Part 455: Moses & Hamilton in 1903
In 1903, Moses & Hamilton advertised in Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide. Cahn’s was one of many guides that described the interiors and technical specifications of potential venues for touring shows. These publications were compiled as a resource for touring companies, assisting them in the selection of appropriate performance venues for their theatrical productions. Many of the technical specifications presented a basic overview of the auditorium and stage house. In addition, necessary travel information, such a local hotels, print shops to publish playbills and posters, as well as the on site theater staff were detailed in the guide.
Moses & Hamilton are credited as the scenic artists for the Broadway Theatre in New York, yet they also had the use of paint frames at two other theaters. Thomas G. Moses was credited with stock scenery at the Loring Opera House in Riverside, California; the Marengo Opera House in Marengo, Illinois; the Columbia Theatre in Bath, Maine; Steinberg’s Grand Opera in Traverse, Michigan; Forbush Hall in Groveton, New Hampshire; Eagle Opera House in Petersburg, New York; Sales Opera House in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania; the Academy of Music in Richmond, Virginia; and the Tacoma Theatre, Tacoma, Washington, by 1903.
Moses wrote, “We started the New Year [1903] with more work than last year. We did among the many shows, “The Ramblers,” “Reaping the Whirlwind,” “As you like it,” “Lost in the Desert,” No. 1 and No. 2, “That’s All,” “Scout’s Revenge,” “Wayward Son,” “Mazeppa,” “The Night Before Christmas,” “Peg Woffington,” “The Red Café,” and “Old Sleuth.”
Moses and Hamilton were also venturing into a variety of large outdoor spectacles, adding these projects to their ever growing list of standard commercial productions and stock scenery installations. In 1903, they were creating a variety of settings for Fred Thompson at Luna Park. Of this experience, Moses wrote, “I had a big show of ‘Fire and Flames,’ a very effective amusement park show. Real fire, real engines and an awful mob of street vendors and loafers. A lot of good comedy and it did good business. We did several other small shows at Luna Park… Luna Park itself proved to be a money getter, and helped to increase the attendance at the Island; better car service was installed to New York and with the steam boats there were facilities on going and coming, enjoyed by everyone.”
These early experiences were exciting and suggested an ever-increasing profit margin. Thompson made it all look so simple, and these new projects promised huge potential, as well as the subsequent expansion of Moses & Hamilton.
During the early spring of 1903, they also started creating the “Streets of Delhi,” a big out-door spectacle, that cost close to $75,000.00. Moses recorded that they had twenty-nine elephants to train and a hundred horses. Furthermore, three hundred people were the company. Of the spectacle, Moses wrote, “I am sorry to say the show was a failure.”
Regardless of this failure, Hamilton was anxious to get into the amusement business, so Moses & Hamilton invested $3,000.00 in 1903 for “The Devil, The Man over the Maid” (today’s equivalent of $81,672 USD). Moses commented, “It was a bit taken from Faust. We had good scenery and lighting effects and many novelties were introduced. One day’s receipts was $400.00 and it all looked good to us, but a rainy spell set in an no one did business on the island.” