This auction is for an original 1885 1ST EDITION! set of "THE HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY" by Robert F. Gould. This auction consists of both VOLUME 1, 2, 3, & 4 making it a COMPLETE SET! for just one bid! 

YOU'LL LOVE THIS BOOK!!! It furnishes the cream of Masonry history. There is no Society so widely known, and yet really so little known, as that of the Free and Accepted Masons. Even many of the members of that Ancient and Honorable Fraternity are strangely uninformed respecting its eventful past. This book furnishes an outline History of Freemasonry, including many FACTS NOT BEFORE PUBLISHED!!!, and presents many practical matters not generally known to the fraternity. Dealing critically and impartially with the traditions, customs, records, degrees and ceremonies of the Brotherhood, it contains the actual history of the Craft, extending over a period of some six centuries, and that of its grand structures. The accompanying Table of Contents show how many and varied are the topics discussed, and how thorough has been the work expended upon them. Myth here gives up its underlying truth. Research clears away the rubbish, and discloses the sure foundations and majestic arches of a noble structure. In this work some idols are destroyed, but, in their destruction, nothing is lost but the fables with which degenerate men have sought to embellish a truth, the beauty of whose simplicity they could not discern. The History of Freemasonry studies the development, evolution and events of the fraternal organization known as Masonry. This history is generally separated into two time periods: before and after the formation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717. Before this time, the facts and origins of Freemasonry are not absolutely known and are therefore frequently explained by theories or legends. After the formation of the Grand Lodge of England, the history of Freemasonry is extremely well-documented and can be traced through the creation of hundreds of Grand Lodges that spread rapidly worldwide. This set of books is an investigation of the records of the organizations of the fraternity in England, Scotland, Ireland, British Colonies, France, Germany, and the United States. Derived from official sources. Grandly illustrated. The numerous and BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS!!! which adorn this work bear testimony to the earnest desire of the Publishers to spare no effort or expense necessary to the production of a book which should prove in every way satisfactory to those interested in the subject treated.

A massive and brilliant work, it is "THE AMERICAN MASONIC WORK OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY." Partial contents: Ancient mysteries - the Essenes - Roman Collegia - the Culdees; Old charges of British Freemasons; Stonemasons (Steinmetzen) of Germany; Craft guilds (Corps d'Etat) of France; Companionage, or Les Compagnons du Tour de France; Mediaeval operative Masonry; Statutes relating to the Freemasons; Early British Freemasonry (Scotland); Masons' marks; Quatuor Coronati (Four Crowned or Four Holy Martyrs); Apocryphal manuscripts. 

Published between 1885 - 1899, it is in VERY GOOD CONDITION! for its age and especially to be over 110 YEARS OLD!!! ALL PAGES ARE PRESENT!!! and tightly bound with NO TEARS!!! or any markings. It's as if this set has never been read!!! This is the first edition which was issued from 1885 - 1889 and is specially copyrighted by the publisher John C. Yorston. 380pp, 374pp, 449pp, 699pp. Volume 4 contains nearly double the number of pages as the other volumes because it contains specially written addendums on American Freemasonry. A fifth volume was issued in 1906 when this set was reissued as the "Twentieth Century Edition." A final edition of six volumes was issued in 1936. This is the rare FIRST EDITION!!! complete in four volumes complete so...GET IT WHILE YOU CAN!!!