Our online catalog only contains a small number of items from our collection, but it is growing and it is worth checking in to see our new additions! I’m now cataloging our rarest books, one of which is a non-Masonic book in German about Chivalric orders throughout Europe. This subject has long fascinated Masons, as many orders within the fraternity are based upon those of knighthood.

Abbildungen und Beschreibung aller hoher Geistlichen, Weltlichen, un Frauenzimmer Ritter-Orden in Europa (Illustrations and Description of all High Clerical, Secular, and Female Chivalric Orders in Europe). Printed in Augsburg, Germany in 1792, this volume was donated to the Valley of Oakland by founding member, Charles E. Gillett, ca. 1880s–early 20th century.