Antique Violin from 1878 inlayed with Masonic Symbols

Today I found this item by looking at my own blog. Funny perhaps but on the left hand column up near the top I have the most popular items in eBay with "masonic" in the title kept auto-updated. Even if I'm away it will keep my readers kept in the loop. A good reason to check back.
Back to topic, today I looked and saw an unusual violin in the top three. I thought to myself, "Why a violin?" I was soon rewarded with a violin from the late 1800's inlayed with the square and compass and a few other masonic symbols. It is a real piece of art. The wood itself is bird's eye. Pretty spectacular.
It might not be in the best shape but from my point of view, if you collect masonic items and have any interest in violins, it will probably be the best one you will ever see from this time period, if not the only one.

Antique Violin with Masonic Inlay - click here -

1862 Newspaper on eBay with interesting Masonic article

Great item today... I think it is a great read. Sure to intrigue many readers. It speaks of publishing the masonic ritual word-for-word. I'm sure this was quite an issue in the mid-1800's. The seller of the newspaper has scanned the article for our reading pleasure. You will have to skip through the article on the Mormon ball to get to the masonic article, however both are interesting. This seller specializes in many antique papers. I've snooped around his items before and found lots of interesting articles, such as reference to the War of 1812, WWII, the Revolution and even Pirates. I like these type of items because you can see how the news was reported at that time and it provides a different perspective than reading about it in text books and reference websites.

Take a look and let me warn you that reading these old papers can be a bit addictive.

Click here to go directly to the eBay item

Painting/Photocollage of Grand Lodge in Brighton England with King Edward VII

Here is a neat item to check out. It is a photo collage of Grand Lodge in Brighton, UK. The Grand Master at the time was King Edward VII. The painting requires some restoration but for a collector I think this would be a great piece to grab, and for the curious it is really interesting to check out the pictures. From what I understand the artist paints the background and then overlays actual photographs onto the scene.

The painting contains several members of royalty and is taken in the Grand Dome in Brighton, UK. The seller estimated the time of this work to be around 1910.
I love seeing items like this. They allow a picture back in time for us to see another period in masonry. Take a look at the mode of dress and the architecture of the building. Beards were definitely more popular back then.
Enjoy!
Click here for the eBay listing

Antique Masonic Skull Ring From Mexico, MUST BE SEEN

Good day everyone! I was browsing today, as usual. I came across this neat looking ring that I thought may be of interest to a few.

The seller is located in the Netherlands but they are charging a flat international shipping rate of $11. This is a good deal for international shipping.


Here is how the seller describes the ring:

"THIS AUCTION IS FOR A HANDMADE STAINLESS STEEL/CHROME WIDE BAND SPINNER RING, (THE OUTSIDE BAND IS SEPERATE AND SPINS/TURNS AROUND THE INNER BAND!)

THE OUTER BAND HOLDS AN IMAGE OF AN ANTIQUE 1600'S EUROPEAN "LAST JUDGEMENT" PAINTING (LAST PIC)...THE SKULL HAS RHINESTONE EYES AND THE BACK HOLDS "MULTI COLOR PIXIE DUST".......FINISHED WITH A MAGNIFYING CLEAR GLAZE BUBBLE LAYER AND THE INNERBAND IS ENGRAVED WITH THE MASONIC INSCRIPTION "IN HOC SIGNO VINCES".......

SIZE: US. 9 OR 19MM INNERDIAMETER, 1/2 INCH OR 12MM WIDE"

I have edited some of the posting for length... For the full thing please Click here for the eBay listing

Gold Masonic Fob Ball for sale

I had an e-mail from a fellow reader. They kindly pointed out a Gold Fob Ball for sale on Craigslist. For those interested here is the link (click here).

These fob balls are truly amazing pieces. I've highlighted one or two in the past on eBay. A true gem for any masonic collector. I don;t have one yet but if you wish to donate I'll accept... (that's humour in case you didn't get it).

Antique Masonic Freemason Bronzed Cast Iron Bookends on eBay

Here are some affordable cast iron bookends. These book ends would be great to hold your masonic book collection on a shelf. The square and compass design is well done, based on the photos.

This would be a great starter for anyone looking to start a collection of masonic items.

The bookends do need to be refelted on the bottom and rebronzed, if desired. But i kinda like them the way they look in the picture actually and would prabably leave them as is.

click here for ebay listing

19th Century Masonic Cribbage Board Ivory Parque

Today we have something for the card game lovers. This item would look great in a game room or living room or even a special room in a Lodge Hall perhaps. It is a cribbage board with the square and compass inlaid into the surface of the board. A great catch and not too pricey yet.

Good luck and happy bidding! click here to go directly to the eBay listing

Remember if you want me to look for something of interest just drop me a message or a comment...

Antique Silver Inlaid Masonic Emblem Horn Snuff Box

Todays item is a nice antique snuff box. While I do not condone the use of snuff... but really that is up to you... This item appears well made and of good quality from the photos. I think it would be a nice gift for a fellow mason or a desktop discussion piece.

click here for the snuff box eBay listing

ANTIQUE MASONIC NEWARK NEW JERSEY 1903 FLOW BLUE PLATE

Here is a neat plate with some obvious Masonic themes. I am not a specialist on plates but I think a plate collector who is a Mason would be very interested in this item. The pillars are quite obvious on this piece. Also the names of brethren in the lodge at the time are listed in the back giving it some historic value of sorts. I'm sure the lodge itself might be interested in an item like this. Unless they are like my mother lodge and they have a stack of them left at the back of the storage closet from 1903 and nobody has cleaned out the closet in one hundred years. We don't have antique plates but I swore I saw a few antiques back there a few years ago when I took inventory of the lodge. Alright I'm joking... in case someone from my lodge reads this.

click here to see the eBay listing and pics for the plate