Early 19th century dirk

For sale at Bonhams on April 22 is "an unusual masonic dirk", which dates from the early 19th century.


The catalogue description states: "With tapering double-edged blade of flattened diamond section finely etched and gilt against a blued ground on each side with masonic symbols including a sword, the Lamb of God, a cockerel, a hand, a foot, skull and crossed bones above a coffin, a man-in-the-moon amid stars, a sun-in-splendour, and an all-seeing eye, all above a panel of foliage at the forte, gilt-copper hilt with small side-guard filled with a rose, short recurved quillons, the front one linked to the pommel by a gilt knuckle-chain, lion-mask pommel, its mane forming the back-piece, and partly fluted ivory grip (chipped), in original black leather scabbard with linear engraved gilt-brass mounts, and two rings for suspension (some wear overall) 40 cm blade."

The estimate is up to £1,500.

Donation for Medical Research

This is from the Birmingham Evening Mail and details a masonic charitable donation for medical research.

Marvellous to see research being supported by the Craft.

"The Warwickshire Freemasons have donated pounds 10,000 to Action Medical Research to support a ground-breaking study at the University of Birmingham's new pounds 16.4 million School of Sport and Exercise Sciences.

Action Medical Research allocates the charitable donations it receives towards research projects to help find new ways of preventing, treating and curing disease and disability.

The money will aid a project being conducted in collaboration with the university's School of Medicine, in which researchers are investigating whether controlled exercise using weight training principles can boost the effectiveness of the flu jab.

The exercises are designed to cause inflammation in the arm, which researchers believe might kick-start the immune system so it is ready to go when the vaccine is injected into the patient.

The research team is first identifying the best time to give the flu jab after exercise, by comparing the immune responses in people vaccinated immediately after exercising, or after a delay of six and 48 hours, and in people who do not exercise at all. "

Masonic horn beakers

These pretty masonic beakers are coming up for sale with a pretty price, too.

They are estimated to fetch between £2000 and £3000 at auction.

Made in London in 1792 they are "smothered" in Masonic emblems. Made from horn and mounted in silver they are rare and collectable.

They are going under the hammer at John Nicholson auctioneers in Haslemere, Surrey, on April 1.

Heroes Get 50K Boost

This from the local paper in Romsey, Hants, detailing how the Help for Heroes charity has been boosted by a 50K donation from Freemasonry in Hampshire and Isle of Wight province.

As the final paragraph makes clear, the Craft in the province has many connections with the military.

"The Help for Heroes charity has received a £50,000 boost from the Freemasons.

They gave a cheque to the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Mary Fagan, who is collecting money for the good cause.

She said: "I am amazed and immensely grateful to the Freemasons of the Province of Hampshire and Isle of Wight, who have donated more than £50,000, directly from its membership, towards my appeal for the Help for Heroes Charity.

"This is an immensely generous contribution and emphasises how the Hampshire people care about the wellbeing of their service men and women."

The Freemasons hope to collect more money for the charity in the coming months.

The organisation has traditionally had close links with the armed forces in Hampshire. Its lodges include Aldershot Army and Navy, Royal Marine Portsmouth, Fleet Air Arm, Hermes, and Pegasus Forces."

Antique Masonic Jar

Selling on eBay, this jar with Masonic emblems is already past the £500 pounds mark with over a day left of bidding.

Dating from about 1800, it is 9ins high and is cream ware and carries a verse.

It reads: "The world is in Pain / Our secrets to gain / But still let them wonder and gaze on / For they ne'er can divine / The WORD or the SIGN / Of a Free and an Accepted Mason."

For the sale look here.

Early certificate - 18th century

This rare and early masonic certificate was recently sold and it dates from the late 18th century.

Hand written with a wax seal, it marks the progress of a mason in the St. Laurence Lodge in Laurencekirk, Scotland.

The best transcription I can do, follows thus:

"Unto all and sundries (obscured) those presents shall come greeting, Grace, Mercy and Peace be with you.

"In the east where the true light shines there reigns silence harmony and concord And the darkness it comprendeth it not.

