Freemasonry in the Haitian Imaginary (Pre-order)

Freemasonry in the Haitian Imaginary

by Leah Gordon and Katherine Smith 

Freemasonry in the Haitian Imaginary is a groundbreaking collaboration between scholar Katherine Smith (ed.) and photographer Leah Gordon, unveiling one of Haiti’s most intricate symbolic worlds. Bringing together rigorous research and revelatory imagery, the book shows how Freemasonry became woven into Haiti’s revolutionary origins, political imagination, and spiritual life — not as a European import but as both a universal brotherhood and a tradition transformed and made distinctly Haitian.

Smith’s introduction traces how Enlightenment ideals traveled through the Caribbean and were reshaped by free people of color, political leaders, and ritual practitioners. She shows how Masonic symbols — columns, compasses, the all-seeing eye — became signs of belonging, aspiration, and spiritual potency. Gordon’s photographs deepen this understanding, revealing a living symbolic ecology: temple doors, embroidered aprons, carved emblems, and vernacular architecture where Masonic imagery appears in forms both familiar and wholly reimagined.

Additional contributions by Dr. Henrik Bogdan, Dr. Gaétan Mentor (introducing the concept of the “Black Janus”), and Smith’s intimate conversations with artist and Freemason Ernst Dominique expand the journey into the realms of history, Vodou, political struggle, visionary experience, and the craft of sacred objects.

Presented in an elegant, large 24 × 30 cm format, this volume stands as both a major scholarly contribution and a striking aesthetic object — essential for readers seeking to understand Haiti beyond familiar narratives, through the powerful symbols that continue to shape its community, history, and spirit.

Freemasonry in the Haitian Imaginary is published in two limited editions.

Bibliographic Details  

• 320 pages, measuring 240 x 300 mm.
• Printed on premium 170gsm wood-free silk glossy paper for excellent photo reproduction.
• Features Peyer Surbalin endpapers, headbands and a ribbon marker.
• Includes more than 170 full-page color and black/white photographs and illustrations.

Fine Hardcover Edition (PRE-ORDER) – 85,- EUR
+ shipping (incl. VAT if applicable)

• Bound in high quality carmine red fine cloth, manufactured in Germany.
• Features a printed and embossed cover, lettering on rounded spine.
• Limited to 735 copies.
• Ships in January 2026.

Auric Edition (PRE-ORDER) – 395,- EUR
+ shipping (incl. VAT if applicable)

• Fully hand-bound in luxurious full-aniline black leather, crafted in Germany from premium bull hides.
• Features a unique high quality photo print on the front, gold embossing and raised bands on rounded spine.
• Presented in a custom slipcase.
• Comes with an additional portfolio including three premium prints on fine art paper of photographs by Leah Gordon featured inside the book, including the Auric cover photo.
• Limited to 42 hand-numbered copies.
• Ships a few weeks after the Fine Hardcover Edition.

Disclaimer: Images of the book/Editions are mock-ups. The actual books may slightly differ in small details and color.