Le grand secret des Francs Maçons Circa 1900

Published in Paris circa 1900, this original French poster is entitled Le Grand Secret des Francs-Maçons Dévoilé!—The Great Secret of the Freemasons Revealed! Printed and published by Léon Hayard, it combines the dramatic appearance of a sensational street broadside with a surprisingly thoughtful presentation of Masonic principles.

The monumental black headline immediately attracts attention, surrounded by skulls, clasped hands and triangular arrangements of three dots. These mysterious symbols were intended to evoke secrecy, initiation and mortality. Beneath them, the repeated declaration “Il pleut!!!”—literally “It is raining!”—introduces the supposedly hidden language promised by the title.

Within Masonic vocabulary, “Il pleut” was a discreet warning that a non-Mason was present and that confidential conversation should cease. Its prominent appearance therefore offers the reader a genuine example of coded Masonic language. The phrase also contributes to the poster’s playful contradiction: a warning against indiscretion is itself revealed publicly in enormous lettering.

The central text is headed Code Maçonnique, ou Exposé des Doctrines Morales et Philosophiques de la Franc-Maçonnerie. Arranged in two dense columns, it presents a series of ethical instructions encouraging fraternity, charity, honesty, tolerance, respect for conscience and assistance to the poor. The principles of “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” are prominently stated. Rather than exposing secret rituals or attacking Freemasonry, the poster largely presents its moral ideals in favourable and accessible terms.

Original poster

Politics - Masonic

It's raining! Masonic Code

Leon Hayard Paris

Good condition, restorations