 The watermarks illustrated here, are found in the paper of the following books or manuscripts listed below: EXPLANATION OF THE ILLUSTRATED WATERMARKS 1. In Sotheby's Principia, published 1590 (The D. was used by mystics as a symbol of Deity, Day, the Disposer and the Distributor). Note the six small circles attached at points of the design; 3 on the cross and 3 on the letter. 2. Symbol found in the manuscript papers and account-books of various authors of this period. Note here 7 small circles or dots. 3. From the paper of Bacon's book, the Advancement of Learning, published in 1640. Note the initials, C. R. representing the name Christian Rosenkreutz. Note, also, the two small circles and the decorative leaves above the shield. 4. A symbol found in the private paper used by Bacon in letters to his ''friends" of the secret society. These letters are in the Hatton Finch collection. 5. Another symbol From the paper of the book, Advancement of Learning, published in 1640. Note again the two circles added to the letter R.. and note that this time the letters R. C. are used to mean Rose Cross. 6. This is another symbol from the paper of the book Advancement of Learning, published in 1640. Here we find the C. R. again and 5 small circles with the fleur-de-lis and two other leaves. 7. These two symbols, called bars, are from the paper of Ben Jonson's book, Cynthia's Revels. The J. R. C. mean Jonson Rose Cross,--or Jonson, of the Rose Cross Fraternity. 8. Here we have the same kind of bar, but this is from the paper used in the Shakespeare folio, Cymbeline, the last page, of 1623. Again we note the J. R. C. (for the I and J were made alike generally). 9. These two symbols are from the paper in Sir R. Howard's Vestal Virgin published between 1450 and 1600. Note here the fleur-de-lis and the small circles, which we shall call pearls. 10. This is from the paper of Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World, published in 1614. Note the four small circles or pearls in each side of the crown as well as the fleur-le-lis. 11. This is from the Shakespeare books in the British Museum,--editions of 1623. Note again the pearls on each side of the design and compare with No. 10, No. 6 and No. 3 [described above]. 12. This is another bar from the Shakespeare folio of 1623 in the British Museum. We find here the initial R. surrounded by 3 Cs on each side, a very old method of indicating the German or Christian Rosenkreutz Rose Cross which would be C. R. R. C. or c. R. c. Also, under the bar we find fifteen grapes arranged in the Form of a triangular bunch, 5 grapes on each side of the triangle. 13. This bar is from the pages of the book A Priest of the Temple by George Herbert and published in 1652. Note here the same group of grapes in the form of a triangle. 14. These two symbols or designs are from Bacon's look, The New Atlantis, published in 1669. Note here two triangles formed by the grapes, both resting upon a flower. The upper triangle contains 5 grapes and the lower one 7 grapes, the upper part of the flower helping to form the bottom point of the lower triangle. 15. This is One of eight different pots or vases found in the paper of Montaigne's Essays, published in 1603. Note here again the R. C. and two triangles formed of grapes, one above the other. 16. Here we have another vase or pot which is one of 6 different, though similar, designs found in the pages of Florio's Italian-English Dictionary, published in 1611. Note the C. R. inverted and backward. This was often done so that if the design was read through the back of the page it would be R. C. Note also the triangle of 6 grapes with one additional one to make the symbolical 7. 17. This pot or vase is from the paper of the plays of Shakespeare published in 1664. Note the triangle of 15 grapes again. 18. A similar vase or pot in the paper of Sapientia Veterum published in 1638. 19. Another bar from the Shakespeare copies published in 1632. It is one of a number of similar designs in the same paper. Note again the triangle of 15 grapes suspended from the bar, and compare with No. 12 and 13. Note that above the bar the design carries out the same symbolism as in Nos. 3, 6, 10 and 11--representing the writings signed by Bacon, Shakespeare and Raleigh. 20. But here we have another vase and pot from the pages of Ben Jonson's works published in 1616. The same triangle of grapes appears as in No. 17 and 18. The symbolism of the pearls, or small circles as added in Nos. 1, 2, 3, 6, 10 and 11, and the grapes shown in the latter designs on the diagram, is important to Rosicrucians, for it is found in all the early writings and manuscripts of the Brethren of the Rose Cross. The fact that all the manuscripts or books containing the above watermarks or paper-marks, and a hundred more like them, were published or appeared in and around the early part of the 17th century, and that the authors of these writings were known to be acquainted, helps to establish the fact that they were the secret members of Bacon's Rosicrucian Order and were devoted to the writing and publishing of those books needed at the time, and they used similar symbols of the Order in the paper to identify their works. [End] |
