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Visitors to the Library & Museum often ask what the oldest book in the Library collection is.  The oldest rare book in the Library collection is (in Latin): Hieronymi Pradi et Ioannis Baptistae Villalpandi e Societate Iesu In Ezechielem explanationes et Apparatus vrbis ac Templi Hierosolymitani commentarijs et imaginibus illustratus: opus tribus tomis distinctum. Quid vero singulis contineatur, quarta pagina indicabit (Jerome de Prado and John Baptist Villalpando of the Society of Jesus, On Ezekiel, Explanations and Apparatus of the cities and Temples of Jerusalem, illustrated with commentaries and images: a work divided into three volumes. The fourth page will indicate what is contained in each volume).  This book is generally known as Prado’s Commentaries on the Bible (it is also known as Prado’s Commentaries on Ezekiel).  The Library’s copy of this book is a 1596 edition printed and published in Rome, Italy.

The inside covers of the book contain no bookplates that reveal who was the previous owner of this book.  The cover of the book is not made of vellum, indicating that it was rebound sometime in the 19^th or 20^th century.  The pages of the book were printed on handmade paper, and, despite the fact that this book is over 400 years old, its pages are in remarkably good condition.  The book does have a dedication page, which dedicates the book to Philip II, Catholic king of Spain.  This indicates that it was most likely King Philip of Spain that provided the money to commission the printing of copies of this work.

The 1596 volume of Prado’s Commentaries on Ezekiel cover part (chapters 1 through 25) of the prophet Ezekiel’s vision as recorded in the Book of Ezekiel in the Bible.  One of the themes of the Book of Ezekiel is the prophesied destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem as a result of the Jews turning to idolatry.  However, it also described the eventual rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.  The Temple of the Jews which King Solomon built in Jerusalem has had great significance in the degrees of Freemasonry.  John Baptist Villalpando, who finished Prado’s book, would later publish two other volumes in the early 1600s, one of which described in detail King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.¹

The author of this book was the Biblical scholar and Jesuit Jerome de Prado.  He was born in Baeza, Spain, in 1547 and died in Rome on January 13, 1596.²  He joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1572, and then worked teaching literature, later filling the chair for scripture in Cordova, Spain, for sixteen years.³  The 1596 book on Ezekiel is considered his magnum opus.  He worked on this book for sixteen years before he died in 1596 while he was in Rome trying to get illustrations for his manuscript.⁴  Since he died before he could finish the entire interpretation, the rest of Ezekiel was interpreted by John Baptist Villalpando, also from Cordova.⁵

Endnotes:

¹“Jerome de Prado,” E-Catholic 2000, last modified 2023, accessed November 10, 2025, 1 https://www.ecatholic2000.com/cathopedia/vol12/voltwelve259.shtml

² Ibid.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ Ibid.

This book contains many elaborate engraved illustrations:

 

For several months in 2025, Andreas Celaya worked as the Livingston Masonic Library’s library intern.  Andreas began his library internship at the Livingston Masonic Library in April of 2025, and completed his work with the Library in October of 2025.  Andreas is a 2024 graduate of Hunter College in New York City, and currently works part-time as a visitor associate at the Frick Collection Museum in New York City.  He is interested in librarianship as a career path, and is considering applying to Pratt Institute’s School of Information Science in the spring of 2026.  He wanted to do an internship for the library because he wanted to find out what library work is like and to get experience working on library projects.

Andreas started his internship working on routine library tasks.  This was meant to expose him to the daily work of the Library.  He created Reading Course certificates for library patrons that completed Masonic Reading Courses.  Also, he helped with library circulation work.  In addition, he spent time learning how to use the Library’s Follett-Destiny system to check in and check out books, update patron accounts, and create patron accounts.  Furthermore, Andreas worked to answer Masonic genealogy and research queries for library patrons.

