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by Duncan Burden

Masonic ‘Exposés’ and ‘Exposures’ are very specific books about Freemasonry. These publications are sold with the claim that they will ‘reveal’ the secrets of the Order, hence being called ‘Exposures’.

The sales of these books has been relatively constant since the early years of Speculative  Masonry in the early 18^th century. Although the styles of what constitutes an Exposure can differ,  some are open transcripts of Masonic rituals containing all the hidden words, while others offer an inward view of Freemasonry claiming to reveal the secret interpretation or experience of being a Freemason.

The last genuine ‘experience’ exposure was a book called, ‘The Brotherhood ’ by Stephen Knight, first published in 1984. Although considered to be published from the sensational angle of an investigative reporter, the book did attempt to describe the real experience of being a Freemason in the mid-1980’s.  Since then, the majority of exposé books on Freemasonry, excluding those of reference, have simply offered more esoteric explanation of its secrets, or meaning.

For centuries Masonic exposures were ignored by Masonic historians, as they were considered dubious sources of information. Although, with modern cataloging, 18^th century exposures are proving to be a valuable source of information for one of the most fascinating and mysterious parts of Masonic history and its development. Through the 18^th century, Freemasonry changed from performing basic verbal rituals to the system of allegorical plays known today. Little evidence shows how this transformation occurred, as the ceremonies were never meant to be written down. As such, with many of these exposures actually being found in the possession of known Masons of the period, often with handwritten notes, it appears evident that these booklets were genuinely used, or adopted, as rituals books. Therefore, the study of these exposures has revealed so much about the development of Freemasonry.

Here are the Top Ten Masonic Exposures that have impacted Freemasonry:

1) A Mason’s Examination (1723)

This is believed to be the first recognized Masonic ‘Exposure’, published soon after the forming of the first Grand Lodge of Speculative Freemasonry, in London, in 1717. It was released through a London newspaper, known as either ‘The Flying Post’ or ‘Post Master’. Like many of these exposés in general, the author is unknown, but the content does seem it to reveal that the writer had more than just a casual knowledge of Freemasonry.

There can be various reasons as to why the author didn’t attribute their name, the obvious being that they genuinely feared a reprisal and expulsion from Freemasonry for writing the book for the public. Even if true, the omission of the name, would have added a tangible hint of secrecy to the work, which would have appealed to the audience and, possibly, given the marketing illusion of being written by a real Mason.  Although this publication was the first, its greatest claim to Masonic history is that it seems only to have inspired the publication of the second title on the list – ‘The Grand Mystery of Free Masons Discovered’

2) The Grand Mystery of Free Masons Discovered (1724)

This particular exposure was also released anonymously, but with a creative back story to accompany it. The author claimed to have complied the work from papers left by an elderly Mason who had suddenly died. The work presented as if the individual had been an Operative mason, (meaning a real stone mason), and the composition appears to be the work of rather an uneducated individual of the period. Even so, this pamphlet became extremely popular, and proved that a commercial market for Masonic exposures existed in the early 18^th century Freemasonry.

 

3) Masonry Dissected (1730)

This exposé had the rare benefit of having a named author; a Samuel Prichard, and is regarded as the leading example of the period. It certainly lays the claim as being the most effective to Masonic history. This small publication was released in London only 13 years after Premier Lodge of England was formed. In this famous Grand Lodge own records, following the publication of Masonry Dissected, they expressed a genuine concern over the effect this new booklet would have on Freemasonry. This is because the text openly described how any individual could be recognized as a Mason in a Lodge, giving clear explanations of the passwords. Their remedy was to order Lodges to swap around the passwords, to help Lodges identify false claims.

Unfortunately this backfired incredibly, and some Lodges refused, on the claim that it was changing the traditions of the Order. The argument eventually became one of the issues that fueled the forming of a rival Grand Lodge, which created a huge great divide in English Freemasonry. This divide lasted for over 60 years, and ended with the Union of 1812, creating the United Grand Lodge of England, the Grand Lodge that governs English Freemasonry today.

