Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Masonic Master Mason Apron
1847-1860
Abner W. Pollard (1808-1886) (attributed to)
USA: Massachusetts, Boston (probably)
ink on leather; silk; cotton
Overall: 14"h x 14-3/4"w
Gift of Union Lodge, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, Dorchester, Massachusetts
75.46.25

Masonic Apron; shield-shaped leather body with rounded flap; printed in blue ink with square and compasses with sun suspended within compasses (could be Senior Deacon apron); all-seeing eye on flap and under flap; trimmed with pleated blue silk ribbon; backed with blue polished cotton. Twill tape ties.

Likely made by a Boston regalia supplier, Abner W. Pollard, this apron has a history of having been owned by Union Lodge of Dorchester, Massachusetts. The style of printing at the apron’s center and materials used in the construction of the apron—the blue glazed cotton that backs the apron was a popular clothing lining in the 1840s and 1850s—point to a mid-1800s origin. For further information, see Newell, Aimee E., "The Badge of a Freemason," 2015. p.167-169.