Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Masonic Order of the Eastern Star Electrified Signet
ca. 1938
Maker not marked
USA
Wood, glass
overall: 74"h x 41-1/2"w x 13"d
Gift of Social Summit Lodge #50, Canaan, New Hampshire
2011.013.2

Electrified Masonic Order of the Eastern Star signet with cord attached at back. Brown square base with post. Five-sided top with white ground on front. At center is a five-point star. Each star point is a different color (red, blue, yellow, white and green) with a symbol. The center is divided into five sections, each with a different symbol (open Bible, lily of the valley, sun, lamb and lion). The center has a white border, also divided into five sections, each with a black letter "F A T A L." Between the points of the star are different flowers on a white ground - rose, violet, yellow flower, white lily and leafy green plant (acacia?). Black lettering at the top of the sign reads "We have seen his / Star in the East." Black lettering at the bottom reads "and are come to worship him."

Fraternal regalia companies such as M.C. Lilley and C.E. Ward manufactured and sold electrified signs, or signets, like this one in the late 1920s and early 1930s. These signs helped illustrate symbols so that members could learn how they were used. The different colors and symbols in this Eastern Star signet could be lit up when the corresponding concepts were introduced during instruction. This signet is from the Order of Eastern Star Summit Chapter No. 56, which was chartered October 26, 1921 in Canaan, New Hampshire. For further information, see blog post, June 6, 2017 http://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_and_archives/2017/06/what-is-an-electrified-signet-.html