Valley Of The Craftsmen
Wins Critical Praise

Jim Tresner, 33°, G.C.
P.O. Box 70,Guthrie, Oklahoma 73044–0070
Book Reviews Editor, The Scottish Rite Journal

I have noted the Supreme Council's large-size bicentennial history before in this column. Titled Valley of the Craftsmen: A Pictorial History of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in America's Southern Jurisdiction, 1801-2001, it is truly a magnificent volume in text and illustration. Dr. William L. Fox, 33°, former Grand Historian and Grand Archivist of the Supreme Council, did a splendid job of developing, editing, and coordinating the book, assisted by Ill. Arturo de Hoyos, 33°, Consulting Historian, and Mark Fastoso, Archival Researcher. I am especially glad to see that other reviewers, non-Masons, are now reflecting my own positive appraisal of the history. One is Jean Baker. She is a nationally prominent historian of 19th-century America and a well-known, respected scholar on the teaching staff of Goucher College where she is a Professor of History. She has written critically acclaimed books on Mary Todd Lincoln, the Adlai Stevenson family, the Anti-Masonic Party, and a variety of other topics. Recently The Quarterly, a publication of Goucher College, published her review of Valley of the Craftsmen. It is a pleasure to reprint it here, with permission.

"In Alexis de Tocqueville's travels throughout the new republic of the United States of America in 1831, he noted the importance of the voluntary associations that in a society without the firm civic glue of kings, established churches and an entrenched aristocracy bound Americans to their government. Associations, in de Tocqueville's view, united men of diverging minds. Among such groups none was more important than the Freemasons whose early lodges were organized before the American Revolution and whose origins could be traced to English and Scottish antecedents in the early 18th century. A durable and powerful association, by 2001, the Freemasons have included among their members presidents from George Washington to both Roosevelts, as well as illustrious Americans from Benjamin Franklin to Charles Lindbergh.

William Fox's stunning pictorial narrative of this association covers Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the South for two hundred years. (The Northern and Southern Jurisdictions agreed to divide in 1827, but the material in this volume extends well beyond the South.) Fox … has put together a history in pictures that is a visual delight. From the reproduced color of the lithographs of Scottish Rite Freemasons in their traditional early 19th-century garb to the photographs of the imposing architecture of marbled buildings that outsiders associate with Masonry (Baltimoreans see an outstanding example on the corner of Charles and 39th Streets), the composition of this volume should serve as a model for similar books celebrating American associations. Fox organizes this story chronologically through the leadership of the Grand Commanders, but along the way he also pays tribute to the moral and philanthropic intentions of the Freemasons as well as their rich iconography and ritual.

"While this is a volume commissioned by the Freemasons for their 200th birthday, because of their importance in American history, general readers, sociologists, and historians should find it of interest. Fox, who has written an earlier volume on the history of Freemasons [Lodge of the Double-Headed Eagle], does not overlook the challenges to an organization that has been criticized by the Anti-Masonic party of the 1830s, the Catholic Church and, most recently, by civil rights groups. Valley of the Craftsmen suggests why this has been the case, but most importantly for a bicentennial, the book reveals the ways in which Scottish Rite Masonry has contributed to our national history."

In a similarly positive vein, the University of South Carolina Press described Valley of the Craftsmen in its fall 2002 catalog as follows.

"Founded in 1801, the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is the premier international fraternal order of the 19th and 20th centuries. For more than 200 years, Freemasonry in America helped define social and cultural arrangements that affected the development of civic life and philanthropic institutions.

"In Valley of the Craftsmen, the story of 'higher degree' Freemasonry is depicted through portraits, official papers, material objects, photographs, buildings, and stagecraft. While featuring many previously unpublished images, Valley of the Craftsmen, begins with rare illustrations of the English and French philosophical sources that were projected upon an American landscape vitalized and transformed by the concept of fraternity. The story is framed by American popular culture and the serious private effort of individual men in small towns and expansive cities who were intent on developing a moral life in service to their communities.

"When the Scottish Rite was officially organized in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1801, its founders and leaders were drawn almost in equal portions from Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant faith communities--an impressive early example of American values, diversity, and religious tolerance. The valley inhabited by members of the Scottish Rite, however, was not always green or free of difficulty. Touched by the first third party in American political history (the Anti-Masonic Party), the Civil War, the Red Scare of 1919, the Holocaust, and the rebuilding of societies in Europe and Asia after 1945, the Scottish Rite portrays the sweeping scope of national life and sensibility across two centuries. Valley of the Craftsmen captures this important aspect of history at the end of the American century and the beginning of a new millennium."

Further kudos for the book have come from two special sources. Nicolas Adamson, private secretary of HRH the Duke of Kent, St. James's Palace, London, wrote to Frank Glickman, publisher of the book, saying: "Thank you very much for sending me your magnificent book on the history of the Scottish Rite in the South. I showed it to the Duke of Kent, the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, and at his suggestion loaned it to the Library at Freemasons' Hall. They had heard of it, but until then had not had it, and I felt that the work would be properly appreciated by the real experts there. I expect the Librarian, John Hamill, will have some scholarly questions in due course, but, in the meantime, I would like to compliment you on the book, and to thank you for it."

Finally, it should be noted that Valley of the Craftsmen was selected as a winner in the Pictorial Category of the 45th Annual New England Book Show.

The book is 10"x12", 269 pages, 123 halftones, 252 color plates, cloth hardbound and is available at a bargain price of only $45.00 (s/h included) from the Supreme Council. To order send a check (domestic only) payable to The Supreme Council or VISA/MasterCard information to: The Supreme Council, 1733 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington DC 20009-3103 or visit the online store.