Even though Freemasonry is not the only place where tracing boards are used, it is one of the best known elements of Freemasonry. The usage differs and that makes this a subject that is very large. When the first ‘modern’ lodges met in taverns, they drew “The Lodge” on the floor and wiped it out again when the work was done. Later these drawings were replaced by either carpets or boards. A “tableau” (‘board’) in many cases is actually a “tapis” (‘carpet’). Actual boards are used in England and English-type Freemasonry where the ‘tableau’ does not lay in the middle of the room, but stands against the pedestal of one of the officers.
The trestle boards contain the symbols of the degree that is worked in, so some lodges have a tracing board for every degree. Sometimes the first and second degrees are combined. Tracing boards form a part of many degree, “craft” or otherwise, so there is an enormous variety of them, both in size, but also in shape and of course, in the imaginary displayed.
Emulation tracing board designed by John Harris 1849.