ANDERSON (James). Constitutions of the antient fraternity of - Lot 41

ANDERSON (James). Constitutions of the antient fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons : containing their history, charges, regulations, &c. [...] A new edition revised, enlarged, and brought down to the year 1784, under the direction of the Hall Comittee. London, printed by J. Rozea, 1784. Large in-4, brown shagreened calf, smooth spine, cloisonné spine with repeated gilt Masonic motif and black title page, decorated edges (period binding). (2 of which the second is blank)-iv-xii-461 [numbered 1 to 68 and 67 to 459]-(1) pp.; binding rubbed with split jaws and worn corners. ENLARGED EDITION, procured by John Noorthouck, who had taken over much of the administration of the Grand Lodge of England. ILLUSTRATION ENGRAVED ON COPPER: hors texte frontispiece by Francesco Bartolozzi and James Fitter after a drawing by architect Thomas Sandby and artist Giovanni Cipriani, all Masons except Fittler, depicting an allegorical composition located in the Temple of the Grand Lodge. Commissioned in 1783, but not completed until 1786, this frontispiece was distributed after the book's publication. - Vignette in the text bearing the arms of the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge, Duke Henry-Frédéric de Cumberland. Provenance: the pedagogue William John Chetwode Crawley (1843-1916, bookplate), an Irish Freemason, was also a member of the Quatuor Coronati research lodge in London.