A System of Speculative Masonry, In Its Origin, Patronage, Dissemination, Principles, Duties, and Ultimate Designs, Laid Open for the Examination of the Serious and Candid: Being a Course of Lectures, Delivered Before the Grand Chapter of the State of New York, at their Annual Meetings, Held in Temple Chapter Room, In the City of Albany

Salem, NY: Printed by H. Dodd and Co, 1822. Second Edition. 284pp. Duodecimo [18 cm] Full brown sheep with a gilt stamped red label and gilt bands to the backstrip. Very good. Front hinge starting at head. Sporadic foxing throughout with dampstains to several leaves at the front. This work was used by Masonic officers throughout New England and elsewhere, this work was clearly a prime Masonic influence in Joseph Smith's immediate world. The list of subscribers shows some two hundred copies going to Ontario County, New York, including Seymour Scovell, the Palmyra store keeper who occasionally gave odd jobs to young Joseph. It may interest Mormon scholars to see that this book ascribes Masonic tradition and practice to major Old Testament figures, beginning with Enoch and continuing through Melchizedek, Solomon and others who ostensibly passed the sacred name of deity on through the centuries to the present day. Mormon Parallels. 444. Sabin 96366. Walgren 2615. (Inventory #: 9925)