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 23rd Street and 6th 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.
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