Part 431: It was the Life
Near the end of summer in 1902, Moses wrote, “Returning home all freshened up, the sketching “bug” was getting under my skin in fine shape, and I was anxious to do something in the picture line. My old artist friends that were so glad to welcome me to New York when I was on a salary, were not so well pleased now that I was in the contract market and holding six paint frames.”
It is quite remarkable when one considers the number of shows that Moses was contracted to paint for the 1902 season. They included “Miss Bob White.” “Robert Emmet” “Lights of Home,” “The Village Postmaster,” “Shadows of a Great City,” “Tennessee’s Partner,” “Man to Man,” “An American Gentleman,” “Charity Nurse,” “The Holy Sword,” “Tobe Hoxie” “Gay Mr. Goldstein,” “Winchester,” “Rip Van Winkle,” and “Egyptia” a big spectacle.
Moses wrote, “Many of these shows opened out of the city, and I was compelled to go with them. I never knew when I was going to be at home. One night I was to go to Jersey City, as I understood from the phone message. On my arrival there, I found the show was to open in Hoboken.
It was then quite late and I couldn’t get to Hoboken from Jersey City without a lot of trouble, so I went back to New York and got a boat to Hoboken. When I arrived it was too late for my scene as they were through rehearsing. I found my way back to New York, crossed over to the 3rd Avenue Elevated.
Went to 129th Street and got a car to Frodam where I had to change for Mt. Vernon. Just missed the car. Had to wait nearly an hour. I had two hours at home, then back to the city. “It was the life.”
Tomorrow I will start examining each of the shows that Moses worked on during 1902.
To be continued…
