Royal Arch Apron, 1810–1830 A.L. Shaw Buffalo, New York Gift of Jackson Masonic Temple Association, 2009.023

In the first decades of the 1800s, many professional painters turned their skills to producing aprons, tracing boards and other objects for clients who were Masons. A. L. Shaw, who decorated this apron, advertised his or her abilities and experience noting that he or she had opened “a new painting establishment,” and undertook “all kinds of Sign and Ornamental Painting and Gilding…with neatness and dispatch. Also, Military Standards, Masonic Carpets and Aprons.”