[Ruel A. Macaraeg]

Friends,
I recently put together a relatively complete MKT costume including coat, sash, sword, sword belt, and gloves (belt & gloves not pictured). The coat came with the two hats shown below -- one a kepi, the other a bicorn.

I plan on wearing this set out soon, but haven't yet found any information (other than a brief mention by Whalen 1987) about which hat was worn on which occassions. Are any of you familiar with MKT practices, and know when each of these hats would have been worn? Nearly all historic photos of MKT members show them wearing the bicorn, which looks more impressive anyway, but I'd like also to know when the kepi was worn.

Any references would be appreciated. Thanks, r

Notes: http://www.forensicfashion.com/1888AmericanFreemason.html

[Glen A Cleeton]

What you are calling a kepi is a fatigue hat vs the feathered "dress" hat. Fatigue hat for general purpose about the lodge, general meetings etc. If you follow army military fashions, this one looks Spanish American war period but I could be mistaken. I am not really that much of a uniform buff.

Both appeared in great variety over the decades. Look to old regalia catalogs and advertisements.

Morally, I guess it is no different than costuming in military or other uniforms but doing so as a Sir Knight may seem more offensive to a fraternal group, especially if that is a named sword (of course a lineage of the sword would be great to have).

You may enjoy
http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/

Cheers

GC

[Lin Robinson]

I assume you are a Mason of that rank or there would be no reason to wear the uniform otherwise. Am I correct in that?

[Steven Janus]

I'm sure it's somewhere in Morals and Dogma. Great ole' Albert Pike, yup

[Ruel A. Macaraeg]

[Glen A Cleeton]

With the sash, belt and and sword; the fancy hat. Otherwise the other.

One can debate the differences between a kepi and forage or fatigue hat but the use if the term kepi pretty much belongs pretty much in the American Civil war. The difference between a forage and fatigue as well could be debated. Call it what you like but the plainer hat for no sash, belt and sword. Before the ACW, a forage cap instead of a hard shako then the kepi regarded the forage (soft walls) and a forage an adoption of the tall shakos (but still tall). Anyway, since we are talking "officer" vs trooper, the terms pretty much out the window anyway.

If your buddies are freemasons, why are you asking here? Visit a local lodge and talk to the top guys. Their historians are going to be a lot more familiar with changes and use in regalia. Again, you could be shagging old catalogs and ad copy.

Cheers

GC

[Ruel A. Macaraeg]

Well, those friends are masons but not Masonic Knights Templar, and at any rate don't have as much historical interest in documenting costume or sword development within the tradition -- all the more reason for people like us, who do have that interest, to do this work. At some point I'll schedule an appointment with a lodge and possibly study their archives, but my current work & research schedule plus various other commitments (including other costume projects) make that unlikely in the near future.

These days I generally avoid asking for help online unless I have to, but this was a case where my initial investigating turned up short. It was more practical to get quick answers before investing alot of time and effort vetting this kit, so I really do appreciate your help.

[Glen A Cleeton]

[Ruel A. Macaraeg]

I do serious costume research, not "play acting" (published academically, have lectured at Harvard, etc.etc.), but I appreciate the reminder nonetheless.

My belt is from the Holyrood Commandery in Cleveland, while my sword is also from Ohio -- Pettibone Bros. of Cincinnati. The costume set looks generally consistent with those in the few historic photos from that area which I've found online: These show some minor variances (mostly in the breast -- lapels vs full facing buttons) but are otherwise similar in cut and fit. There's also some variation in accessories, but I'm given to understand that these were often individually commissioned and so this is to be expected.

My kit falls within these variances, largely because I've made the effort to let the research guide my acquisitions. Therefore, I don't feel unjustified in saying it's reasonably accurate, or at least is within reach of reasonable accuracy, enough that I can incorporate it into my current line of theoretical writing. Further research will improve it, I'm sure, but I'm confident I'm on the right track and am excited to be able to incorporate this important tradition into my studies. To my knowledge, freemasonry hasn't been brought into consideration by fashion historians, and doing so in the context of my particular work should yield some positive insights.

[Josh Wilson]

Hi Ruel,

I just thought I would add my .02c worth...

It is my belief that if you just found some black or matching blue pants and a regular white dress shirt from the 1880-1900 period (which this looks to me) that it would complete your uniform. I say this because most of these uniforms were quasi/para-military style uniforms...much like bell boys, chauffeurs, marching band members, etc. who wear regular "modern" clothing with a military looking uniform over coat.

If you hope to do research on this...remember not to just seek help at a Masonic Lodge, but from a York Rite lodge to do your research. A Blue lodge, as they are known, probably won't be much help to you. It is an interesting topic, Masonic clothing, but probably won't be a very deep subject. "Modern" fashions are what folks will be wearing at lodge.

("Modern" being what is currently fashionable for a gentleman in any given year)


P.S.
There seem to have been a LOT of fraternal sword manufacturers in Ohio during the 19th and 20th C, I wonder why they all seem to be concentrated in OH.....

[Ruel A. Macaraeg]

Thanks Josh. I wasn't aware that Ohio was a major producer of swords from that time; could it be because of ready access to steel? Like nearby Pittsburgh, that region had ready supplies of Great Lakes iron ore and Appalachian coal. I'm embarrassed to say that though I run across fraternal swords often at antique shops, flea markets, gun shows, etc., I haven't really paid attention to their maker's marks. I'll be sure to do so more in the future.

I agree with your observation about uniform pants also. Most old photos generally don't show pants or footwear clearly, but I think we can extrapolate from the kinds of examples you mentioned. More broadly, I'm interested in how this particular combination of frock coat, bicorn hat, and dress sword became adopted as ceremonial wear for a very disparate set of institutions during the later 19thc, including the courts of Russia, Japan, and Siam. They clearly contrast with the "modern" working uniforms of that time, so what message did these uniforms communicate in terms of social position and legitimacy? Was that message the same in all these contexts? These questions are so far unexplored. Below for comparison are King Mongkut (with his successor-to-be Chulalongkorn) and Emperor Meiji in similar uniforms:

(Oddly, I've just finished Siamese kits from just before and just after Mongkut's reign, but not Mongkut's itself:
http://www.forensicfashion.com/1782SiameseCavalry.html and http://www.forensicfashion.com/1910SiameseCourtier.html )

And you're right also about MKT being an order specific to the York Rite. There's a large York hall in downtown Ft.Worth not far from me, though it's unclear whether they welcome public inquiries. Once I get the minor repairs done on my coat & gloves, I'll send a friendly email and see what information they might have to share.

Thanks again, r