Tracing board
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Tracing boards are painted or printed illustrations depicting the various
History and development
Floor and table designs
In the eighteenth century
Though the various Grand Lodges were then generally hostile to the creation of any physical representations of the ritual and symbols of the Craft, the time-consuming business of redrawing the symbols at every meeting was gradually replaced by keeping a removable "floor cloth" on which the various symbols were painted. Different portions might be exposed according to the work being executed.[4] By the second half of the eighteenth century the Masonic symbols were being painted on a variety of removable materials ranging from small marble slabs to canvas, to give a more decorative and elaborate symbolic display.
Painted boards
During the nineteenth century there was a rapid expansion of the use of permanent painted tracing boards, usually painted on canvas and framed in wood. Many artists produced competing designs, and most lodges commissioned sets of bespoke boards which were therefore of a unique design, despite following common themes. Some designs became particularly popular, leading to some repetition of favoured design features. Boards by John Cole and Josiah Bowring were examples of popularly recurring designs.[5]
The English artist
Contemporary use
In lodges under the UGLE, and many jurisdictions derived from English Freemasonry, tracing boards are an essential part of lodge furniture, sometimes displayed flat on the floor, and sometimes vertically against a pedestal or on the wall. Sets of three boards, usually of older designs, may often be found in special cases for storage and display within lodge rooms. There are sometimes tracing boards in other degrees.
As different Masonic jurisdictions established official, or standard, degree rituals the creation of new tracing boards by artists waned, and has since largely disappeared in favour of standard designs. Nonetheless, some masonic artists have experimented with very modern designs for the twenty-first century.[9]
References
- ^ Supreme Council, AASR, NMJ (July 9, 2020). "Masonic Tracing Boards and Trestle Boards: Their History and Significance Today". scottishritenmj.org. Scottish Rite Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
One of Freemasonry's oldest symbols is the Masonic trestle board. Often confused with its similar counterpart, the tracing board, the trestle board is, literally and figuratively speaking, the blueprint of which our ancient fraternity was built upon. In the days of the stonemasons' guild, a trestle board was a board, sometimes on an easel, where the plans for construction were laid for apprentice masons to follow. In the 21st century, the trestle board remains a signature emblem of a man's journey through life and Freemasonry. In this blog, we'll walk you through the significance of the Masonic trestle board, as well as explore the history of Masonic tracing boards.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Dring, E.H. (1916). "The Evolution and Development of the Tracing or Lodge Board". Ars Quatuor Coronatorum. 29. Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076: 243.
- ^ Dring, E.H. (1916). "The Evolution and Development of the Tracing or Lodge Board". Ars Quatuor Coronatorum. 29. Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076: 244.
- ^ Haunch, T.O. (1962). "Tracing Boards: Their Development and Designers". Ars Quatuor Coronatorum. 75. Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076: 24.
- ^ Spencer, Norman (1949). "The Evolution of our Modern Tracing Board". Masters' and Past Masters' Lodge No. 830, Christchurch, New Zealand. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
- ^ Beresiner, Yasha. "The Masonic Museum In Brighton". Freemasonry Today. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
- ^ Beresiner, Yasha. "Masonic Tracing Boards". Pietre-Stones. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- ^ "Tracing Boards from St. Andrews Lodge No. 1817". Phoenixmasonry, Inc. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
- ^ "Second Degree Masonic Tracing Board". Freemason Information. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
Publications
- Haunch, T. O. (April 2004). Tracing Boards: Their Development and Designers. QC Correspondence Circle Ltd. ISBN 0-907655-95-5.
- Rees, Julian (2009). Tracing Boards of the Three Degrees of Craft Freemasonry Explained. Lewis Masonic. ISBN 978-0-85318-334-1.