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Masonic Royal Arch Apron
1860-1875
Abner W. Pollard; Worcester
USA: Massachusetts, Boston
silk, cotton, bullion
overall: 16-3/4" h x 15-3/4"w x 1/16"d
Gift of Francis Karwowski
2014.022.2

Masonic Royal Arch apron with rounded body and rounded false flap. White silk printed in black. Flap has a nine-pointed star with a pair of clasped hands in the middle, all set on a background of clouds. The body is printed with a shield on top of a block flanked by men with wings for arms and hooves. The shield is divided into quadrants with a lion, a bull, an eagle and a man. At top center above the shield is the ark of the covenant. On the front of the block are two crowns flanking several Royal Arch symbols (breastplate, mitre, etc.). Around these symbols is the motto "Holiness to the Lord." At bottom center are tools - shovel, pickaxe and crow. Printed at bottom right is "Worcester, Sc." Red pleated ribbon is applied along the edges and to form the false flap. Gold bullion cord is stitched down on top of the ribbon. The top edge is bound with red ribbon that extends into ties. Backed with brown polished cotton. A stamp at top center on the back reads "From / A.W. Pollard's / 6 / Court Street / Boston."


This apron features an arrangement of symbols associated with the Royal Arch degrees. It was inspired by an illustration in a Masonic handbook, the True Masonic Chart, which Jeremy Ladd Cross (1783-1860) first published in 1819. The name of the retailer, Abner W. Pollard, is stamped on the back. Pollard, a tailor by profession, joined Boston’s Mount Lebanon Lodge in 1846. Soon after he began advertising that he sold Masonic regalia. “The Badge of a Freemason: Masonic Aprons from the Collection,” March 2016-March 2017



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