THE DOOLITTLE PICTURES
The pictures which illustrate the emblems of the three degrees - either on a
chart hung on the wall, supported on an easel, or by means of lantern slides and
a projector - are practically universal in American Freemasonry. The curious
uniformity and the unquestioned poor art of the vast majority of these
illustrations bear testimony to the universality of Masonic thought in the
forty-nine Grand Jurisdictions of the nation. For practically all of them are
either copies of the originals of Amos Doolittle, Connecticut engraver, or
adaptations from them.
In 1819 Jeremy L. Cross, famous New Hampshire Mason, Masonic lecturer and
instructor, produced his "True Masonic Chart". This curious old book, which has
had some sixteen or eighteen editions, was illustrated by the Nutmeg State
brother. It was the first of the illustrated "Monitors" which, in one form or
another, persist to this day in a majority of Grand Jurisdictions.
The Fraternity has fared better at the hands of her poets and her singers
than by the pencils of her artists. Burns and Kipling are names to conjure with
in any list of poets Mozart was no mean musician; more modern makers of music
have given the Craft some beautiful harmonies. As yet no artist worthy the name
has offered the brethren illustrations of real merit. Had Doolittle been as
great an artist as he was a worker; had his skill with engraving tools been
equalled by his knowledge of drawing, "Master's Carpets", Lodge room charts,
lantern slides, might carry a much more inspiring and beautiful message to
candidates.
The Grand Lodge of Connecticut, justly proud of her famous sons who have been
prominent Masonically, has several examples of Doolittle's art in the form of
aprons and diplomas. His contemporary engravings of non-Masonic character are
well known to collectors, especially his four illustrations of the fighting at
Lexington and Concord. But the originals of his Masonic pictures, the actual
plates of the illustrations to Cross's "True Masonic Chart" have not been
located.
From M.W. Winthrop Buck, least Grand Master and Grand Secretary of the Grand
Lodge of Connecticut comes the following information:
"Amos Doolittle was an important member of the Fraternity in Connecticut. He
is said to have been received in Hiram Lodge No. 1 July 20, 1792. His card
states that he was born in 1754 and died in 1832, was Master of Hiram Lodge in
1802, had a Revolutionary War record, was a Tavern keeper, member of the
Commandery in 1821 and a Charter Member of the Second Company of the Governor's
Foot Guard. About the time he became Master, Hiram Lodge began to meet in his
Tavern and continued there for ten or twelve years. About the same time the
Grand Lodge made an agreement in which, for the loan of $100, Brother Doolittle
was to furnish a room, light and heat as long as the Grand Lodge wished to be
accommodated. This agreement was terminated in 1826. The Grand Lodge has the
original document showing the agreement between the Grand Lodge and Brother
Doolittle."
The Dictionary of American Biography states:
DOOLITTLE, AMOS (May 18, 1754Jan. 30, 1832), engraver, was born in Cheshire,
Conn., the son of Ambrose and Martha (Munson) Doolittle, being next to the
eldest in a family of thirteen. From a craftsman in his native town he began to
learn the trade of silversmith, but for some reason turned his attention to
engraving on copper. In this he seems to have been his own instructor.
While still a young man he left Cheshire, and made his home in New Haven,
where he lived the rest of his life. He was one of a number of citizens who
memorialized the General Assembly "to construct them a district military company
by the name of the Governor's Second Company of Guards," and thus he became a
charter member of that famous organization which is known today as the
Governor's Foot Guards. When, in the spring of 1775, news came of the battle of
Lexington, Doolittle was one of those who under Capt. Benedict Arnold marched to
Cambridge. Their services, however, were not needed there at the moment, and
they soon returned to New Haven.
Doolittle was a practical patriot, and made the expedition serve him to good
purpose, for in December of the same year he was advertising in the Connecticut
Journal four copper plates depicting "the battle of Lexington, Concord," etc.,
from paintings made by Ralph Earle. As representations of what actually took
place they can hardly be regarded as of much value. It has been said of them
that they are "not to be held amenable to any canons of art, except those
formulated and adopted by the artist of his own sweet will".