After learning how to do more general library tasks, Andreas began to work on various library projects.  For example, he finished the Biography Files Inventory.  This Microsoft Excel inventory is a searchable list of all the biography files on Masons that exist in the file cabinets in the Library’s back stacks.  Also, Andreas made significant progress with cataloging book donations to the Library.  He learned how to catalog books into Follett-Destiny and assign them call numbers and subject headings.  In addition, he learned how to do book processing (creating bookplates, labeling books, and applying Co-Libri covers to circulating books).  By the end of his cataloging project, he finished cataloging over 120 books.

Since Andreas made such rapid progress with cataloging books for the Library, he moved on to other library projects to work on until his internship ends in October of 2025.  For instance, he worked on transcribing several sections of member data from the 1832-1853 Grand Lodge of New York member ledger into Microsoft Excel for the Masonic Genealogy project.  In addition, he also worked on the Library Book Inventory Project – this project involves working to inventory all books in the back stacks of the Library that circulate or meet the requirements for circulation.  This will help the Library determine which books to advertise to library patrons as circulating and which books to migrate to circulating status.

Sometimes, the most significant pieces of our history don’t come from formal acquisitions; they walk through the door of a local business.

Recently, a unique photo book was gifted to a brother who owns a jewelry store in town. At first glance, it is a stunning visual record of the Masonic Home in Utica, NY, during 1920’s. However, as we look closer, this volume begins to tell a much deeper story about how we documented the charity of NY Freemasons.

For those of us at the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library in Manhattan, this discovery immediately rang a bell. Ratirat immediately remembered we currently hold a very similar historical book in our collection, published by Max Schaal. These photos remain a primary source for understanding the architecture of the Utica campus and Masonic relief!

Please enjoy the photos of our past, and the first place we were prepared to be Masons…

In the heart!

Photo Book Utica

 

 

Ebenezer Sibly was an English physician, a Freemason, and an astrologer. He became the first Master of Lodge of Joppa No. 188, London in 1798.

He is best known as the creator of the birth chart of the United States, at the time of the Declaration of Independence, July 4^th 1776, 5.10 pm, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The chart is commonly known as Sibly’s Chart, and still being cited by astrologer today. While the exact time of the Declaration is still debated till this day, one of the popular theories is he learned the exact time from his Masonic connection.

 

One of Sibly’s publications in our collection is A New and Complete Illustration of the Occult Science, published in London around 1784. In the first two pages of the book, he also dedicated his book to the Masonic Brethren.

We are pleased to announce the new display installation at the 6^th floor of our Grand Lodge building.  The compact exhibit display showcases the trowel that laid the cornerstone of New York Masonic Hall, accompanying the architectural drawing of the building, drawn by the architect, Bro. Harry P. Knowles.

 

 

The trowel was presented to MW Townsend Scudder by Pyramid Lodge No. 490, the lodge Bro. Knowles was a member on May 6^th 1908. The cornerstone was originally laid for the extension part on the side of 24^th Street and 6^th Avenue.

The cornerstone was rededicated again in December 5th, 2010, by MW Vincent Libone, on the occasion of the centennial celebration of the building.

 

The Constitution of Free-Masons, was the first published Masonic constitution, containing Masonic history, Masonic directory, Masonic music, and the standardized  lodge regulations for lodge use in England.  The first edition was written by James Anderson, under the supervision of The Grand Lodge of England, and published in London in 1723.

 

 

 

The front piece is an engraving by John Pine, depicting the Grand Master, Duke of Montagu, passing the scroll to the next Grand Master, the Duke of Wharton.

Detach spines, image taken before repair.

Repaired spines.

The bookplate belonged to Michael Furnell, Past Provincial Grand Master of Provincial Grand Lodge of North Munster, Ireland, in 1842. It is part of Rob Morris Collection.

The first edition published in colonial America was printed by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 1734, when he was elected the Grand Master of Pennsylvania. When compared, the American version was printed in a smaller format, and the title page engraving is not included.

 

 

 

The book belonged to George Williamson (1827-1886), a member of Westchester Lodge No. 180 in Ossining. He was an avid rare book collector with five hundred Masonic books in his collection.

