STB-96-05
MASONIC "POSTCARDS"
By: Ralph B. Duncan
Bro Ralph B. Duncan is a Past Master of
John Hancock Lodge, A.F; & A.M. of
Methuen, Massachusetts as well as the cur-
rent District Deputy Grand Master for the
11th Masonic District of the Grand Lodge
of Massachusetts.
He has been collecting Masonic postcards
for over twenty-five years. His collection of
over 6800 items is thought to be the largest
within the country.
Editor
For over one hundred years the collecting
of postcards has been a hobby pursued by
many in this country. Few members of the
Craft however realize the Masonic aspects
of such collecting and these cards have
long been neglected by general collectors
of Masonic memorabilia.
Although government issued postals were
used by Masons in the 1870's and 1880's
for printed meeting notices, death
announcements, and mutual benefit society
assessments, the use of view cards, as we
know them today, did not begin in this
country until the Columbian Exposition in
Chicago in 1893.
The newly erected Masonic Temple on the
northeast corner of State and Randolph
Streets in Chicago became one of the show
places in that city during the Columbian
Exposition. The visitors to this first "sky-
scraper" were able to ride the elevator to
the top and view the fair grounds on the far
south side of the city on a clear day.
This building became the first known
Masonic Temple to appear on postcards.
Through the years it has appeared on the
largest number of different printings of any
Masonic Building.
The period from 1893 to 1896 is referred
to today as the Pioneer Era of postcard collecting. Few companies were producing
cards and most of the coloration was done
by printers in Germany. On the early cards,
all messages had to appear on the front
(view) side of the card and only the address
was shown on the back.
Private printers were granted permission
by an act of Congress to print and sell postcards which could be mailed at the same
cost as government postals on May 19,
1898. These cards were known as "Private
Mailing Cards." The short period from
1898 to 190] produced several cards of a
Masonic nature.
In 1901 the imprint on the reverse side of
the card changed to the current term "post
card" but only the address still could be
used on this side.
The divided back appeared in 1907 and
our cards still retain this format. The front
has seen successive changes in style from
white borders to linen to the current photochrome printing. The first fifteen years of
this century has sometimes been referred to
as the "Golden Era of Post Card
Collecting." As a result of the first World
War, printing of the cards shifted from
Germany to the United States and many
local printing companies began to develop.
One might think that the only postcards of
Masonic interest are those of Masonic
Temples. This is far from true, although
Temple cards are those most often found
today.
Among the most collectible Masonic postcards are those entit]ed, "Are You A
Mason?" The first set of six cards were
copyrighted by Irvin M. Kline in 1907.
They were published by the Anglo-American Card Company and the Macoy
Publishing Company of New York City.
The titles of these six cards are:
No. 1- The Grand Lodge in Session
2 - The Masons at Work/
The Masonical Harmony
3 - Receiving the Password
4 - The Initiation
S - Riding the Goat
6- The Mason's Wife Giving Away
the Secret
The influence for the titles on these cards
may well have been a farcical comedy by
the same name, "Are You A Mason?"
which appeared on Broadway in New York
City in 1901. The three act play by Leo
Dietrichstein was playing in England as
late as 1911. This play was adapted and
translated from an original German farce,
"Logen Bruder" by Laufs and Kratz.
These American postcards were printed in
black and white with some sections colored
in yellow. Within a few years, identical pictures appeared in full color printed in Great
Britain by the Millar and Lang company in
their National Series.
Over one hundred and fifty of these cards
are known to exist today in their different
forms. They lampoon Freemasonry by giving totally false meanings to such terms as
"Passing", "Raising", "Charge", "Mark"
and "Grip or Token".
Part of the reason for the scarcity of these
British cards may well be the collection of
many postcards during the paper scrap drives in England during World War II.
The Macoy Publishing and Masonic
Supply Company, while in New York City,
produced and sold many Masonic postcards, both of a comic and serious nature.
In later years, the Curt Teich Company of
Chicago became the largest producer of
postcards of Masonic Temples. Today,
thousands of such Masonic cards are in the
company archives at the Lake County
Museum in Wauconda, Illinois.
A large number of postcards have been
created which show scenes of Masonic
Homes throughout the country. The
Masonic Homes of Elizabethtown, PA and
the Masonic Home at Utica, NY are the
locations with the greatest number of different views.
During World War II, The Masonic
Service Association of the United States
operated Army and Navy Service Centers in
many states. Postcards were issued of the
locations (both external and internal pictures of the buildings and activities) which
were distributed to the servicemen to mail
to their loved ones.
Through the first three decades of this century cards were sold depicting various
aspects of the Grand Encampment sessions
of the Knights Templar and the Imperial
Sessions of the A.A.O.N.M.S.
Masonic postcards have been printed on a
variety of material; some on thin sheets of
aluminum and others on leather. In some
instances, add-ons have been attached to the
postcards; such as pins, miniature hats, pen-
nants, decals and photographs. An example
of such a card is one which bears the title,
"The Mason Wearing His First Pin" and
depicts an infant wearing a diaper with a
safety pin attached.
Three view cards of Masonic buildings are
referred to as "hold-to-light" cards. In these
instances, tissue paper placed over die cut
windows allows light from the rear to illuminate the windows, giving the illusion of a
night time view. Two of these are of the
Chicago Masonic Temple; the other is of
Lulu Shrine Temple of Philadelphia.
In recent years, interest has increased in
cards which show interior views of Lodge
ooms, and those of a real photographic
ature. Real photograph cards at one time
were among the lowest priority among
postcard collectors. Today we realize that
these cards not only give the most accurate
pictures of buildings, people and their surroundings, but they also may have been a
"one of a kind" item which was produced
for the individual depicted in the photo.
Lately, few new Masonic postcards are
being produced within the United States. A
limited number of views have been printed
by the Scottish Rite Museum of Our
National Heritage in Lexington, MA of
items in their collections. Some of the better foreign cards have been issued by the
various Grand Lodges of France. One way
to assist in preserving information about
your own Lodge is to produce a postcard of
your Masonic Temple. As Lodges consolidate and buildings are sold, or new buildings erected, postcards may be the only picture of some of our buildings.
As in most specialized collecting, items
are not easily found. Most of the Masonic
postcards are bought and sold through specialized antique dealers and at postcard
shows where these dealers are present.
Rarely do they appear for sale at flea markets and at antique dealers within local
communities unless it is of a local view.
As a renewed interest in collecting of
postcards in general has occurred during
the past decade, so has the search for
Masonic related material flourished.
In the collecting of Masonic postcards not
only are you increasing your knowledge
about the Craft, but you are assisting in pre serving our heritage.
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