Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Freemasons Heart
ca. 1820
Moody Morse Peabody; Ebenezer Hutchinson
USA: Vermont, Hartford
Watercolor and ink on paper
framed: 8-5/8"h x 6-5/8"w x 1/2"d
Gift of the Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A.
2013.026.1

Framed "Freemasons Heart" engraving. Black wooden frame. Compasses at top above lettering "Supporters of Government." Below this is a flourish above an all-seeing eye. The main element at center is a heart divided by red, yellow and green lines marking various virtues including charity, justice, hospitality, fortitude, fidelity, mercy and tenderness. At center of the heart is Christianity with a G and square and compasses on a Bible. Lettering below the Bible reads "The Bible rules our faith without Factions / The Square and Compass rules our lives & Actions." The heart is flanked by allegorical figures of Liberty and Justice. Below the heart is "M.M. Peabody Sc." and a square. Along the bottom is lettering "Freemasons Heart. / Supported by Justice & Liberty / Copy Right secured to E. Hutchinson, Hartford, VT." Handwritten on the back of the frame is "Cap. Joseph Burnett / Stowe / Vermont / Mr. [illeg] F. Gerry / Stowe / Vermont / Exhibit."

Dating to about 1820, this engraving, the “Freemasons Heart” depicts a large heart under compasses and an all-seeing eye, flanked by allegorical figures representing Liberty and Justice. On this work Peabody divided this symbolic heart into sections, each labeled with a virtue central to Masonic teachings, such as fidelity, mercy, or charity. At the center of the heart is a space marked “Christianity” with a G and square and compasses emblem on a Bible. A verse below the Bible reads “The Bible rules our faith without factions, the square and compass rules our lives and actions.” Peabody and publisher Ebenezer Hutchinson worked together in Vermont. Other projects they produced included a map of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island and a Royal Arch apron that is signed “Printed and Sold by E. Hutchinson Hartford Queechy Village VT.” For more information, see blog post, April 5, 2016 http://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_and_archives/2016/04/a-freemasons-heart.html