The Iconography of the Lodge Tracing Board of the Thirty-Second Degree of the AASR , Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret
c ) The “ Thory ” tracing board , circa 1804 ( fig . 3 ), Latomia . d ) Vuillaume ’ s Tuileur ( black and white , fig . 4 , 1820 ). This tracing board probably draws on an earlier iconography ; it alternates letters and numbers on the tents and the pennons . The posts have disappeared . On the other hand , appearing under legend numbers , the dove , raven , and phoenix appear .
At their center , all these tracing boards also have very important small motifs that are subsequently seldom seen again .
2 ) Nineteenth-century tracing boards and aprons , in color .
a ) La Parfaite Union Douai , early nineteenth century ; splendid color iconography ( fig . 5 ).
This tracing board is highly original because the external pennons move from left to right , establishing a series that would be continued with the tracing boards by Pike and the Suprème Conseil de France in 1986 ( not shown here ), and because the flags of the inner circle flutter from right to left , which means that the winds change direction from one circle to another ! This tracing board is that of the banner shown in full in fig . 10 . b ) Tracing board from the Meyer Collection , in color , Library of the Grand Orient de France ( fig . 6 ).
This tracing board , which is presented as the seal of the degree , includes the outer heraldic colors in the central circle , and once more the pennons move from right to left . However , it is not possible to determine in which direction the wind blows against the inner flags , since the stylized representation of them does not include poles .
23 c ) Apron from the Samory collection , color , Library of the Grand Orient de France ( fig . 7 ). This beautiful apron faithfully incorporates the heraldic colors of the tracing boards , and the flags and pennons once again move from right to left . It is worth noting the presence of the gold thread , which represents glory , on the bib and apron itself . d ) Apron from the Libert collection , color , nineteenth century ( fig . 8 ), the defining feature of which is the inclusion of the word SALIX NONI against the wind . e ) Apron from the collection of the Museum-Library of the Grande Loge de France ( fig . 9 ), first half of the nineteenth century .
3 ) Banner held by the Museum of Freemasonry , Paris ; it shows the camp and its latitudinal coordinates ( no longitude is given ), which correspond to the city of Douai ( fig . 10 ).
4 ) Sources relating to rituals — and their iconography — other than those of the Prince of the Royal Secret must be drawn on , which show the exact origins of the flags in their Masonic form . I present these in the article or in the captions that accompany the figures .
B . What is the Structure of the Lodge Tracing Board and How are Its Motifs Arranged ?
The tracing board brings together
geometric figures — circle , triangle , pentagon , heptagon , and nonagon — and motifs that for the most part are made up of flags , pennons , or gonfalons . 6 These are distributed according to the geometric figures ; each bears heraldic colors and / or a motif .