Partly-printed engraved Masonic DS, signed as president, “Warren G. Harding 3-28-22” and “Wm. H. Taft, Kilwinning Lodge No. 356 F.A.M.,” one page, 16 x 12, no date. In full: “This is to certify that Brother George Henshaw who has signed his name in the margin hereof is a Prince of the Royal Secret, 32°, and as such is regularly affiliated in our Consistory in the Valley of Pittsburgh in the State of Pennsylvania and is hereby recommended to the protection and fraternal consideration of all members of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite throughout the world.” Signed at the conclusion by two officers, and later signed in ink in the wide borders by 25 other Masons, most with their degree, 32° or 33°, including Harding, Taft, John J. Pershing, Mark W. Clark, Lucius D. Clay, Richard Byrd, US Vice President Thomas R. Marshall, William G. McAdoo and James J. Davis, and 15 other mostly military or political figures. In very good condition, with intersecting folds, scattered soiling, small burn mark to top edge lightly affecting Marshall’s signature, small pencil notations, and some light creasing.
Reflecting on the interlocking relationship between the history of the United States and the Freemasons, this document reveals not only Mr. Henshaw’s personal triumph but also his dedication to his community and fellow man by achieving the level of 32° Mason. President Harding, one of the signers here, had himself been conferred the title of Master Mason at his lodge in Ohio, and took his oath of office upon the same Bible used by a fellow Mason, President George Washington. Another signer and Ohioan, Taft—a former chief executive himself and now chief justice of the US Supreme Court—was made a ‘Mason at Sight.’ Along with other leaders including military men and explorers, the honor exemplified in “their daily lives the true meaning of the Brotherhood of man under the Fatherhood of God.” An unusual and historic document. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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