The Constitutions of the Free-Masons by James Anderson and Benjamin Franklin

 

 

 

This is a new edition of the the first Masonic book printed in America, which was originally produced in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin in 1734, and was a reprint of a work by James Anderson (who is identified as the author in an appendix) printed in London in 1723. This is the seminal work of American Masonry, edited and published by one of the founding fathers, and of great importance to the development of colonial society and the formation of the Republic. The work contains a 40-page history of Masonry: from Adam to the reign of King George I, including, among others, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, Hiram Abif, Nebuchadnezzar, Augustus Caesar, Vitruvius, King Athelstan the Saxon, Inigo Jones, and James I of England. It is a celebration of the science of Geometry and the Royal Art of Architecture. The work also includes five songs, one of which-"A New Song"-appears in print for the first time and may have been composed by Franklin.