Albert G. Mackey - The Perfect Ceremonies of Craft Masonry - 1875-1875

"The Perfect Ceremonies of Craft Masonry", published in London in 1876 by A. Lewis in a private and limited edition "Privately Printed", a work of great historical and collectible significance tied to the rituals of English Freemasonry and to the traditions taught at the "Unions Emulation Lodge of Improvement" of Freemasons' Hall in London, enriched inside by an introductory section prepared by Albert G. Mackey, M.D. titled "Freemasonry: Its Origin, History, and Design", with the original hardcover in full leather or faux leather in dark blue, finely blind-embossed with rich decorative geometric friezes and with the famous Masonic symbol of the square, compasses and the all-seeing eye pressed at the center of the boards, interior printed with details in red and black ink, enhanced by elegant engravings and pictorial frames, with the ritual text presenting the classic ciphered and abbreviated script typical of lodge manuals, the copy distinguished by the presence of numerous era-era handwritten annotations and corrections in ink on the inner pages and by the insertion of a rare original period sheet glued in, on which notes and handwritten ritual formulas related to Scotland, Ireland, and the United States of America are reported, general condition good for a nineteenth-century text of this nature, evident and natural signs of time with wear and abrasions along the spine and the edges of the binding, slight yellowing and browning on the inner pages which nonetheless maintain excellent legibility and a historic patina of great charm, compact pocket-sized dimensions ideal for lodge manuals of the era, piece of notable interest for Freemasonry collectors, rare 19th-century books, esotericism and the history of secret societies. In 16°, pp. 128 n + 42 n. Spine missing.