Archive, Volume 4

A Bibliography of Pre-1851 Louisiana Scottish Rite Imprints
Kent Walgren

Here [New Orleans] I have been very politely received by Mr. Maunsel White, but there is too much of the French fashion here for the craft to flourish. I attended a French lodge and can compare it to nothing but a pantomime, and the officers to monkeys in a barber shop.

-Letter from Jeremy L. Cross to Thomas Smith Webb, March 30, 1817.

This is the second and final part of a Bibliography of Pre-1851 American Scottish Rite Imprints, the first part of which was published in Volume 3 of Heredom. Part I included all books having significant Scottish Rite content published within the present boundaries of the United States except Louisiana. Part II includes Scottish Rite books: (1) published in Louisiana; or (2) published elsewhere in the United States which bear directly on Louisiana, such as the Mississippi and New York grand lodge proceedings reacting to Louisiana's cumulation of the York, French and Scottish Rites.
Because the titles of a significant number of the Louisiana entries seem at first glance unremarkable (because they are often tableaux or proceedings), or perhaps unintelligible (because they are in French), "An Historical sketch of Pre-1851 Louisiana Scottish Rite Masonry" precedes the bibliography so that the entries may be seen in context. (see pp. ??-??)

Bibliographical Entries

Each bibliographical entry includes the author, title, place of publication, printer or publisher, date of publication, pagination, citation to bibliographical reference works, location of copies, subject matter, and usually an annotation. The entries are arranged chronologically by year; within each year, arrangement is alphabetical by author, or by title if there is no author. "Book" is defined as a printed work in any language of one page (broadside) or more. The following are excluded: (1) Printed forms, such as certificates, patents, warrants, letters of credence, letters of constitution and summonses, intended to be filled-in and used on multiple occasions; and (2) Periodicals. Capitalization for title pages has been standardized and the place of publication for foreign-language imprints is given in English (e.g. New Orleans for Nouvelle-Orléans). Mistakes in the printing of foreign accents, which were common, are not followed by [sic]. Information within brackets has been added by the compiler or is located elsewhere in the book. If the printer has left a blank to be filled-in, such as an addressee, it is rendered "[blank]" even though it may have been completed by hand in the original. The measurements given are for height and width of the page (not binding) respectively and describe the largest (or ideal) copy personally examined. Pagination begins with the recto of the first printed leaf (including any wrapper or preliminary leaves) and continues through the last printed page.

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This excerpt is from Heredom, the transactions of the Scottish Rite Research Society

Scottish Rite Research Society
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202-232-3579 voice, 202-383-1847 fax
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