Small books fashioned from soft stone, like marble, alabaster, and sandstone, were often made as gifts for women during the late nineteenth century, or as “objects of remembrance.” Fraternal symbols on stone books are somewhat rare. This example shows a hacksaw on one side and a “star and tiger claw” above a Masonic square and compasses on the other. The star and the tiger claw, resembling a horizontal crescent, are symbols used by the Masonic group known as the Shrine, properly called the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and sometimes referred to as the “playground of Freemasonry” because they were formed to focus more on fun and fellowship than on ritual. The group was founded in 1872 in New York City at the height of nineteenth-century Orientalism in America, when a fascination with the Middle East influenced art, literature, and popular culture. Shriners took cues for their name, symbols, and regalia from that rich culture. The book shape itself suggests that it is a representation of the Bible, used in Freemasonry to signify the divine will of God.