1839 Manuscript Solution Encoding Deciphering by George Witmer (1 results)

Unbound. Condition: Very good. This one-page manuscript document is titled ?The Royal Arch Cyphers with Key.? It was written by George K. Witmer of Paradise, [Pennsylvania] on August 9th, 1839. Later docketing reads, ?March 1st 1842.? The document was folded like a stampless,letter and addressed by Witmer to himself with an annotation in the lower left-hand corner that reads ?Royal Arch Cypher / on April 1st 1839.? Within Freemasonry, the Royal Arch Cypher is a specialized version of a ?pigpen? cipher used primarily within the Royal Arch degree of the York Rite. Like other pigpen ciphers, it uses a grid-based (tic-tac-toe and cross) substitution system where letters are represented by the shapes of the "pens" (lines and dots) that enclose them. A common Royal Arch variation assigned the first half of the alphabet (A?M) to plain geometric outlines and the second half (N?Z) to the same outlines but with dots inside. . The Royal Arch Cypher is frequently attributed to ancient Jewish rabbis and a Hebrew Qabalistic system, known as Aiq Beker (the "Qabalah of Nine Chambers"), and there is evidence that the Knights Templar used it during the Crusades. Freemasonry adopted it in the early 1700s to keep its records, rites, and inter-lodge correspondence private. Masonic tombstones incorporating text written in the cipher, dating from the late 1600s, have been found, one in New York City?s Trinity Church Cemetery. The text of this document explains how to use the cipher, noting, ?There are two ways at least of combining and using these characters, for the purpose of secret correspondence,? and provides two alphabetical codes. (For more information, see Wixon?s Codes, Ciphers, and other Cryptic & Clandestine Communication, Hoyos? ?The Mystery of the Royal Arch Word," ?The Codebreakers? at the California Freemason website, and Denslow?s A Royal Arch Encyclopedia. A scarce explanatory Key to Freemasonry?s Royal Arch Cypher. Although information about the code is contained in several texts, at the time of listing, no similar manuscript keys are for sale in the trade. None have ever appeared at auction per the Rare Book Hub and Worthpoint, and OCLC shows none are held by institutions, although a printed key is in the collection of the Scottish Rite Museum and Library. .