He was an indefatigable worker, turning out from his little shop on the
college square a great variety of plates. He seems not to have depended entirely
upon the burin for his livelihood, for advertisements in the local papers inform
us that he dealt in varnishing, enameling, etc., and that he made silver and
metal eagles, and one of his own prints tells us that he had a rolling press.
His work as an engraver shows a wide variety of subjects. He furnished
numerous portraits and illustrations for books, engraved music, money, and
diplomas, and made a number of bookplates. He is said to have assisted Abel
Buell in engraving the latter's wall map of the territories of the United States
according to the Peace of 1783, and he engraved the two maps included in
Jedidiah Morse's Geography Made Easy (1784).
One of Doolittle's principal works, which has received high commendation
(Charles Henry Hart, Catalogue of the Engraved Portraits of Washington, Grolier
Club Publications No. 42, 1904), is his "Display of the United States of
America," in which Washington is the central figure surrounded by the coats of
arms of the states. There are several variations of this plate. It was followed
by a "New Display," in which John Adams was the central figure, and yet again by
another "New Display," which carried the portrait of Jefferson.
Doolittle was twice married. Regarding his first wife information is lacking,
save that her first name was Sally, and that she died Jan. 29, 1797, in her
thirty-eighth year (Connecticut Journal, Feb. 1, 1797). His second wife was
Phebe Tuttle, whom he married on Nov. 8, 1797, and who died in 1825. He died in
New Haven and was buried in Grove Street Cemetery.
A contemporary newspaper carried the following incident in Doolittle's life;
it is reproduced here through the courtesy of the Grand Secretary of
Connecticut:
Invasion of New Haven by the British occurred July 5, 1779. The British
entered New Haven on the old Derby road, through Hotchkisstown, (now Westville).
A small body of men under Capt. Phineas Bradley, with two small cannon, made a
stand to oppose their entrance on the top of the hill, the east of the Bridge
(formerly called Thompson's Bridge) but, their ammunition failing, they were
obliged to retreat. The embankments thrown up on this occasion were quite
recently visible. The enemy then continued their course towards New Haven, and
when at the west end of Chapel street, placed a large field piece, and fired it
off down the street.
Our informant, Mr. Amos Doolittle, who was one of the party who resisted the
enemy at Hotchkisstown, states that when obliged to leave there, his wife being
sick, he returned to his house, which was near the College and after throwing
his gun and equipments under the bed, awaited the coming of the enemy with
anxiety.
As soon as they arrived he front of his house, an English lady, who resided
with him, stepped to the door, and addressing one of the officers, requested a
guard for the house. The officer asked her, with an oath, who she was; she
informed him that she was an English woman, and then had a son in his majesty's
services; upon which the officer, addressing a Highlander, ordered him to guard
the house, and not to allow the least injury to be done to its inmates.
It was owing to the address of this lady that Mr. D. was not carried to New
York by the enemy; for some of the soldiers, entering the house by the back
door, and discovering the gun under the bed, inquired the purpose of it. The
lady with great presence of mind, answered that the law obliged every man to
have a gun in his house, adding, that the owner of it was as great a friend to
King George as themselves. A store near his house, having been broken open by
the soldiers, one of them advised Mr. D. to go and provide himself with whatever
he wanted adding that he was perfectly welcome; but, not wishing to take
advantage of his neighbor's distress, the offer was. of course, declined.
With such a background and activities, the wonder is not that Doolittle's
Masonic drawings were such poor art, but that they possessed sufficient
vitality, spite of bad drawing and lack of inspiration, to live to such a
venerable age.
Open a copy of the True Masonic Chart; the first illustration is a "Master's
Carpet" practically identical with hundreds to be seen today on the walls of
country Lodges. Here are the two pillars, the All Seeing Eye above, the letter
G, a pair of compasses inclosing a pentalpha. Scattered liberally over the whole
are anchor, ark, Jacob's ladder, beehive, rough and perfect ashlar, hour glass,
point in circle, sword and heart, forty seventh problem, working tools, urn,
book of constitutions guarded by the sword. The pillars stand on a mosaic
pavement on which is also an altar and three lighted candles, while below the
three steps which lead to the pavement are mattock, spade, coffin and sprig of
acacia.
