Conclusion
These illustrations of costume designs reflect a change in the Scottish Rite fraternity, when the group moved away from rituals performed in a lodge room toward elaborate plays that conveyed shared ideals and illuminated ethics and philosophy. The colorful and vibrant designs, influenced by sources from outside the fraternity, help us to better understand the history of the organization. They also make clear that, in spite of being a closed, oath-bound organization, Scottish Rite Freemasonry did not operate in a vacuum. Tripp’s illustrations show how, in the early 1900s, the Scottish Rite looked to sophisticated designers and current sources when it adapted its regalia to modern times.
