The Story of  Damon and Pythias,
an interesting journey through our past

By Donald H. Grant, PSC Supreme Secretary

I had no idea when I volunteered for the project of rewriting our membership promotional material were that task would take me. I wanted to include the story of Damon and Pythias in the new brochure, maybe a picture or two, maybe from some of our old slides. In the Supreme Lodge office we have slide sets that are for purchase.

I began working with the slides to convert them to digital imaging, I purchased a slide converter and was very dissatisfied with the results. I couldn’t believe it when I received a phone call from Terry Borton , of Rhode Island. He is writing a  book about “Cinema Before Film: Victorian Magic Shows and Americas’ First Great Screen Artist, Joseph Boggs Beale. He explained that Beale was an artist who among other things created magic lantern slides.

Terry Borton is not only an author but he operates the American Magic Lantern Theater. The company produces “Big-Screen “ extravaganzas with magic lantern slides with many themes. I suggest you visit their web site, www.magiclanternshows.com.

As the former Secretary of my lodge, Faraday 280, and Grand Secretary I have come across many old sets of slides. Some of the old rank work slides are in wooden frames and some in metal frames and some plain glass slides. My lodges uses 35 mm slides with a carousel projector. I have visited lodges that still use their old projectors and they are rightfully very proud of the projectors and the slides.

Mr. Borton explained to me that Joseph Beale designed a series of slides for the Knights of Pythias. Theses slides were sold through the firm of Casper Briggs & Co. of Philadelphia. The Beale slides are of the highest quality and most likely the finest detailed of all of the slide sets. I soon realized that among the sets held by Faraday Lodge #280 were a set of Beale slides.

I contacted Terry Borton a second time and we discussed the Beale slides. He suggested I use a light box and a digital camera in order to digitalize the slides. Mr. Borton was very interested in the Knights of Pythias and our use of the slides. I explained that over the years over one million men have viewed the slides and many of them were most likely the Beale slides.

Again I was unsuccessful in digitalizing the slides. Now the project had taken on a new direction, I wanted to digitalize all of our rank work slides and make them available to every Subordinate Lodge through their Grand Secretary. Meca Labs in Drexal Hill, Pennsylvania did the job and I couldn’t have been happier with the results. 

Here’s where we are today.  I am missing one slide from the Beale set, its slide two in the Pythagoras series. I have one by another artist but now I just have to have the one by Beale. If your lodge happens to have some old slide sets take time to compare the quality and the different ways the stories are presented. There is no standard the sets are similar but the details vary. I have seen some slides that seem like cartoon characters and others that are very realistic.

So where are we going. After the Supreme Council meeting in March I am hoping that the story of Damon and Pythias will be available on our web site. Our rank work will be on digital media with words and voice over. I also would like to have the new slides produced in 35 mm for those lodges that do not have the ability to use new technology.