Historic Americana
American Masonic Deerskin Apron with Coin Silver Medallion Printed Color Transfer by Engraver Abner Reed
American Identified Masonic Apron Made of Deerskin with Printed Colored Transfer by Engraver Marked by Abner Reed with Coin Silver Medallion, Very Fine.
American Masonic Apron with Coin Silver Medallion, the medallion with impressed Mark / W. Higgins under a Masonic symbol, the bag having a printed transfer on the front depicting a Masonic scene, marked by the engraver A. Reed for Br. S. Dewey, with the name Frances A. Simons Wert written in ink in the upper left corner and hidden under the front flap. Wear and creases to the hide, print and lining. It measures 13.25" x 15" plus leather strap with the Silver Masonic Medallion. "A. Reed" is Abner Reed (1771-1866) the Master Engraver of Connecticut, and later Toledo, Ohio. Reed, born in 1771, began working as an engraver in the 1790s and is well known for many historic Prints and period Bank Notes. He pursued a successful engraving business through the 1820s and then worked sporadically through the 1840s. In 1851, he moved to Toledo, Ohio, to live with his daughter and remained there until his death in 1866. A signed example of Abner Reed's aprons, very similar to this piece, is in the National Heritage Museum Collection, Lexington, Massachusetts.