Masonic initiation document for Boston's African Lodge No. 459

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A membership certificate from the Masonic African Lodge No. 459, Boston, Massachusetts, certifying the promotion of Nero Powers to the rank of third-degree Mason. The front of the paper features artwork of woodcut architectural motifs and columns on the left and right sides of the centered print. The all-seeing eye is depicted at the top beneath a line of Masonic decorative print. The left side of the paper is pierced with a silk ribbon and there is residue of a wax seal at upper left. In black print type the certificate reads, [AND THE DARKNESS PRESENDETH IT NOT / IN THE EAT A PLACE OF LIGHT, WHERE REIGN SILENCE AND PEACE. / WEA the Master, Wardens and Secretary of / AFRICAN LODGE, No.

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