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William Preston
7 August 1742 - April 1, 1818.

William Preston was a Scottish author, born in Edinburgh.

The exact date of Preston's initiation into Freemasonry is not known, but is thought to have been between 1762 and 1763, in London.
He discovered a vast body of traditional and historical lore in the old documents of the Craft, and begun modernizing the format of group meetings in such a way as to make ritual accessible, bringing a rudimentary knowledge of the arts and sciences to members of the Fraternity. Preston embarked upon detailed communication with Masons worldwide, so developing extensive knowledge of the Craft, and collecting the material which was to become his best known book, Illustrations of Masonry published in 1772.
In 15 June, 1774, he visited the Lodge of Antiquity No. 1, (one of the four Lodges that formed the Premier Grand Lodge of England in 1717), and was subsequently elected a member and Worshipful Master at the same meeting. He became an active member of the Grand Lodge, and was later appointed Deputy Grand Secretary under James Heseline.
After a brief period of expulsion from the fraternity for his support of a factional disagreement between the Grand Lodge of Moderns and the society over public use of ritual paraphernalia he was reinstated in 1787, all his honours and dignities restored, whereupon he resumed his Masonic activities.

It is to Preston that we are indebted forwhat was the basis of our Monitors of the present day. 

Nowadays, when we hear the name of William Preston we are at once reminded of the Preston lectures in Freemasonry 

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Freemason Collection, the largest Masonic Collection on the web
FreemasonCollection offers the largest masonic art collection on the web. The result of many years of research. You will find here many different works but always in connection with Masonry, operative or speculative. If you are a Freemason or a masonic art connoisseur, you will surely enjoy a lot only by visiting our web site.
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