Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Design for Masonic Order of the Eastern Star Grand Chapter of New Hampshire Grand Matron Jewel
1900-1950
Frederick T. Widmer (1877-1955); Kenneth Robert Park (1908-2008)
USA: Massachusetts, Boston
Watercolor on card
Overall: 2 3/4"h x 1 7/8"w
Loaned by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts
GL2004.10961.9

Design for Masonic Order of the Eastern Star Grand Chapter of New Hampshire Grand Matron jewel. Gold-tone bar at top reads "Grand Matron." Purple ribbon hangs from the top. A pentagon-shaped medal is suspended from the ribbon. A five-point star is in the center with a gavel in the middle and symbols on each star point. Lettering along the edges reads "Grand / Chapter / O.E.S. / New / Hampshire."

Jewelers who specialized in fraternal jewelry often keep photographs or images of the different jewels, badges and awards they manufactured as a catalogue of their offerings. When a lodge or organization requested a new design, the jeweler frequently drew or painted a sketch of the proposed design to facilitate discussion. The watercolors displayed here are badge and jewel designs from the Boston shop of jeweler Frederick Widmer and his successor, Kenneth Park. For further information, see Newell, Aimee, et.al., "Curiosities of the Craft: Treasures from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts Collection", 2013, p. 274-275.