Thomas Dunckerley His Life Labours and Letters Including Some Masonic and Naval Memorials of the Eighteenth Century, By Henry Sadler, P.M. & P.Z., Grand Tyler and Sub-Librarian of the Grand Lodge of England.

London: Diprose & Bateman, Sheffield Street; Spencer & Co.; 15, Great Queen Street; George Kenning, 16 & 16A, Great Queen Street, W.C., 1891 .. First Edition. A very good original Victorian binding. 8vo. 8.75" x 5.75" x 1.25". pp.24/pp.316/[2pp. - Adverts]. Blue cloth over bevelled boards with bright gilt titles to front board and to spine, wear to top and tail of spine and edges rubbed. Brown patterned endpapers, illustrated owner's bookplate (Peter Saunders) to verso of the front board: Clean text throughout with subscriber's list and adverts at the end. 4 plates as called for: Portrait frontis of Dunckerley; Portrait of Frederick, Prince of Wales; Portrait of King George II.; and Dunckerley's Seal of the Knights Kadosh. A very good copy of this scarce book. *** "Thomas Dunckerley was born on 23 October 1724 and died on 19 November 1795. After a naval career, Dunckerley became a prominent freemason, being appointed Provincial Grand Master of several provinces, promoting Royal Arch Masonry, introducing Mark Masonry to England, and instituting a national body for Templar masonry. This was made possible by an annuity of �100, rising to �800, which he obtained from King George III by claiming to be his illegitimate half brother... Albert Mackey blamed Dunckerley for inventing Royal Arch Masonry, and splitting the third degree in the process, removing the true word of a mason to the new degree, and losing the original "pure" form of the ritual forever. This is unlikely, as the Royal Arch degree was worked for at least a decade before Dunckerley's initiation. He published a number of Charges, Lectures, and songs related to different branches of Freemasonry. Together with Grand Secretary Heseltine and William Preston, he campaigned and raised funds for the first dedicated headquarters of English Freemasonry, the first Freemason's Hall. During his lifetime he held various high masonic offices: Past Senior Grand Warden of England, Provincial Grand Master for the Counties above mentioned, and Past Grand Master and Grand Superintendent of Royal Arch Masons over eighteen counties. His major contribution was to the emerging "higher degrees", the Templar, Royal Arch, Ark Mariner, and Mark degrees. Not only did he successfully promote them, he organised them, standardised their ritual, and forced them to keep proper records. For this alone, historians of Freemasonry have cause to be grateful to him." - See Wikipedia.