Masonic Match Safe Collection
of R.W. Jerome Pascoe
Sterling Silver.
Made by F. S. Gilbert & Co., North Attleboro, Mass., ca 1900.
Pushing
the blue enameled button opens the safe.
Silver - Assayed
in Chester, England 1928
Match safe
engraved with the name of 'JAS. COWIE' and the number '507'.
Bro. Cowie was
a member of Hopetoun Lodge No. 507 in Leadhills, S. Lanarkshire, Scotland,
in the period: 1895-1903.
Bro. Pascoe has several Scottish
match safes that are all similar and all, except one, are engraved with
names of Masons
who were members of lodges in Scotland between
1895-1903.
All are made of a nickel
alloy, and appear to be engraved by the same artisanal person.
They we made by John
McLeownan McMurtrie, 21 Princes St., Pollokshields, Glasgow,
Scotland. He was born on 28
January 1846 in Dailly, Ayr, and apart from specializing
in articles made of nickel alloys,
he also made
things from an arsenical/nickel compound called 'Nickeline'.
He is long out of business, as he died in 1913.
It may be that he sold the blank match
safes to a local artisan, who did the engraving,
and resold them to individuals at various
Masonic lodges in Scotland.
Limoges
Porcelain, France
Royal Arch
Chapter Unicorn No. 4, Brussels, Belgium
This enameled,
sterling silver match box 'slide' was made by Tiffany.
It has the
following marks: TIFFANY & CO. STERLING
- 22470 M
The symbols are
those of A.A.S.R. (Scottish Rite) KNIGHT TEMPLARS.
Measurements: 42 x 28 x 13 mm.
Limoges
Porcelain, France
Nickel-plated Brass, made by
Whitehead and Hoag Co., Newark, NJ.
Commemorating
Illustrious Bro. Frank C. Roundy, 33rd Deg. ASSR. 1909
(Roundy was born
on Jan. 15, 1858 in Lake Geneva, WI,
& was Imperial
Potentate of the Shrine, 1907-08.)
Made by William
B. Kerr Co., Newark, NJ, 1906.
RWB J. L.
Thomas, District Deputy Grand Master, GL of New York.
The
curious poem is engraved as follows:
Saut (salt) beef an
mustard
Hang the auld deil gin
ye like.
Translation into modern English would be:
Drink any damned gin
you like.
This match
safe belonged to Bro. Arthur Lindsay, a member of Leven St. John Lodge No.
170, Renton,
West Dumbartonshire, Scotland, in 1895-1903.
(Also made by
the same company in Glasgow, as my other Scottish match safes.)
Both sides of this match safe are
identical. It was manufactured in 1904 by August Goertz & Co., of Newark, NJ.
It is polychrome
over brass. (I bought it from an antique dealer in Brussels, Belgium in 2003.)
Porcelian, Limoges, France.
Columns with "J" and "B" on either side,
Striker on bottom, 68x46x24 mm,
Silver. It may be American-made,
although I bought it in England in 2006.
Scottish, nickel alloy match safe.
(1895 - 1903).
It had belonged to Bro. George
Macaulay of Journeyman Lodge No. 8, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Engraved: WILLIAM
ADAMS, who was a member of BONHILL & ALEXANDRIA Lodge No. 321,
in Bonhill, Dumbartonshire,
Scotland.
Another Scottish
Masonic safe.
Engraved: JOS.
BARCLAY, a member of Oswald & Dunniker Lodge No. 468,
in Kirkcaldy,
Fife, Scotland. (1895 - 1903).
Sterling silver
match safe made by Kerr, Newark NJ, ca. 1907.
Enameled Shriner's
'FEZ' applied.
The 3 initials
engraved on the reverse may be GHC, but not certain!
Another Scottish
match safe. Nickel alloy. Ca: 1895-1903.
This one is
engraved "J. RUSSELL", but as there is no lodge
number mentioned, I am unable to trace the lodge that Bro. Russell belonged
to.
The Grand Lodge
of Scotland's ancient records are not computerized, and are filed 'By Lodge',
so there is no way for them to assist me, other than going over the records
from many dozens of lodges, individually! The lodge's name will likely remain
a mystery.
This
beautiful silver-plated match safe was made by Gorham in the 1890s. (Gorham
No. 085.)
I've owned it for 12 years+, &
haven't been able to determine which lodge it refers to!
Obviously from the USA (or
Canada?) All I know is that the lodge (No. 610) was founded in 1895!
My research has revealed that it is NOT from a
lodge in PA, NY, NJ, NC, IL, or Ontario.
If any of your viewers can identify the lodge, I'd
like to hear about it!
Another nickel-alloy, Scottish
Vesta!
Engraved: "G.A.
Smith" and "No. 553".
Bro. Smith was a member
of St. Vincent Sandyford Lodge No. 553 in Glasgow, Scotland, 1895 - 1903.
PARTHENON
LODGE No. 112 ATHENS, GREECE 1952
This 'discreet', English silver
vesta case was made by Williams (Birmingham) Ltd., & assayed in Birmingham,
England in 1904.
Porcelain, Limoges, France
From the Site of St. George's Lodge
No. 3, Paris:
In June 1927, the first Royal
Arch Chapter to
be consecrated under the Grande Loge Nationale Francaise was
St. George’s Chapter,
with its first-ever WM, W.Bro. Edmund
Heisch, returning to be First Principal.
This early 21st century matchbook
holder (conveniently) came with a Masonic square & compass insignia!
I carry it
around on a daily basis, as a pill holder!
I also have a
second one that is engraved:
R.W Brother Jerome Pascoe
(center) Bro. Jeffery Pascoe on the (left) and Bro. Michael Pascoe, on the (right),
sporting a Lewis medal!
R. W. Jerome's
paternal grandfather, Mike (not pictured), became a Mason in Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada in 1915. His father, Benjamin (not pictured), later joined
his father's lodge, and 4 of my mother's brothers were also members of the
same lodge!
R. W. Bro.
Jerome Pascoe (center) became a Mason in Belgium in 1986, and his brother,
Charles (not pictured), joined in Texas a few years later. They both have two
sons, and all four are Masons in the USA. Jerry's eldest son, Jeffrey (on left), is
Secretary of his lodge in Mount Pleasant, SC, and Michael (on right) is Junior Warden
of his lodge in Mountain View, CA. (RWB Prof. Dr. Charles H. Pascoe, who
passed away in 2010, was a District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of
Texas.
A special "Thank
You" to Rt. W. Brother Jerome K. Pascoe of Chevalier Ramsay Lodge No. 4,
Brussels, Belgium for sharing the pictures and text of his personal Match Safe
Collection with our museum. If you would like to contact Bro. Pascoe about
his collection you may do so at his e-mail address:
jkp@jkpascoe.com