 

4) Three Distinct Knocks (1760)

The author of this pamphlet is unknown, but its title is very significant to many Freemasons. For most Brethren the term refers to a very specific element of Masonic ritual, but to a few it still relates to how traditional Freemasons recruit members. There is a common misconception that an individual is meant to be ‘asked’ to join, but in reality, it is more common, and expected, for an individual to ask.

Traditionally, a Mason is meant to refuse, or ignore, the first two inquiries of membership from an individual. This is because the mason is meant to feel assured that the desire and enthusiasm to join is genuine. As such, by ignoring the request twice, it was believed that with a third would indicate sincerity – this was called giving ‘Three Distinct Knocks’. Besides this reasoning behind the title, this pamphlet is one of the first documents that showed the new system of rituals; ceremonies more distinctly resembling those practiced today.

 

5) Illustrations of Masonry, by One of the Fraternity Who Has Devoted Years to the Subject (1826)

This work was supposedly written by the famous character, William Morgan. The reason it is only ‘supposed’ to be written by Morgan is not just because the material appears to be a copy of a previous existing book, but also that it was possibly released following the publicity of what is known as the ‘William Morgan Incident’. The incident claims that William Morgan was murdered by Masons following his claim that he was going to publish a book revealing the secrets of Freemasonry.

One of the famous qualities of Masonic ritual is that the Brethren take the oaths of secrecy, and part of that oath is to accept that if they break that oath they would suffer very explicit ceremonial death. Morgan apparently became disgruntled with a Lodge he said he was a member, and threatened to publish a book revealing the secrets of Freemasonry.  It appears he genuinely was in the process of doing so till eventually he was put into jail on questionable allegations and then disappeared.

It is believed he was murdered by local Masons. If he was, then he has the honor of being the only person ever to suffer this penalty. In England, the penalties are now explicitly described as being symbolic, but it is not unlikely that during his time, some Brethren took them literally. The disappearance of Morgan caused a national out-cry against Freemasonry in America, which dramatically effected the development of the Fraternity in the country. Even so, a book in his name exists, and reprint followed with the addition of an account of the murder of the author.

 

6) The Thomas Dunkerley Workings (2018)

Not all exposures are old, and some are still being released. This particular example follows the 18^th century examples of explicitly offering the ritual script of the ceremonies and can easily be found on Amazon. The only difference is that it includes what is called the ‘Perambulations’ which is the description of how the Brethren are expected to walk and physically perform in the Lodge. These descriptions are normally found in authorized ritual books and are rare to find in an exposure, which implies it is a modern presentation.

Although, as ‘The Thomas Dunkerley Workings’ are English rituals, and the book contains the old penalties, it does seem to validate the authors claim that the work was collected from Past Masters and visitors of the Lodge. The book claims to give a full exposure of one of the rarest Masonic ceremonies still practiced in England. Other historic rituals have also been made available on Amazon, such as Charles E. Cohoughlyn-Burrough’s ‘Bristol Masonic Ritual’.  Interestingly, the author of this particular exposure is given as ‘William Morgan’, which is generally accepted as being untrue for obvious reasons.

 

7) A Ritual of Freemasonry (1852)

This is the first American exposure to make the list. Unfortunately the content is simply a compilation of other exposés that were available during the early to mid-19^th century. The value of this publication is that the author, an Avery Allyn, decided to include an array of exclusive engravings. These images depict scenes from various rituals, representations of specific salutes and explicit images of secret grips.

Unfortunately, this didn’t increase the sales, nor its popularity during its time. Although with the invention of the internet, Allyn’s work has become the most used illustrations about Freemasonry. Even to this day, it is difficult for researchers and authors to gain access to Masonic buildings to secure an array of images to illustrate their work. As such, many resolve to use the images presented by Allyn’s work. What is not appreciated is that not all regions of Freemasonry practice the Craft in the same why, and so several of the images are wrong in some jurisdictions. Even so, Allyn’s work is now one of the most sought after publications for collectors.

