Description
Book SynopsisSumptuously illustrated with more than two hundred outstanding examples from private and public collections and introduced by fraternal art collector and Talking Heads singer-songwriter David Byrne, this revelatory book surveys the golden age of lodge hal
Trade Review"It’s a book so beautifully designed and illustrated that one is tempted to don a fez and make a secret sign." * Shepherd Express *
"[a[ superbly illustrated volume, the first of its kind to investigate secret societies with such an uncommonly rich and informative visual presentation." * Hyperallergic *
Table of ContentsAbout As Above, So Below
Foreword: Art from the Other America, by David Byrne
Prefaces, by Lynne Adele and Bruce Lee Webb
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Rise of American Fraternal Societies in the Nineteenth Century
Immigrant Societies
African American Societies
Religious Societies
Fraternal Buildings
2. The Growth of an Industry
3. Societies with Secrets: An Introduction to Fraternal Orders
Freemasonry
Odd Fellowship
Knights of Pythias
Speculative Woodcraft
Modern Woodmen of America
Woodmen of the World
Improved Order of Red Men
Order of the Patrons of Husbandry (The Grange)
The Objects: A Symbolic Art
4. Death Related Imagery / Memento Mori
5. Painting
6. Banners
7. The Magic Lantern
8. Chromolithographs
9. Costumes and Regalia
Costumes
Ceremonial Regalia and Parade Dress
Fraternal Aprons
10. Three-Dimensional Ritual Objects
11. The Lodge Goat: The Lighter Side of Fraternalism
12. Vernacular Expressions of Fraternity
John Haley Bellamy
Tramp Art
Trench Art of World War I
Textiles
13. Monumental Expressions of Fraternalism
Mendocino Lodge No. 179, Mendocino, California
Ernest Hüpeden’s Painted Forest, Valton, Wisconsin
Samuel P. Dinsmoor’s Garden of Eden, Lucas, Kansas
14. Brothers at Rest: Fraternal Funerary Traditions
Notes
Bibliography
The Authors
Photography Credits
Index
