[JRFF 4.1/4.2 (2013) 246–247] ISSN (print) 1757–2460 http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/JRFF.v4i1_2.246 ISSN (online) 1757–2479

Book Review

SEIBERT, Peter Swift. Fraternally Yours: Identify Fraternal Groups and Their Emblems (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2012), 128 pp., $19.99, Illustrated, Hbk, ISBN: 978-0-7643-4060-4. Reviewed by: Jeffrey Croteau, Manager of Library and Archives at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421, USA. Email: [email protected] Although published over a century ago, Albert C. Steven’s second, revised edition of The Cyclopaedia of (New York: E.B. Treat and Company, 1907) remains a standard reference for researchers seeking information about the many American fraternal that defined the Golden Age of Fraternalism (1870-1910). Stevens enumerated the nearly three hundred American fraternal organizations in existence at the turn of the last century and estimated their combined membership at six million. These organizations required a vast amount of regalia, including , , jewels, aprons, hats, collars, and swords—to say nothing of theatrical costumes, props, and lodge room furniture. In Fraternally Yours: Identify Fraternal Groups and Their Emblems, Peter Seibert dis­ cusses some of this specialized and fascinating material culture. Seibert writes that ‘this book is neither an encyclopedia nor a history of American fraternalism. Rather it is intended to give the layman a look at the different types of regalia worn by fraternal societies’ (p. 6). To this end, Seibert is somewhat successful. He includes photographs of aprons, sashes, , hats, and other familiar regalia of various fraternal organizations, much from the Golden Age, but with a few objects from as recently as the 1970s. With the exception of the United Kingdom’s Royal Antediluvian of Buffalos, Seibert focuses on American regalia. In his introduction, Seibert identifies himself as a fifth-generation freemason. The author biography states that he is ‘a historian and avid follower of fraternal societies’ and that he has ‘worked for museums and historical organizations throughout the mid-Atlantic’. Seibert currently works for the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico, a museum that focuses on Native American jewelry and textiles. Seibert names his audience as the ‘layman’, an audience who, presumably, has little knowledge of fraternal regalia or the societies whose members wore it. Because of this, the book only skims the surface. Fraternally Yours has little to offer serious researchers or collectors. The book’s publisher, Schiffer Publishing, typically targets a collector audience with titles such as Collectible Blowtorches and The Encyclopedia of Matchbox Toys: 1947-2001. Often, opening a Schiffer book feels like shining a light on a collector’s obsession; one rarely feels left wanting more. Seibert’s book, on the other hand, is incomplete. The brief on the of Pythias (pp. 106–108), for example, is only two paragraphs long and is illustrated by just three photographs. Badges, pins, and nineteenth and early twentieth century photographs make up the majority of the objects that illustrate Fraternally Yours. Some objects rise above

© Equinox Publishing Ltd 2014. Croteau Book Review 247 standard fare. These include an early twentieth century photograph of two young boys dressed in custom-made Knights Templar outfits (possibly in honor of their deceased father) and a pin advertising a fundraiser for Klan Haven, a Ku Klux Klan- sponsored home ‘for orphan and dependent children’ that operated in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I suspect that the objects used to illustrate the book are from Seibert’s personal collection, although Seibert never mentions their source. Collectors, using their own collections as a basis, write many of the books that Schiffer publishes. It is also not clear what Seibert’s selection process was, although I suspect that it was limited by (what I presume to be) his collection. The selection is eclectic: one of the largest fraternities during the Golden Age—the Modern Woodmen of America—is not included, while two small regional U.S. groups—The Orioles and The Grundsau Lodge—are featured. The result of this approach is that Seibert’s book reflects the collection that it is drawn from, rather than reflecting the context from which these groups emerged. Seibert organizes his book by fraternal group. Each chapter is essentially a short essay about the . In many cases, Seibert seems to have a good grasp on the history of the groups that he is writing about, but his tendency toward imprecise or vague observations can be frustrating. For example, in writing about the variety of masonic Knights Templar uniforms he states ‘there were vast differences and changes in uniforms among the various of the Knights Templar resulting in an almost infinite variety of regalia’ (p. 46). Five chapters consist of only one or two paragraphs and are illustrated by a single object representing the group. Some entries appear to have been seemingly dashed off without consulting any sources and they suffer for it. Seibert’s chapter on ‘The Orioles’, never gives the full name of the order and consists of two sentences: ‘Not to be confused with the baseball team [i.e. the Baltimore Orioles], the Orioles are a nineteenth century fraternal and benevolent society with strong ties to South Central Pennsylvania. Their insignia is based naturally on the bird of the same name and the local affiliates are known as a ‘nest’’ (p. 126). Curious to know more, I consulted Alvin J. Schmidt’s encyclopedia, Fraternal Organizations (Greenwood Press, 1980). In addition to discovering that the Fraternal Order of Orioles is not a nineteenth century fraternal organization (they were founded in 1910), I also learned that the letters ‘LIFE’ which appear on the jewel illustrating Seibert’s chapter are an acronym formed by the group’s four watchwords: liberty, integrity, , and equality. Seibert’s book is a good start, but its limited scope and weaknesses hamper its usefulness. In certain ways, Seibert’s book is a less successful analog to Victoria Solt Dennis’s Discovering Friendly and Fraternal Societies (Shire, 2005), which takes a similar approach, but focuses on British fraternal organizations, by drawing from the collection of the Library and Museum of (London). The greatest contribution that Seibert’s book makes to the field is providing photographs of fraternal objects. Because published images of fraternal regalia are always useful for comparative studies, the photos in Seibert’s book, although not always as helpfully captioned as one might wish, are nonetheless of value. To those interested in identifying and interpreting fraternal regalia, any newly published, illustrated book on the topic is a welcome one, no matter its shortcomings.

© Equinox Publishing Ltd 2014.