Masonic Publications of the Colonial Period in the Collection of the Museum of the History of the American Knights Templar

This article examines Masonic publications from the colonial period (1769—1772) held in the collection of the Museum of the History of the American Knights Templar. Particular attention is paid to the historical and bibliographical description of two rare editions: James Anderson’s The Constitutions of the Free-Masons and Wellins Calcott’s A Candid Disquisition. The methodology draws on the principles of historicism, objectivity, and systematic analysis, together with historical-genetic, historical-bibliographical, and museum-studies methods. The findings indicate that Anderson's edition primarily reflects the regulatory and organizational traditions of English Freemasonry, including the activities of the Grand Lodge, the preparation of constitutions, and the regulation of the fraternity's internal affairs. Calcott's work represents the moral and educational strand of Masonic literature and contains information about Boston lodges, samples of internal documentation, Masonic addresses, a two-act oratorio, and a collection of nineteen songs. Particular attention is given to the Boston edition of 1772 as evidence of the dissemination of English Masonic print culture in the North American colonies on the eve of the American Revolution. The article also examines handwritten annotations, ownership inscriptions, and presentation inscriptions relevant to the history of the individual copies. It concludes that the books are multifaceted historical sources reflecting organizational, moral, and cultural aspects of eighteenth-century Masonic life. Studying them together illuminates the relationship between English and North American Masonic traditions, while their present-day museum display contributes to the preservation and interpretation of the material heritage of the colonial era.

Source: Cherkas, Alexander C. (2026). Masonic Publications of the Colonial Period in the Collection of the Museum of the History of the American Knights Templar. Recorder. 2(4): 531-543.

Source web-site: https://easteuropeanhistory.org/journals_n/1792333856.pdf