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.