"We the master and wardens of St Laurence Lodge in Laurencekirk No. 180 holding of the Grand Lodge of Scotland to all and worthy brethren round the Globe know you whereas Mr John Corse Murgeon in the South Fencible? Reg. commanded by his Grace Henry Duke of Bacclaugh was upon his petition date the 27th of Dec 1779 entered an apprentice of this lodge and me having taken trial of his atributes proposed him Fellow Craft and thereafter in due time raised him to the Sublime degree of a Master Mason and we recommend him to be raised as such on all regular lodges through out the Globe given under our hand and seat at Laurencekirk this 20th (obscured) 1798 being the year of our Lord Saviour Jesus Christ and of light 5802."

There follows some signatures.

The seller on eBay stated the lodge number later changed to 136.

Masonic tapestry

This is a tapestry full of masonic symbols and text that prominently displays the words: "We Meet Upon the Level, We Part Upon the Square."

It measures 19ins by 14.5 ins and is being sold at Philip Serrell auctioneers in Malvern, Worcs.

There is no mention of a date, but the pre-sale estimate is £50-£75. It goes under the hammer on March 19.

Freemasons' Names Leaked Onto 'Net

This from the Sunday Times last month on names of Scots Freemasons made public through a leak on the internet.

"The names and addresses of 2000 freemasons, including 18 church ministers and justices of the peace, have been made public after a list of every senior Scottish member was published on the internet.

The document, believed to have been posted on the Wikileaks site by a former member, is an embarrassment for the organisation which has long been shrouded in secrecy.

The names of current members are published in the Grand Lodge's year book, which is available to the public on request at individual lodges.

However a list of office-bearers from all 1,100 Scottish lodges in Britain and abroad, has never been published on the internet before.

Among those named is William Renwick, 78, a retired justice of the peace and former convener of West Lothian council.

He said he was "not averse" to being known as a freemason but added that other members would not be comfortable with their association being made public.

"I have been a freemason for 50 years, there's nothing wrong with it as far as I'm concerned. Of course we have our rituals but it's not a secretive movement.

There will be people who will be uncomfortable that this list has been made public."

Reverend Peter Price, a retired Church of Scotland minister from Bothwell in Glasgow, whose name also appears, said: "I was aware this list had been published, and why not? I'm not bothered at all."

A source close to the Grand Lodge confirmed the list was genuine, saying: "The publication has not been endorsed by us, we simply would not have done this.

It looks as if someone has taken the names of office bearers from a yearbook." The Scottish parliament, police forces and judiciary, encourage staff to declare any masonic links to avoid suspicion.

Last year, Michael Russell, the culture minister, revealed he had relinquished membership of the freemasons after being elected a nationalist MSP for South of Scotland in 2007.

Other political figures who have admitted being freemasons include the former Scottish Conservative leader David McLetchie and fellow Tories Jamie McGrigor, Brian Monteith, Phil Gallie and Keith Harding.

Freemasonry is one of the world's oldest secular fraternal societies. The Grand Lodge of Scotland was formed in 1725 and there are currently about 75,000 masons in Scotland.

There are around 5m worldwide.

Members are expected to show respect for the opinions of others, to behave charitably and to "strive for truth".

Prominent Scots masons have included Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Arthur Conan Doyle and Sir Harry Lauder.

Russell, who followed in his grandfather's footsteps by joining the masons in 2004, said he had quit because membership of the organisation would have left him open to suspicion.

At the time, he said: "I felt it was best to declare membership of the Freemasons and in those circumstances I thought it would be best to resign.

I did not think it was appropriate to be a minister and a member of anything that people would be suspicious of."

However, he added: "I will not criticise it. If it was good enough for Robert Burns, it was good enough for me."

Last year, the police complaints commissioner for Scotland ruled that Northern Constabulary failed to properly investigate a claim that some of its officers were influenced by the freemasons."

Carved Cow Horn

This cow horn carved with Masonic decoration dates from the 19th century and is set to make up to £450 when sold at auction.

The pillars, square, level, compasses and other symbols are a type of land-based Scrimshaw.

On the back is a band of flowers with thistles and a hand around a cartouche engraved J N Clark.

It is about 17 inches long and is being sold by Philip Serrell on March 19.

Terrestrial and Celestial Globes

This nifty pair of terrestrial and celestial globes is going under the hammer at Ewbank auctioneers.

They are brass, mounted on turned walnut stands. The maker's mark is George Philip & Son, 32 Fleet Street, London.

