we buy & sell a range of Masonic items

Here is a small selection of Masonic Items that we sell;

 

Gold Masonic Ball Cross

Hand Turned Welsh Beech Goblet,

Hand Cast Masonic Kilt Pin,

A GOLD KNIGHT TEMPLAR FOB, American Masons, c. 1900, reads "In Hoc Signo Vinces", with gold helmet over cruciform black onyx tablet, the tablet centering an applied cross and cross emblem over a pair of crossed swords.
 

 

We Stock A Wide Range Of Masonic Wrist & Pocket Watches,

 

Hand Cast Pewter Wine stopper,

 

From Aprons To Cufflinks We Always Try To Stock A Wide Range Of Antique, Vintage & New Masonic Items.

 

 

If you have any masonic items you would like to sell please feel free to contact us on 01877 339835,

All Sales are conducted in a confidential & discrete manner

 

The Masonic Market

(As featured in Antiques Info Magazine January/February 2011)

By George Johnson.

One part of the Antique and Collectables market that can seem a bit foreign and unknown to people is objects and items associated with Freemasonry, but it would be foolish not to recognise the buoyancy of this particular area of collecting.

Freemasonry with its unique practices grew from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century; it found a strong following in Scotland and Ireland as well as reaching all corners of the globe. Its reach was so great that by the 18th century George Washington the first President of the newly formed United States of America and other notable founding Fathers including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were all practicing Freemasons. In Great Britain various members of the Royal Family have been involved in Freemasonry since King Edward VII was installed as Grandmaster in 1874 and today the present Duke of Kent holds the Title of Grand Master.

 Masonic rituals are based on a symbolism of the building of King Solomon's Temple; Masons use symbols of Stonemasonry tools including compasses, set squares and trowels on items that are associated with this craft. Lodges are the local meeting places for members which are controlled by larger Grand Lodges. Freemasons Hall which is located in Great Queen Street in London is a stunning art deco building which was designed by the architects Henry Victor Ashley and F. Winton Newman it was built just after the First World War as a memorial to the 3,225 Freemasons who lost their lives in this terrible war, It is now a Grade 2 listed building. There has been a Masonic meeting place on the site of Freemasons Hall since 1775. Within Freemasons Hall is the Museum of Freemasonry which contains in my opinion one of the finest collections of Masonic objects. Items on display include the personal possessions of  famous Freemasons such as King Edward VII and Winston Churchill as well as antique porcelain, silver, furniture, clocks, jewels and regalia.

 It is more than worth a visit and is open to Freemasons and the general public (to find out more you can visit; www.freemasonry.london.museum).

The demand for Masonic items seems to be at an all time high with good prices being reached for good quality pieces, the publicity given to Masonic items by the Dan Brown novel 'The Da Vinci Code' has also helped by bringing in a new group of collectors who themselves are not Masons but have started to collect Masonic items out of curiosity.

One example of the high prices that can be obtained for antique Masonic items was a half pint Crossed Keys Masonic hip flask that was sold in may 2005 at the Heckler auction room in Woodstock Valley, Connecticut. Made by the Coventry Glass Works of Connecticut in c1815, it was a fine example made in a light yellow colour with a sheared mouth and a pontil mark which is what tells us it was made from hand blown glass as this is the mark that is left when the blowing punt is broken away from the glass.

 The Auctions own catalogue stated "This is the finest example we have ever seen or handled. This flask has virtually everything: beautiful colour, strongly embossed detail, perfect condition. An extreme rarity with only six or seven known examples."

When the auctioneers hammer finally fell it had reached an amazing figure of $38.080 (£24,281.07).

Masonic glassware is a very popular area for collectors in this field; it can be separated into two fields of glass. Ceremonial Masonic Glassware which is used in Masonic rituals and Masonic souvenir glass the majority of Masonic souvenir glass is to commemorate new Lodges and anniversaries of foundations of Lodges.

In July 2005 two glass items were sold as one lot at Sworders Sale room in Stansted Mountfitchet. First of the two items was a tumbler made around 1820, it was beautifully engraved with various Masonic emblems including pillars, squares, compasses and other Masonic symbols. The second piece was a continental cut glass goblet made a little later c1840; it was engraved with a coat of arms and a view of Marianbad the famous Spa town in the Czech Republic. These two wonderful pieces of glassware managed a finally hammer price including buyers premium of £223.

Various gold Masonic items feature in auction rooms with Jewels and Masonic medals selling frequently. One item that people are surprised about if they have never seen it before is the Masonic ball cross, this piece of Masonic jewellery consists of a gold ball that is worn as a pendent but the clever bit is, it is hinged to unfold. When fully unfolded it turns into a cross made up of little pyramids engraved with Masonic symbols. One such cross sold in November 2009 at the saleroom of A F Brock & Co Ltd of Stockport. The Masonic cross ball that sold on the day was about 20mm in diameter, and opened up to a cross of approx 40 x 24mm, revealing a silver inner with Masonic symbols. The outer shell of the ball was stamped 9ct gold. It fetched a final hammer price of £141 including buyer's premium which is a good price for a small item that is sometimes overlooked by people who are not aware of what it is.

With such a wide variety of items associated with Freemasonry, it seems Masonic objects can crop up in the strangest of places. One hotel in the Scottish Highlands that I stayed in recently had a strange antique side unit with Masonic type pillars, on opening the doors it turned out to be a Masonic Alter. The owners of the hotel had no idea that this piece of furniture was a wonderful example of Masonic furniture. This is why it is prudent to acquire knowledge even about areas of antiques that you may not collect yourself as you never know what unusual items may turn up right under your nose.