Above the bookplate, the name R. D. Sanxay is written with pencil. RW Richard D. Sanxay was a Virginian Mason, and served as Grand Tiler of the Grand Lodge of Virginia from 1856 to 1868. He was a member of Richmond Lodge No.  10. It is possible that Sanxay was the previous owner before George Williamson.

Both versions are in possessions in the Grand Lodge of New York’s collection. They were unfortunately in very poor conditions. The covers and pages detached from the brittle spines, likely caused by the prolonged hands on display in the past. Now, both of the valuable constitutions are repaired by the book conservators, back to stable condition.

 

The Library is currently working on a rare books survey – going through the back stacks of the Library’s collections to find rare books and manuscripts.  During this survey work, it was discovered that the Library’s collection contained a rare 17^th Century edition of the Fama Fraternitatis.  The book the Library has is a later 1681 edition of the original 1614 Fama printed in German and published in Regensburg, Germany.

It is not known exactly when this book was donated to the Library.  The inside cover dates the binding of the book to August of 1861.  In addition the Grand Lodge of New York bookplate on the inside cover states “Presented by German Masonic Temple Association.”  Many of the German Masonic lodges in New York City had their own Masonic temple on East 15^th Street starting in 1880.  It is possible that the Fama originally came from this German Masonic Library.  During the rare book survey work for the Library, other volumes were discovered in the back stacks from the 18^th and early 19^th centuries that are marked with the same bookplate.

The Fama Fraternitatis was a significant book of the European Enlightenment period in the 17^th Century.  It was a foundational manuscript of the first Rosicrucians during the 1610s, and its publication and dissemination swiftly launched the early Rosicrucian movement in Europe.  The anonymous writers of the Fama claimed that they were part of a secret and Holy Brotherhood, which possessed the hidden knowledge of the Philosopher’s Stone.  They stated that they obtained this alchemical knowledge when the Brotherhood opened the tomb of Christian Rosenkreuz.  In this tomb they discovered the lost books and artifacts of the past Rosicrucian Order.  The Rosicrucians called for new members to join with them to help finish the work begun by their order’s founder, Christian Rosenkreuz.  This work would lead to Europe’s renewal after the death and destruction of the bloody religious wars of the 16^th century.

The authorship of the Fama is much debated among scholars today.  Most scholars attribute the work to Johann Valentin Andrae (1586-1654), a well-educated Protestant pastor from Tübingen, Germany.  The title of this work, translated roughly from the German, reads: A general and universal reformation of the whole world: written by the Fame of the Fraternity, the Honorable Order of the Rosicrucians, to all Scholars and Leaders of Europe.  Now publicly published and communicated to all faithful hearts.  First published in Kassel by Wilhelm Wessell, in the year 1614.  Reprinted because of its extreme rarity, and supplemented with an appendix of various pertinent writings.

In addition to the Fama, this rare book also contains a few other writing from the same era:

• Traiano Boccalini’s The Universal and General Reformation of the Whole Wide World, which is an extract from Boccalini’s News from Parnassus, a work that advocates for more human love, charity, and affection, as opposed to reforming society.
• Adam Haselmeyer’s reply to the Rosicrucians: this work is significant, as it is the earliest known printed reference to the Rosicrucian Brotherhood (Haselmeyer worked as a notary public for Archduke Maximillian of Tyrol, but he was also an alchemist and translator of alchemical works).

 

Title Page of the Fama Fraternitatis (Left) and first page of the Fama text (Right)

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This rare book was printed on hand-made paper and many of its pages contain decorative printed motifs, as shown in the images below:

 

 

Library Resources:

Churton, Tobias. The Golden Builders: Alchemists, Rosicrucians, and the First Freemasons. Boston: Weiser Books, 2005.

McIntosh, Christoper. The Rosicrucians: The History, Mythology, and Rituals of an Esoteric Order. York Beach: Samuel Wieser, Inc., 1997.

We warmly welcome you to explore our latest video!

In our collection at the Chancellor Robert R Livingston Library of Grand Lodge we have a Geneva Bible from 1602.

