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Annex Two

These items are not for sale. They are museum exhibits only.

(1) The robe worn by Imperial Wizard James A. Colescott, of Terre Haute, IN. He was the last of the Wizards to rule the KKK organization founded by Imperial Wizard William Joseph Simmons in 1915. I.W. Colescott reigned form 1939 to 1944, when he ordered the disbandment of the KKK because they were unable to pay back taxes owed from the heyday of the 1920's. Scroll down to number (17) to compare this robe with the B&W photo of I.W. Colescott in his robe.

(2) 1920's robe for an Exalted Cyclops (Klavern leader) of the Albert Pike Klavern #2 in Rutherford, New Jersey. Confederate General Albert Pike was the chief judicial officer for the original KKK. He was also a major leading figure in Scottish Rite Masonry. He is buried in the Masonic Lodge in Washington, D. C. a few blocks from the White House. Here the Klan sword is seen indicating a second degree (K-Duo or Knight of the White Kamellia) Klansman. The hood is minus the mask indicating the third degree (K-Trio or Knight of the Great Forest).  On the hood is: E C 2 N J which means: Exalted Cyclops #2 Klavern of New Jersey.

(3) Red is the color of a robe worn by a Titan or county leader. High ranking Klan officers wore two breast patches. The baldric (sash) with the white camellia flower indicates a K-Duo Klansman. Circa 1920's.

(4) (5) (6) Sometimes people don't understand Klan symbolism. For example, the above robe on the left is a Klanswoman's robe but it has a Klansman's K-Duo baldric. A Klanswoman's robe has a patch in the shape of a shield with a red border and a red cross in the center. The cape drapes over one shoulder and half way around the back. A Klansman's K-Duo baldric is crimson with a white camellia flower on it. I was once at a Klan rally in Pulaski, TN., the birth place of the KKK. At this rally a "Klansman" was wearing a Klanswoman's robe. When I pointed this out to him, this brain dead told me it was a Klavalier's robe. A Klavalier's robe is altogether different. These guys don't even know what they are wearing and, then, they wonder why no normal people want to join them. The center robe is a Klansman's robe with a Klanswoman's K-Duo baldric. A Klanswoman's baldric is red with a patch that looks like a mariner's compass. The robe on the right has a blue cape. The cape is not sewn on but is separate form the robe. When a Klansman advanced in rank he didn't necessarily have to get a new robe. Often they would just give him a cape whose color indicated the new rank and he would wear that over his white cape, which is sewn on the robe.

(7) These are the hoods for the above robes. Note the red tassels at the top. Also, note that these hoods do not have masks. If these robes were pre 1932, the masks were cut off. In 1932, Imperial Wizard, Dr.Hiram Evans, ordered the Klan to de-mask. Now, since the robes have K-Duo baldrics these hoods could also indicate that the owners advanced to the third degree (K-Trio, Knight of the Great Forest) of the Klan. A third degree Klansman cut the mask off and vowed never to wear a mask again. They also vowed to co-operate with the police in all investigations, as the Klan leadership was doing all it could to stop unruly members from breaking the law. After 1932, all Klan hoods were made without masks.

(8) Here's a 1920's Klan hood that doubles as a lamp shade.

(9) Many clubs, secret societies, and fraternal orders have come and gone over the past two centuries. Every now and then someone finds an unusual robe in an attic trunk somewhere. If these robes should have a mask or skull and bones everyone automatically thinks it might be a Klan robe, as was the case with the robe above. It is not a Klan robe and it is unknown what the robe was for. There was a Midwestern secret society during the 1930's called the Black Legion. It was made up of mostly police officers and judges. It was a savagely violent organization. They are the ones credited with the murder of Malcolm X's father. It was founded by men who had all been kicked out of the Klan because they committed acts of lawlessness and violence. The Black Legion decorated their robes with skulls and bones. But, so did a lot of other groups. This robe could just as likely be from the Yale University secret society, Skull and Bones, to which both Presidents Bush belong. I was contacted by an officer in the Odd Fellows. He said though the Odd Fellows use black robes (some times with or with out skull and bones) during their initiation ceremonies, the robe pictured here is NOT and Odd Fellows robe. He suggested that it might be for the Fraternal Order of the Eagles.

 (10) Here's another example of mistaken identity.To the inexperienced these robes could be palmed off as Klan robes. However, they are from Spain and are used in the Catholic ceremony of the Consecration of the Pastas.

(11) This is a hand made flag. It is known that it was once in the possession of a field representative for the Smithsonian Institute, a Mr. Pearl, in the 1920's. The flag is 35" x 55". The dragon is hand painted on both sides. The border is a dull red and the field is a light yellow. While this flag is somewhat similar to the Grand Ensign of the original KKK, there isn't enough to this flag to link it to the Klan for certain. The Grand Ensign was a 3ft x 5 ft triangular shaped flag with a scalloped red border. The field was yellow and a black European style dragon was painted in the center. A Latin motto was also painted on the flag. While the colors are close enough, the shape is wrong and the motto is missing. So, this flag could be for anything. But, a lot of home made KKK items were made by Klansmen and admirers from 1915 - 44.

(12) (13) (14)

These three photos are of a carrying bag of some kind, possibly to keep a robe in. In the first photo the flap is up showing three K's. The second photo shows the flap down and we see a triangle with a skull and cross bones. On each side of the triangle are four asterisks (*). Sometimes the Klan used asterisks instead of K's such that Knights of the Ku Klux Klan would be represented as ****. The third photo is of the back.

(15) Not 100% certain, but this is believed to be a robe patch for an officer in the Junior Klan (the branch of the KKK for teenage boys).

  (16) Close up of 1920's - 40's K-Duo bladric (sash) worn by second degree Klansmen.

  (17) Imperial Wizard J.A. Colescott. Compare this robe with the robe in picture (1) above.