Emblems for Royal Crown Lodge No. 22

This sign likely hung in an English lodge of the Odd Fellows, an international fraternal organization founded to promote mutual aid, charity, and moral responsibility. The myriad symbols here include a heart in hand, denoting openness and sincerity, and an hourglass, suggesting life’s transience. At the bottom, a phrase in Latin extols the principles of friendship, love, and truth.

Chartered groups developed in the United States beginning in 1819. While the English orders had long admitted black members, several American lodges broke away in 1842 to enforce whites-only membership. All the while, the English continued issuing charters to African Americans, who built an influential network of inclusive Odd Fellows lodges.