Independent Order of Odd Fellows Sign for Friendly Lodge No. 851843–187036 5/8 × 28 1/2"Paint and gold leaf on woodGift of Kendra and Allan Daniel2015.1.15801555575165Artist unidentifiedArchitectureThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain. http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster28734United StatesPennsylvaniaThree Dimensional WorksFraternal Art and ObjectsFriendly Lodge No. 85 was chartered in Millerstown, Pennsylvania, in 1843. By the early 1880s, the lodge numbered sixty-eight members. The lodge probably commissioned this sign soon after it was founded. Evidence at bottom center suggests that it was originally attached to a pole, which would have allowed it to be carried or displayed at lodge meetings. The prominent central motif of clasped hands represented fellowship and friendship, making this an appropriate sign for welcoming members and the community to the lodge. The symbol stopped being used by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in the mid-1800s; one early historian suggested that it fell out of favor because it came into “too common use among other fraternities.”
Stacy C. Hollander, "Independent Order of Odd Fellows Sign for Friendly Lodge No. 85," 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.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orghttp://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster28734http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster28734http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster2873418431870 2015 1 158 Friendly Lodge No. 85 was chartered in Millerstown, Pennsylvania, in 1843. By the early 1880s, the lodge numbered sixty-eight members. The lodge probably commissioned this sign soon after it was founded. Evidence at bottom center suggests that it was originally attached to a pole, which would have allowed it to be carried or displayed at lodge meetings. The prominent central motif of clasped hands represented fellowship and friendship, making this an appropriate sign for welcoming members and the community to the lodge. The symbol stopped being used by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in the mid-1800s; one early historian suggested that it fell out of favor because it came into “too common use among other fraternities.”
Stacy C. Hollander, "Independent Order of Odd Fellows Sign for Friendly Lodge No. 85," 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.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org