L'Ordre des Francs-Macons trahi, et leur secret revele

8vo. xii, 106,
[2] pp. Large folding woodcut plate.
[Bound with]
Recueil de chansons et poésies maçonnes. "Jerusalem": "Amis de la Vérité," 1782. 8vo. 150 pp. Two works
in one. Contemporary blind-ruled calf. Old stamp of "Frèrie Orientalée". In very good condition.
New expanded editions of two classic works on freemasonry. The first attempts to expose
the occult nature of the brotherhood, including recruitment processes, initiation rituals, meeting places, handshakes, symbolism, and connections to ancient mysticism. The folding plate illustrates the appropriate layout of a Masonic altar for both a company apprentice and a master. (truncated) The final page depicts
the Pigpen cypher, claiming to make it public for the first time. The second text transcribes 81 songs
and chants that are purportedly the verse repertoire of all freemasons.
Both texts were obviously published under false imprints; various bibliographers have attributed editions to printers in Amsterdam, Paris, Leipzig, and other French-speaking locales. Most
authorities believe L'Ordre des Francs-Maçons to have been written by Pérau, a pretender priest who
specialized in biographical gossip, but others have suggested the Italian librettist Giovanni Gualberto
Bottarelli. (Inventory #: 18935)