Record Details
Our Motto
Brightly colored decorative prints were widely popular by the end of the nineteenth century. A framed fraternal print hanging on the wall signified one’s identity with the group and reminded the member of the lessons that he learned in the lodge. Our Motto was produced for Odd Fellows and shows an attractive arrangement of the fraternity’s symbols. An all-seeing eye at top looks down on a three-link chain and a hand extending from the left holds a heart and a rendering of a scene from their ritual stories showing the biblical figures of Jonathan and David. A bundle of sticks lies on top of an open Bible that sits on an altar. Additional symbols appear in the black oval border. The work was published by Frank W. Parkhurst in Boston, probably around 1883. Parkhurst’s status as an Odd Fellow is not known; however, he did become a Freemason in 1882 and was a member of Fitchburg’s Charles W. Moore Lodge.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Our Motto," exhibition label for Mystery and Benevolence: Masonic and Odd Fellows Folk Art from the Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2016.
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