Stone: Ancient Craft to Modern Mastery

The secret rules held by master guildsmen of the Freemasons are laid out in full for the first time by sculptor and stonemason Rhodes in this enchanting debut. Recalling how, as a young man with a degree in medieval studies, he journeyed to Italy and finagled his way into an apprenticeship with the Freemasons—that is, “not the secret-handshake Masons” but “rather the original guildsmen of mason-architects, the professional descendants... of the cathedral-builders”—he writes that today there are few surviving masters left. As such, he feels compelled to share the guild’s two secret texts (Sacred Rules of Bondwork and Sacred Geometries), which, as he explains, previously “constituted one of the most closely guarded compendiums of knowledge ever held by a human society.” That’s because, until the 20th century, the “majority of humankind’s... built environment was carved or built with stone,” making the rules of stone construction incredibly valuable. The rules include surprisingly advanced scientific knowledge, such as how to test an environment’s acidity to understand how stone will weather, as well as bespoke techniques that are rarely followed by builders today, including how to identify the grain of stone before deciding how to cut and use it. Rhodes also explores the history of masonry going back to ancient times, piecing together the long evolution of the craft. Gorgeously illustrated with photographs throughout, this beguiles. (June)