Master mason certificate for Leroy Gilliard
date: label: Date
content: 1953
name: label: Printed by
content: Masonic Supply Company, American, 1950 - 2002
label: Received by
content: Leroy Buster Gilliard, American, 1911 - 1993
label: Subject of
content: Prince Hall Freemasonry, founded 1784
notes: label: Description
content: A Prince Hall Masons certificate declaring Leroy Gilliard of Gothic Lodge No. 212 has reached the degree of "MASTER MASON." The certificate has been pre-printed with an elaborate design and Mr. Gilliard's details completed by hand in black ink. The certificate design features a lot of masonic imagery and symbols. Across the top of the certificate is the Eye of Providence, with a sun to the left and a moon to the right. The words [To all Free and Accepted / PRINCE HALL / MASONS] appears in large decorative fonts in between two ivy-wrapped columns topped by spheres on either side of the certificate information. The columns sit atop a checkerboard floor, on either side of a set of stone steps. The steps are labeled with the five senses ("Tasting, Smelling, Feeling, Seeing, Hearing"), the five types of columns ("Composite, Corinthian, Ionic, Doric, Tuscan"), and seven disciplines of study ("Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, Astronomy"). At the center of the design is the main certificate text. It reads in part "Greetings / We the Master and Wardens of / Gothic Lodge No. 212 Free and accepted Masons P.H. / constituted under a Charter from the / Grand Lodge of the State of S-C / Worthy Brother Leroy Gailliard (sic) has been regularly / Initiated as an ENTERED APPRENTICE passed the Degree of / FELLOW CRAFT and Raised to the Sublime Degree of / MASTER MASON and is distinguished for his zeal and / fidelity to the Craft.] The certificate is dated July 23, 1953 and is signed by several members of the organization at bottom right, next to a small depiction of a lectern with [PRINCE HALL] on the front, an open book and two compasses on top, surrounded by three lit candles. Just beneath the printed design is printed [© 1949 MASONIC SUPPLY CO. 175 FIFTH AV. NEW YORK 10 N.Y.]. A handwritten inscription below reads [Donated To Building Fund. $15.00]. At the very bottom of the certificate is an embossed seal within a printed black circle, and a printed section that has been crossed out with [TEMPLE ASSOCIATION] stamped in black ink and [Joseph Graham, Pres. / Rev. J.J. Taylor Sec'y] handwritten in black ink. There is a small loss at mid-right center, along crease lines from the document being folded.
place: label: Place used
content: Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: American South
label: Topic
content: Associations and institutions
label: Topic
content: Communities
label: Topic
content: Design
label: Topic
content: Fraternal organizations
label: Topic
content: Freemasonry
label: Topic
content: Men
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Families of Leroy Buster Gilliard & Mr. and Mrs. James L. Gilliard
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2021.24.3
objectType: label: Type
content: ceremonial objects
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Unknown - Restrictions Possible
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 16 9/16 × 10 13/16 in. (42 × 27.5 cm)