Art Institute of Chicago

Emblems for Royal Crown Lodge No. 22

Artist unknown (English, 19th century)

Date

1810–15

Medium

Oil on panel

Culture

United States

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This sign likely hung in an English lodge of the Odd Fellows, an international fraternal organization founded to promote mutual aid, charity, and moral responsibility. The myriad symbols here include a heart in hand, denoting openness and sincerity, and an hourglass, suggesting life’s transience. At the bottom, a phrase in Latin extols the principles of friendship, love, and truth. Chartered groups developed in the United States beginning in 1819. While the English orders had long admitted black members, several American lodges broke away in 1842 to enforce whites-only membership. All the while, the English continued issuing charters to African Americans, who built an influential network of inclusive Odd Fellows lodges.

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