Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Masonic Milliner's Model
1801-1820
Maker not marked
Place made not marked
Leather, wood, linen, silk, metal
overall: 7-1/4"h x 3-3/4"w x 1"d
Museum Purchase
86.14

Milliner's model dressed as a Mason in black frock coat, Masonic apron and collar; papier mache head, kid body, wooden hands and feet; collar and apron made of silk, trimmed in blue, with remains of metallic fringe; four sequins on back of coat and sleeves.

Supplying aprons to a lodge could prove quite profitable. Prior to the 1850s, it was common for lodges to give commemorative aprons to all its members on special occasions, so American Freemasons often owned several different ones. This doll may have been dressed by a tailor to demonstrate the style and quality of his Masonic aprons and sashes. This male doll wears a fashionable suit topped with a fraternal or Masonic apron and sash. What prompted the doll’s owner to dress this figure in regalia is not known. The doll's outfit shows how men of the early 1800s may have dressed for lodge meetings and other Masonic events. For further information, see Hamilton, John D., "Material Culture of American Freemasons", 1994, p. 109.