When Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 there were about 500 masonic lodges in the British Empire, and by the time she died in 1901, there were nearly 2,000. All these new lodges needed equipment and all the new members needed their ceremonial costumes, so these years also saw the development of specialist retailers who adopted modern marketing techniques to reach their audience.
     The Masonic Emporium exhibition at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry at Freemasons’ Hall in London explores the development of this market, telling the story of its suppliers and customers. It runs from Thursday 1 July to Thursday 23 December 2010 and is free to visitors.
     One such supplier was George Kenning. The son of an East End oyster seller, Kenning realised the potential of the market – he not only manufactured the costume but sold a range of products from his shops across Britain. He set up a mail order business which operated across the British Empire and was keen to develop new markets in the USA. He became a media magnate and advertised in his own widely read newspaper The Freemason.
     He even extended the brand by becoming closely involved in developing new masonic Orders, all of which needed special costumes and accessories.
     Kenning was only one example of the manufacturers, publishers and photographers whose business was Freemasonry.
     Amongst the items on display are the furniture and costumes that featured in the trade catalogues of the time, as well as souvenir ceramics made by the manufacturer William Henry Goss, who extended his range into the masonic market and some of the trade cards from the many local photographers who captured images of local Freemasons.
     Amongst the customers were lodges in Australia and South Africa, the Grand Lodge itself right down to individuals, and well known members such as Winston Churchill.
     Every lodge and every mason could acquire their full complement of required clothing and equipment from a single catalogue.
     The exhibition also explores the way that manufacturing for this market changed from a small-scale cottage industry to larger-scale production and how masonic manufacturing took full advantage of developing technology. As Grand Lodge standardised the design of its regalia, masonic jewels changed from being individual works by craftsmen like Thomas Harper to the commemorative medals for Queen Victoria’s Royal Jubilees in 1887 and 1897, thousands of copies of which were made by different companies to an identical pattern.

VISITOR INFORMATION

Venue: The Library and Museum of Freemasonry, Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AZ
Exhibition dates: Thursday 1 July – Thursday 23 December 2010
Exhibition free of charge to all visitors
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm. Museum closed at weekends
Visitor information: www.freemasonry.london.museum or 020 7395 9257

CONTACT DETAILS Library and Museum of Freemasonry Freemasons’ Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AZ Tel: 020 7395 9250 libmus@freemasonry.london.museum.org.uk www.freemasonry.london.museum Letchworths' Shop: www.letchworthshop.co.uk