~ The White Lambskin Apron ~

By Paul C. Graham, S.W., June 25, 2002

On January 14, 1998, the night I was made an Entered Apprentice Mason, I was presented with a white lambskin apron with the following words: 

"I present you with this lambskin or white leather apron, which is an emblem of innocents and the badge of a Mason, more ancient than the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle; more honorable than the Star and Garter, or any other order that could be conferred upon you, at this or any other future period, by king, prince, or potentate or any other person, except he were a Mason and in the body of a Lodge, and which, I trust, you will wear with equal pleasure to yourself and honor to the fraternity…"  

Last week (04/18/2002) I was honored to be among the brothers who stood at the graveside of Right Worshipful Brother Robert R. Graham as he received his Masonic Funeral Rites.  Similar words were spoken there: 

"The lambskin or white leather apron is an emblem of innocence and the badge of a Mason; by it a Mason is reminded of that purity of life and rectitude of conduct so necessary to his gaining admission into the Celestial Lodge above.  This symbol of purity presented to our Brother on his first entrance into Masonry, I now deposit in his grave…"    

When we had concluded the funeral service and returned to the lodge to close, I assisted an elderly Past Master of our lodge put on his Past Master’s apron.  He was struggling with it, so I came over to help.  As  I was assisting him he said (and I paraphrase), “This is the apron I will be buried in.  I have worn it for many, many years.  I will not be buried in the white apron I never wore, but this one.”  Another brother was standing by and remarked jokingly that he needed to have it cleaned first, but the old Past Master said that he did not want it cleaned.  I thought to myself that the old brother was right.  That old apron bore the marks of his many years of service to the craft. It was right for him to want to be buried in that apron— spots and all!  Something hit me that day that became clearer as I reflected on the significance of the apron over the next few days.   

I went back and re-read the section on the apron in our Ahiman Rezon and was forcibly struck by the words of Doctor Albert G. Mackey’s on this subject.  I quote him here at length, as I believe that his words are worth reflecting upon: 

"The color of a Mason’s apron should be pure white, because this color has in all ages and all countries been deemed an emblem of purity and innocents…  The material of a Mason’s apron must be lambskin.  No other substance, such as linen, silk or satin, can be substituted, without entirely destroying the symbolic character of the apron, because the lamb has in all ages been deemed the appropriate emblem of innocents. The true Masonic apron should, then, be of unspotted lambskin, from 14 to 16 inches wide, and from 12 to 14 inches deep, with a fall about 3 or 4 inches deep, square at the bottom, with sharp angular corners and without device or ornament of any kind.  The usage of the craft in this country has, within a few years past, allowed a narrow edging of blue in allusion to that universal friendship which is the bond of the Society, and of which virtue blue is the symbol.  But this, undoubtedly, is an innovation, for the ancient apron was without any edging or ornament.  All extraneous ornaments and devices are in bad taste, and detract from the symbolic character of the investiture.  But the silk or satin aprons, bespangled, and painted, and embroidered, which have been gradually creeping into our Lodges, have no sort of connection with Ancient Craft Masonry.  They are an innovation of French origin, which should be persistently discouraged by all who admire the simplicity and beauty of our symbols.  A Mason who duly and truly appreciates the symbolic meaning of his apron would no more tolerate a linen one for its economy, or an embroidered satin one for its decorations, than an artist would a gilded statue. The lambskin, and lambskin alone, is the badge “more ancient than the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle, and More Honorable than the Star and Garter.”    

After reading that I recalled the blue tube sitting in the top of my closet that contains the very apron that was presented to me when I was made a Mason and was given to me the night I was raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason— it’s appearance and make the same as described by Dr. Mackey above.  When I was handed that blue tube I was told that it was the apron that I was to be buried in.  That apron, which has never been worn and which will follow me to my final resting place, still sits in my closet.  What a horror!  What a shame! 

After some reflection I have resolved for myself that I will take down my burial apron and will wear it when I am not acting in an official capacity that might require me to wear an apron appropriate to a specific office.  This is a personal decision and is in no way a criticism of those brothers who chose to wear their Past Master’s apron or the apron of a Past Grand Lodge officer.  These aprons, in my opinion, have their place.  I am not a strict Mackian in that regard.

However, if I am to be buried in that apron, it must be a well-worn apron.  I must gird it about me as I do my best labor for the good of the Order.  I want that apron to bear the scars and marks of an active Mason.  

I want that apron to become like the old Past Master’s apron mentioned above — a little dingy from years of use, full of marks and scars from service, yet full of memories from a lifetime of activity.   

So if you see me in the lodge, perhaps as a visitor to your lodge, and I adorn my white lambskin apron, you will know that I am at labor, wearing the badge of my office as a Mason, and quietly preparing for that day when I am called to lay down the working tools of life by the Great I AM, that Grand Architect of the Universe."On that day my white lambskin apron, the one presented to me at the start of my Masonic journey, will be laid across my lap.  There will be no apron that has sat unworn in a tube for safekeeping present that day.  I will be buried in that apron— the apron which will have traveled with me and accompanied me from my entrance to my exit as I did the best I could to labor for the benefit of our ancient and honorable fraternity.   

Maybe you’ll take your white lambskin apron down too—dust off the tube, open it, and put it on.  It couldn’t hurt.  There is no rule saying that we can’t wear our white lambskin apron.  Our Ahiman Rezon seems to insist that we do!  We could start a quiet revolution!  An army of brethren in their white lambskin aprons quietly and humbly laboring together, building up the craft in South Carolina!  It could be the start of something new which is really a return to something quite old.  Can you see it— a Masonic renaissance in South Carolina?  I can.  Maybe we just need to get back to basics.  The humble, unassuming white lambskin apron— that emblem of innocents and the badge of a Mason— might be a good place to start.  

Maybe then we would more fully realize the sacred trust that has been laid upon our shoulders by those brothers who have gone this way before us.

Copyright © 2002 by South Carolina Masonic Research Society. All rights are reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced without the express written consent of the South Carolina Masonic Research Society. The opinions expressed herein represent those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SCMRS or the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free Masons of South Carolina.