They are approximately 5ins in diameter, 10ins high and come with original cases.

The estimate is £400-600 and the sale is on March 18.

The hands are on the square

Well...not quite on the square. This splendid-looking timepiece is for sale on eBay.

It is listed as a silver, full hunter watch with the case maker's mark as J.H.E. and hallmarked to Chester in 1860.

It has been serviced and loses just three minutes a day. Not too bad after 140 years.

It measures 51mm across and weighs in at 118 grams.

The sale ends on Sunday.

Masonic Stereoscope Card

On sale at eBay is a stereoscope card showing a candidate prepared for initiation.

It dates from about 1890 and the seller believes it to be American and says it is very rare.

A stereoscope was a device that allowed pictures such as this one to be seen as three dimensional.















The sale ends on Sunday.

Queer goings-on in Scotland

The Strathspey and Badenoch Herald earlier this month reported about some odd activities involving a church, paganism and Freemasonry.

It would seem that an oddball is on the prowl.

Here is the report...

"The congregation of a Grantown church has been alarmed by a year-long series of "pagan" attacks culminating in an incident in which a dead animal was used to deliver a message.

The strath's most senior policeman has pledged that he and his officers will hunt those responsible to end the nightmare for the congregation at Grantown Baptist Church.

Over the past 12 months, members of the church on High Street have arrived on several occasions to find notes written in red ink pinned to the main door.

But events took an even more sinister turn with the discovery of two notes tied to the the limbs of a dead rabbit fastened to the front door of the church.

The grim find was made by church deacon Bob Fishwick when he arrived at the church.

Like previous notes, the latest contained verses written in red felt tip and a drawing of an "all-seeing eye" symbol commonly seen in mystical and masonic use – comprising an eye above a pyramid.

Northern Constabulary were informed about the new twist to the campaign, and that evening members of the congregation met in the church hall to discuss the latest development.

As some members left, they found another noted pinned to the door of the building with a warning for the group.

"There have been a series of pagan-style notes over the past year," said Mr Fishwick, who has been deacon of the church for the past 20 years.

"We had a meeting after the rabbit was found, and people were leaving two or three at a time. There was 10 minutes between different groups going, so we know the note appeared while we were in the hall.

"That makes us think that someone was watching the hall and could see when to come up to the door."

He added: "The last one was a warning that we shouldn't bring in the authorities. It had a drawing of the all-seeing eye and said: 'We are always watching you'.

"It seems to be the work of a bit of a crackpot. They only ever pick out our church; none of the others have had this, but we don't know why.

"The notes are heathen quotations: things like 'Your days are numbered', 'Wrongs remain unrectified' and 'Judgement has been passed'."

The notes have usually been found with red wool, and this has been one of the lines of inquiry that Northern Constabulary has been following.

A force spokesman confirmed that their enquiries were continuing.

He said: "The investigating officer has carried out exhaustive enquiries into the handwriting on the notes, the wool used and the significance of the all-seeing eye symbol."

The Baptist church in Grantown has been without a minister since the death of Rev Peter Pinder two years ago.

The all-seeing eye, or the Eye of Providence, as it is also known, is sometimes interpreted as representing the eye of God keeping watch on humankind, and can be traced back to Egyptian mythology.

Today, it is more commonly associated with Freemasonry. The eye first appeared as part of the iconography of the Freemasons in 1797, with the publication of Thomas Smith Webb's 'Freemasons Monitor'.

It is a reminder that a Mason's thoughts and deeds are always observed by God, who is referred to in Freemasonry as the Grand Architect of the Universe.

Northern Constabulary has appealed for anyone who can help shed any light on the crimes to come forward."

Robert Burns' Razor

A 230-year-old "cut throat" razor that belonged to poet and Freemason Robert Burns is to be sold at auction.

According to the auctioneer, the blade was left behind by Burns after spending the night at the house of Mrs Frances Dunlop, a close friend, confidante and mother-figure.

The pair maintained a regular correspondence, but eventually fell out. The razor was given to a hairdresser and then to private collector Geoff Silver along with a letter of provenance.

The sale takes place on March 25 and the pre-sale estimate is £1,000.

Lyon and Turnbull is selling it in Edinburgh.