Joan K. Sansbury
Librarian/Curator of the Supreme Council
1733 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009-3103

The new Albert Pike Museum in the House of the Temple
in Washington, D.C., will fulfill Grand Commander Pike's request that his
personal library remain intact and available to the public.

Photo: © Maxwell MacKenzie, Washington, D.C.

Eleven years ago, it was an overpowering experience to become the Librarian of the Supreme Council. For someone with a degree in Library Sciences, the Library in the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C., is very nearly holy ground. It is hard to imagine the capital of the United States of America without a public library, but that was the case until Albert Pike, then the Grand Commander, gave his personal library of thousands of books to the Scottish Rite, and decreed that it was to form the nucleus of a library which was to be free and open to the public.

That part of the promise has been kept. The Supreme Council's Library is still open to the public, still free, and still contains a remarkable collection of materials. But I soon learned that another part of the promise we made to Albert Pike had not been kept. He wanted his books kept together as a collection. But with the move from the previous Victorian mansion that housed the Supreme Council at 3rd and E Streets, NW, in the District of Columbia to our present magnificent home, the House of the Temple just nine city blocks up 16th Street from the White House, Pike's books were scattered throughout the holdings of the Library as new books and new collections were acquired. I have very much wanted to keep all of the promise and to restore the Albert Pike collection as an entity.

And now it is happening.

Books were very important to Albert Pike. Near the end of his life, in an essay written to the sculptress Vinnie Ream (Essay XI-"Of My Books and Studies"), he singles out many of his books for comment, verbally touching them as one touches the face of beloved children. In the financially difficult periods of his life, he would go without food to buy books, and he nearly lost his life trying to save his library during the Civil War. A great mind himself, he rejoiced in the contact with other great minds through their printed works.

Soon, it will be possible for visitors to the Library and Museum to walk into Albert Pike's library as if he himself had left it just minutes ago. With a little imagination, you might even be able to catch the fragrance of the smoke from his beloved pipes, still scenting the air.

Shortly after Pike's death in 1891, a memorial room with displays of his Masonic regalia, furniture, and personal belongings was created in the building which then served as the House of the Temple. When, in 1915, our present building opened, a new memorial room was created. Artifacts have been added, but the room has been essentially unchanged for 85 years.

Now, we are working with Chris White Design, Inc., to create a new Albert Pike Museum. The inside front cover of this issue has color drawings of the museum as it is now taking form. The new Albert Pike Museum will bring together the books he so loved with a central display of the most important artifacts celebrating his long life and career. Over the past year, the Library staff, with special assistance from Ill. Arturo de Hoyos, 33°, Grand Archivist and Grand Historian of the Supreme Council, has worked diligently to collate and restore the Pike collection. Each book in the collection is being thoroughly conserved and then entered into an online computer catalog. It is none too soon. Many of Pike's books, bound in fine Moroccan leather, were infected with "leather rot," a fungal infection causing them to deteriorate over time. They must be individually vacuumed, dusted, deacidified, and treated with a special leather conditioner applied with a tiny brush. Restoring other books requires the use of special archival adhesives to repair chipped or broken spines or boards. Almost every book is unique, and the expert care needed is provided.

The Albert Pike Room in the first House of the Temple in Washington, D.C.

Special air conditioning is being provided as well. The level of humidity is critical for books-too much and books begin to mold and mildew; too little and the paper and leather dry and can crumble to dust. Special equipment is being installed to meet those needs. Special lighting is needed, also. Most lights produce some amount of ultra-violet rays, and that light fades colors and deteriorates cloth, paper, and leather. The bookshelves will have solid oak facings, but the shelves themselves will be metal. Metal shelving is better for rare books because there is less risk of transfer of chemicals either from the wood itself or from the finishes. In short, everything possible will be done to assure that these wonderful books are available to even more generations, exactly as Pike wished.

Much has happened since Albert Pike entrusted us with his personal library. The total holdings have increased manifold. Programs have been developed to involve school children with reading programs. The museums of the Supreme Council have taken their proper place as major repositories of Masonic artifacts as well as art treasures from around the world. Galleries have been developed to honor outstanding Freemasons. And now, at last, the preservation and presentation of the Pike Collection is becoming a practical reality.

The work is well begun-the promise to Grand Commander Pike will be kept. But to keep that promise fully, we will need your help. We need sponsors to help us preserve Pike's library and personal effects. The front cover of this issue, for instance, pictures Pike's personal ceremonial sword, 33rd Degree ring, Grand Commander's jewel, and 33rd Degree cordon. Each will be on display in the new Museum. And as a token of appreciation for donors supporting the Museum, we have developed an art treasure of which Grand Commander Pike would be proud.

Individuals, Lodges, Valleys, or Orients which donate $75 or more will receive an exquisite crystal collectible measuring 3 x 4 x 1 inches. Engraved within the crystal by the fiery pen of a laser is a three-dimensional reproduction of the unique double-headed eagle, which Pike wore early in his career as Sovereign Grand Commander. This attractive collectible was specially created to benefit the Albert Pike Museum and is crafted from the finest and clearest optic crystal available. The lead content, which is above 30%, assures that the crystal will maintain clarity and will never yellow. Above the double eagle are the words "Albert Pike Museum" and below is a facsimile of Pike's signature. Click here for a donation form.

Contributors donating more than $100 will receive a display stand, which illuminates the crystal etching with refracted light and reveals its fine details. All contributions will be applied to the Albert Pike Museum, where his personal library and artifacts will finally have a permanent and dignified home. To receive this fine collectable, please complete and send in the form below.

As a bonus for supporting the Library, you will also be placed on the subscriber list for Amicus, the quarterly newsletter published by the Library. It will keep you up to date on Library and Museum activities.

Thank you for supporting the Albert Pike Museum!

Joan K. Sansbury is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, and has her Master's Degree in Library Science from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the American Library Association, the District of Columbia Library Asso- ciation, the Masonic Library and Museum Association, and the Rare Book Group of Washington, D.C.