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ca. 1800
Amos Doolittle (1754-1832)
USA: Connecticut, New Haven
Paint and ink on leather, gold leaf
overall: 14-3/4"h x 12-1/2"w
Special Acquisitions Fund
76.7
Masonic Master Mason apron with rectangular body with rounded corners and a rounded flap; leather apron with printed engraving; blue ink with painted gold symbols; engraved design of three columns, figure of Charity, trumpeting angel at top; traces of lettering including "Grand Lodge of Connecut" suggest that the plate was originally engraved as a Masonic certificate; signed "Engraved by Brother Amos Doolittle, New Haven."
The Grand Lodge of Connecticut commissioned a certificate from engraver Amos Doolittle in 1799. Based on a London certificate made in 1792, Doolittle’s certificate featured an angel at the top center, a figure representing Charity at the bottom left, and allegorical figures of Fortitude and Prudence on either side. Doolittle printed this apron using the same symbols and composition as the certificate, adding a square and compasses, star and trowel at the center. For more information, see Newell, Aimee E., "The Badge of a Freemason," 2015, p. 108.