Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Masonic Artillery Shell
1919
Maker not marked
France
Brass, enamel, paint
overall: 12 3/4 x 3 3/8 in.; 32.385 x 8.5725 cm
Special Acquisitions Fund
91.015

Artillery Shell; reworked artillery shell with Statue of Liberty on one side; masonic "G", compass and square within red circle above red, white and blue shield reading "1919/ Merriman to/ Caroline Harris/ France."; stamped on base: "F RE 30L 17X 75 DE C / SD".

Soldiers have often passed downtime making souvenirs with improvised tools and materials. With these objects, these men often sought to remember or mark their extraordinary experiences during their service. During World War I, soldiers also purchased commercially produced souvenirs, many after the fighting ended. A soldier likely commissioned a French metalworker to decorate this artillery shell with names, dates and symbols that represented the soldier’s wartime experience.