 

8) Duncan’s Masonic Ritual and Monitor or Guide to the Three Symbolic Degrees of the Ancient York Rite, and the Degrees of Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master, and the Royal Arch (1866)

This work, with the ridiculously long title, was complied by a Malcolm C. Duncan, and holds a unique place in Masonic history, especially in America. In the later part of the 19^th century, this work was initially embraced by many Masonic Lodges across America to be used as an ‘unofficial’ ritual book. With Freemasonry regaining popularity, follow the American Civil War, Lodges needed a quick way for new Brethren and Lodges to get established. As such, with a lack of experienced Masons meeting the demand, Lodges began to use books, like ‘Duncans’, as an easy to use ritual book.

Unfortunately, this has caused decades of controversy. Many Lodges who still use these rituals, or similar, are rather frowned on by other Lodges, as they are seen as being improperly formed (due to using material that never should have been published). This problem still exists today, again, especially in America. In America an epidemic exists with questionable characters ‘inventing’ their own Masonic Lodges, with the singular aim of making money. These individuals use books, most commonly the ‘Duncan’s Workings’ to create Lodges and to appear as real Masons. With the illusion completed, they encourage people to join, and get them to pay – not only to join, but to pay for each ritual they become part of. Some of these have become so successful that they have gained a great number of followers, totally unaware that they are not recognized as being genuine in the world of Freemasonry.

 

9) Le Secret des Fancs- Maçon – The Secret of the Free-Masons (1744)

French exposures are extremely important in Masonic research. There is a period of time, commonly referred to as the ’30 year gap’, from around 1730 to 1760, when no real English Masonic exposures were released. The importance of this is that the rituals described up to 1730 are distinctly different to those of 1760, which, by then, resembled the ceremonies used today. With no exposures, or relevant documents for these 30 years, questions exist how the changes in style occurred. Fortunately French Exposures were still being published through this period and shed significant light on what happened.

It appears that when Freemasonry was adopted in France in the early 18^th century, it was them who added the dramatic style of presentations we know today. This particular pamphlet, although not the most descriptive, does describe how Freemasonry was appreciated and valued. Surprisingly, it was written by a noted Priest at the time; an Abbé Gabriel Louis Calabre Perau. His adoration of Freemasonry, evident in his work which was first published in 1742, with new edition in 1744, was immensely popular. Further editions are recorded in 1745, 1749 and 1752!

10) Le Parfait Maçon- The Perfect Mason  (1744)

Clearly by the title, this is an another French Exposure, but one which holds a very special place on the list as it is an enigma to many Masonic researchers. When this small booklet was released, Masonic exposés, where common enough.  Often new booklets were either direct copies of others or combinations of existing works. Yet the rituals described in this work show little resemblance to any other of the time. Rationally this would create the assumed that the work was complete fiction, and compiled only to make money from the eager and gullible.

Although, to the astute Mason, certain elements so resonate to modern Freemasonry, it gives the impression that the writer was indeed familiar with Freemasonry and that perhaps was attempting to communicate with fellow Masons in an encrypted manner. With so many exposures on the market at the time, if this work was completely fake, then it would have been quickly dismissed, and yet it was extremely popular. It was first released in 1744, but had an enlarged edition being recorded as published in 1747.

In addition, if just released for a scam, why did the author choose to include drawings that aren’t found in any similar publication – commissioning drawings for print was an expensive addition. For those interested in the Rennes-le-chateau Mystery, one of the peculiar aspects is it describes one of the Masonic passwords as ‘Manhu, Magdal or Magdala’. It goes on to say that the Candidate is asked what does the password mean? The ritual response is ‘Manhn meaning ‘what is this’; ‘Magdala’ means ‘the tower’.

 

~Article written by Duncan Burden

Duncan Burden enjoys researching history. Although he often writes on Masonic issues, since he has been a Freemason for most of his adult life and is a member of various Masonic bodies, such as the Royal and Select Master Masons, and Operative Masons, he takes pleasure in writing on all historic, mysterious, and exciting topics.

He was born on the Norfolk Coast, and now lives in Hertfordshire, England.

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