This version of the Bible is known as the Geneva Bible, the Breeches Bible and as the Pilgrims Bible. It was first printed in Geneva in 1560 and it uses the term ‘breeches’ to describe the coverings that Adam and Eve made for themselves. It was the Bible most frequently used by the Pilgrims to America.

The Geneva Bible holds immense historical importance as the preferred Bible of English Protestants during the 16th and early 17th centuries, including the Pilgrims and Shakespeare. Renowned for its extensive marginal notes, which helped readers understand the scriptures, it was the first English Bible to be fully divided into verses. Published between 1560 and 1644, this translation influenced many of the English Reformation’s religious and political ideas, making it a cornerstone of English Protestantism.

We are delighted to share about the newest acquisition of Robert R Livingston Library and Museum, the rare stereograph set of the former New York Masonic Hall, produced by E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. This acquisition is possible through the support of  the Trustees of the Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library.

The stereograph set features the images of the interior and lodge rooms of the demolished Grand Lodge of New York’s Masonic Hall on the 23^rd Street and 6^th Avenue, the same plot with the current Grand Lodge of New York building. The previous New York Masonic Temple was designed by Napoleon Le Brun, dedicated in June 1875, and served the New York Brethren until it was replaced by the current building in 1910.

Slideshow of the New York Masonic Temple stereograph set.

 

What is Stereograph?

Stereograph typically consisted of a pair of the near-identical images, creating an illusion of three-dimensional effect when viewed with stereoscope. They were a popular collectible at the time, offering the sight of landscapes, places and celebrities people could not experience in person.

E. & H.T. Anthony & Co. was the photography company founded by the brothers Edward Anthony and Henry T. Anthony. They were well known as the manufacturer of photographic supplies and the publisher of commercial photograph in the mid-19th century. The stereo card of New York Masonic Temple was one of their collections sold at the time.

 

 

 

 

Previously, we only have the drawings published in the newspapers in the Grand Lodge’s collection as our visual resource of how the previous temple’s interiors looked like. Thanks to this acquisition, we now can see the interior and lodge rooms through the photographic medium, many of the rooms were never seen before. Not only that, the back of the card also provides very insightful details of its construction and floorplan.

When comparing between the two mediums, for example, The Main Hall as described on the stereograph and the drawing of The Foyer in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper published in 1889. The drawing by Charles Bunnell had slightly different decorations as it was drawn about 14 years after the photograph was taken in 1875.

 

 

 

The most notable finding in the drawing, however, is the lower part of the Silence Statue located on the upper staircase. The Silence Statue was commissioned by RW Levi H. Willard as a gift to the Grand Lodge. It is the very early work in the career of the distinguished sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens before he gained his fame from the David Farragut Memorial in Madison Square Park.  His other notable work is Diana sculpture, previously installed on top of the original Madison Square Garden building, now displayed at Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The Silence Statue being unveiled at the Grand Lodge of New York in May 1876 indicates that the photograph of the Main Hall with an empty staircase was taken a few months earlier, when the temple was newly dedicated in 1875. The Silence Statue was later relocated to the lobby of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Hospital of Masonic Home, Utica, and now on display at Daniel D. Tompkins Chapel.

 

More examples are the Egyptian Room and Asylum stereographs, described as The Chapter Room and The Commandery Room in Harper’s Weekly Magazine (1875). The Egyptian Room stereograph provides the close up of the triangle altar and the East, while the illustration (unknown artist) shows the entire room. The Asylum stereograph unfortunately has the bottom half of the film darkened, while the illustration can provide the floor details.

 

 

Another example is the crowded Grand Lodge Room where the dedication ceremony was held in June 1875, as drawn in Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. The stereograph provides the view of an empty room from a different angle.

 

 

 

This stereograph set of New York Masonic Temple is surely the valuable addition to our collection. They would be an excellent resource for research and preservation of New York Masonic history and architecture. For more of our photograph collection, please visit our online museum.

 

Source:

New York Daily Herald Tuesday, May 16, 1876.

Philadelphia Museum of Art – Case Study: Gilding Diana