Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Engraving Plate for Masonic Apron
ca. 1814
Edward Horsman (1775-1819)
USA: Massachusetts, Boston
Copper
overall: 14-7/8"h x 11-7/8"w x 1/8"d
Loaned by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts
GL2004.0139

Copper engraving plate, designs and printing in reverse. At top is all-seeing eye with glory rays. Central motif is checkered pavement with archway, winding stairs and "G", left and right are pillars, sun, moon and stars. Below is Bible with square and compasses at angle. Various other symbols arranged around and below. Reads across bottom: "E. Horsman, pinx. / Copy Right Secured / Master Masons Apron or Flooring." On back is modern sticker "71."

Boston Freemason Edward Horsman created and copyrighted the apron design made with this plate in the early 1800s. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts approved the design in 1814. Judging by the number of surviving examples of the apron, it was a popular and long-lived design. An endorsement from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts that called out the design “as a judicious selection of the emblems of the Order, arranged with taste and propriety,” may have contributed to the design’s success. Horsman became a Mason in 1802 at Mount Lebanon Lodge in Boston. From 1805, he is listed in the Boston city directories as Secretary of the Fire and Marine Insurance Company. He died in 1819 at the age of 44. For further information, see Newell, Aimee, et.al., "Curiosities of the Craft: Treasures from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts Collection," 2013, p. 84-85; and blog post, June 11, 2009 http://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_and_archives/2009/06/from-insurance-executive-to-masonic-apron-designer.html