 4.)
But it is noteworthy that in the
the same year.
Constitutions, it is described as published in 1730, as in
fact it was, whereas the date on the title-page is 1731.
/

&

(8)

1736.

The Book

Masonry Triumphant.

In two parts
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.: Printed by
Leonard Umfreville and Company. The first part is a
the second consists of songs and poems
history, etc.
with a list of meeting places of Lodges. It is in fact
on the lines of the Pocket Companions. 8vo, x, 76
There is a copy in the Masonic Library at
66, x pp.
or

with a long

title.

Leeds.
1744.

(9)

ENQUIRY
FREEMASONRY

Into the Cause of

Serious and Impartial
in the Kingdom
the present Decay of
Dublin
of Ireland .... By Fifield Dassigny M.D.
Printed by Edward Bate in George's-lane near DameOnly three copies known to exist
4to, 80 pp.
Street.
one is in the Library of the G. L. of Iowa, and another
at Leeds.
.

(10)

1758.

Collection of Freemasons' songs with complete list of all

the regular Lodges both in England and Scotland down
Edinburgh
to the year 1758 by James Callendar.

Donaldson.
(11)

1765.

Defence of Freemasonry, (etc.). A long title, the imprint

London
being
/ Printed for the Author, and sold
by W. Flexney, near / Grays-Inn Gate, Holborn ; and
:

38

E. Hood, near Stationers- / Hall, Ludgate-Street.

1765.
/ (Price One Shilling.) 4to, 64 pp. This is a reply to
Dermott's attack on the Grand Lodge and the history
as put forward by Anderson and his followers. ^ There
there may be
a copy in the Library of Grand Lodge
Reproduced in facsimile
others in private ownership.
in Sadler's Masonic Reprints, 1898.
is

(12)

By Will. Riley. London printed for

1773. Fraternal Melody.
the Author, in Great James Street, Bedford Row, Holborn,
(Price Two Shillings.)
mdcclxxiii.
With a very long
title; gives songs, etc., for the use of a number of different
There is a copy in the Library of
friendly societies.
:

Grand Lodge.
(13)

1775.

An

Freemasonry. In four parts

W.
Birmingham. 8vo, 100 pp. Published by
Meeson
Pearson and Rollason. Reprinted in London by Baldwin
A long title a copy exists in the Library of
in 1776.
the Worcestershire Provincial G.L.
Introduction

to

(14)

1783.

a work of the greatest

the brethren of the Society, to mankind in
general, and to the ladies in particular.
By George Smith.
Kearsley. 4to
London
xxvii, 399 pp.
There is a copy at Hamburg. It contains, among
other matters, a reprint of Dodd's Oration, No. E 13.

The Use and Abuse

of

Freemasonry

utility to

(15)

1788.

The

Institutes of Freemasonry
to which are added a
choice collection of epilogues, songs, etc. Addressed to
;

the Sea Captains' Lodge. Liverpool

Johnson. 8vo, x,
266 pp. A work on the lines of the Pocket Companions
but with additional matter.
:

(16)

1790.

The Philosophy

masons in several epistles from Egypt

London
to a nobleman.
Ridgway. 8vo, x, 265 pp.
By Thomas Marryat. This provoked a reply by H. E.
Holder, published by Pine, Bristol, in 1791 (8vo, 22 pp.)
and to this in its turn an anonymous layman rejoined
of

in a " Letter to

H. E. Holder (Bristol
Routh, 1791
to which Holder retorted with "An Answer
8vo, 11 pp.)
to the layman's letter " (Bristol
Pine 1791. 8vo, 8 pp.).
:

The whole

set

is

rare.

39

(17)
[?

1794]-

Freemason's

he

Repository, with songs, odes, etc.,

and the secret way of writing used among Masons.
Birmingham Printed by and for J. Sketchley, Auctioneer, No. 139, Moor Street, n.d.
8vo.
As Sketchley got
into financial difficulties in 1794 the book is not later,
and Kloss considered it was published in 1786. There
was a second edition in 1812. (cf. Note by Mr. J. T.
Thorpe in Trans. Q. C. xviii, 147).

(18)

1799.

The masonic Museum.

Containing a select collection of

the most celebrated songs, sung in all respectable Lodges,
with a complete list of the Lodges of Instruction.

London

Roach.
There was a second edition in 1801
:

there

is

a copy

of the first at Worcester.

(19)

1812.

An Enquiry

into the late disputes among the Freemasons

Belfast
Printed by Joseph Smyth,
of Ireland (etc.).
1812.
115 High Street.
With an extraordinarily verbose title, which will be
of the Transactions of
found in full at p. 58 of Vol.
Lodge Quatuor Coronati. Dr. Chetwode Crawley only
knew of two copies, when describing the work in 1897.
:

(20)

being a choice selection of the most

approved masonic songs etc., etc., the whole set to

1818. Masonic Melodies

1818.
music (etc.). By Luke Eastmann. Boston
There is a second edition of 1825, but it is not of the
:

same

rarity.
(21)

1880.

Masonic Fraternity described and illusBy William T. R. Marvin. Boston: 1880.

Only 160 copies were
18 plates.
329 pp.

The medals
trated.

4to

x,

of the

issued.
(22)
1 89 1.

Catalogue of Bibliographies, lists and catalogues of works

on Freemasonry. Compiled by H. J. Whymper. London:
4to ; 16 pp. Only 100 copies issued.
*

In conclusion a word

may perhaps be said as to spurious

40

The non-existent First Part of the Constitutions

but one occasionally
of 1 8 15 has already been referred to
sees mention made of an edition of the Constitutions
printed at Brussels in 1722. There is no such work.
Two works of dates prior to 1722 are given by Kloss
Short Analysis of the unchanged rites and
they are
ceremonies of Freemasons said to be printed for Stephen
Dilly in 1676, and Observations and Enquiries relating to
the brotherhood of the Freemasons, supposed to be written

books.

by Simeon Townsend and published in 1712. They

have not been traced and the dates assigned to them

A list of all
it unlikely that they ever will be.
such bibliographical references is given by Mr. Dring
at the end of the Appendix to his Inaugural Address,
to which reference has already been made, and to which
I would once more express my indebtedness as to many
items in the present compilation. I would also wish to
acknowledge the assistance and information given me by
Mr. W. J. Songhurst, the Secretary of the Quatuor
Coronati Lodge, and the help rendered by putting at my
make

disposal

many works

The Morland

in the

Press, l*td., Printers, 190

Lodge Library.

Kbury

St..

IyOndon, S.W.j

MAGGS BROTHERS
CONDUIT STREET
NEW BOND STREET
LONDON, ENGLAND

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THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE

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1723

An absolute facsimile reproduction of the First EDITION

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