THE TEMPLAR'S CHART or HIEROGLYPHIC MONITOR. Containing All the Emblems and Hieroglyphics Explained in the Valiant and Magnanimous Orders of Knights of the Red Cross, Knights Templars; and Knights of Malta, or Order of St. John of Jerusalem. By JEREMY CROSS. [Knights Templar - Masonic Order, Masons, Knights of Malta, Freemasonry. Occult, Fraternal Orders]

NEW HAVEN (Conn.): Published and sold by the author; Sold also by A. H. Maltby & Co., Printers, New Haven, [and others], 1821. FIRST EDITION.

Hardcovers, leather covered boards, front cover and front free endpaper are detached but present, 4x6.5 inches. Pagination: [2], vi, 9-137 pages + 21 plates at the rear.

ILLUSTRATED with 22 engraved plates (a frontispiece plate plus 21 plates at the rear), and masonic musical scores. The frontispiece engraving states that it was engraved by S.S. Jocelyn NH (Simeon Smith Jocelyn, of New Haven, Connecticut, b.1799 d.1879). It is presumed all of the plates in this book were engraved by S.S. Jocelyn.

(S.S. Jocelyn and his brother Nathaniel Jocelyn, b.1796 d.1881, founded and ran a New Haven engraving company under the name N. & S. S. Jocelyn. In 1858, the Jocelyn brothers gave a piece of land to the city of New Haven to be used as a public park and playground. It is now known as Jocelyn Square.)

Copy of FREDERICK WALLACE PUTNAM, a noted New York doctor, bibliophile and Freemason, with his personal "Masonic Library" bookplate on the front pastedown: "MASONIC LIBRARY of F. W. PUTNAM, M.D. / No. 758". (His masonic collection must have been quite extensive if this was book number 758!) Handwritten on the front pastedown above the bookplate is his initialed signature "F.W.P. Nov. 9, 1904". And also some related writing possibly in another hand. On the front free endpaper is an ink stamp that states: "MASONIC LIBRARY #352 / HOMER, N.Y. / Book No. 82 Sec. 4". Possibly the book was acquired by F.W. Putnam for his masonic library when it was deaccessioned from the Homer masonic library. (Frederick Wallace Putnam was born October 12, 1856, near HOMER, N.Y. He was active in the New York State Medical Association as well as being an active member in several fraternal organizations. He was an enthusiastic collector of antiquarian books and manuscripts. - NY State Library website.)

FAIR condition: the front cover and front free endpaper are detached but present (i.e. laid on loosely), the covers are rubbed and scraped, and the spine covering is missing a piece at its bottom; internally, the frontispiece leaf is coming loose but still hanging on, there is foxing throughout - all the pages are foxed, heavy on the first few pages, the last few pages, and here and there; otherwise a complete copy, fully legible, with an interesting provenance.

RARE 1821 FIRST EDITION of an IMPORTANT MASONIC TEXT and a NEW HAVEN imprint.