In the immediately following pages the emblems are arranged by degrees. More
numerous, more detailed, fine of line, they testify to Doolittle's skill with
his tools, however much they cry aloud at his lack as an artist. In these faded
and yellowed pages are to be found the answer to that question so often asked -
"why do we illustrate our truths so crudely?" Here are, for instance, the
brethren meeting on the top of a hill, and in a vale. They wear hats -
apparently stove pipe hats! Two cowans and evesdroppers are being warned away in
each picture. It is true the hill is but a knoll, and the vale but a pit in the
ground - doubtless the artist felt that some license must be permitted him who
was expected to put so vast a scene on such a small canvass.
Jacob's Ladder raises three rounds (carefully lettered F. H. and C !) to high
heaven. Heaven is represented by a circular patch of storm clouds, surrounding
seven large five pointed stars. A stream, a forest, an individual tree, complete
the masterpiece!
On much the same landscape begin the winding stairs, at the top of which is
the Middle Chamber. It has neither sides or roof, but a figure in the door
satisfies the beholder that it is of human proportions and not, for instance, a
dog house. Two pages further on blazes the letter G (carefully suspended from a
cord !) in an arched section of Lodge room the like of which has never been
built.
But it is on the pages devoted to the Master Mason Degree that Doolittle
outdoes himself. Three enormous columns support each its proper original Grand
Master; tiny doll like figures with all the dignity of marionettes. The pot of
incense burns with such fury that it might be a representation of a Bessemer
converter in full action. Seven bees flutter industriously about a beehive
apparently made of rope. A comet flies straight at the sun, here drawn with the
details of a benignant human face, apparently unfrightened at the menace, while
the inevitable seven stars, a crescent moon and limpid All Seeing Eye complete
the page.
Finally, there is the Beautiful Virgin, the Broken Column, Time, the Book,
the Urn. Pages have been written about it; learned pundits have discussed it;
controversies have raged over it. Did Jeremy Cross invent it? Did Amos Doolittle
suggest it? There is evidence both ways, preponderantly in favor of the fact
that neither introduced the idea of the monument into Freemasonry, although some
credit one or the other, or both, with the broken column. But of the merits of
this matter this Bulletin is not concerned. Regardless of who originally
conceived the idea that a monument to the historic dead should necessarily be a
part of the Master's degree, there is no question that the mom1ment, Time with
his sycthe, counting the virgin's hairs, the urn, the open book, the broken
column, were all combined by Doolittle into a drawing the very grotesqueness of
which apparently gave it the vitality of the life of the Wandering Jew! It has
wandered to every State in the Union; anywhere, everywhere, when this emblem is
reached in the ceremony, the candidates is shown a picture of a mannikin with a
beard, muscular legs, a venerable head, playing with the hair of a lady whose
virginity none would doubt, while managing also a scythe of truly awe inspiring
dimensions. The drawing is vigorous, flat, formal, awkward. None may miss its
meaning, as tire artist inscribed on the open pages ''amiable, distinguished,
exemplary" to point his moral and adorn his tale!
It is perhaps ungentle to make even gentle fun of a brother who worked in all
seriousness, whose labors have lived through more than a century, who gave form
if not substance to ideas not previously seen of Masons except in print. It is
only by aid of humor that those who think the emblems and the truths of the
Sublime Degree worthy of the highest and best which art might offer, can
tolerate Doolittle's uninspired drawings. Even as any grammarian or rhetorician
could "improve" the ritual by the elimination of awkward syntax, so could almost
any art student vastly improve the modern children of these old pictures.
Craftsmen who love the ritual as it is because it is old and therefore sacred
would keep it as it is. Those who wish for finer delineation of the emblems
would fight to the death to keep the ancient Doolittle pictures, perhaps because
of, rather than in spite of, their imperfections !
Of such venerations are Masons made - so may they ever be !
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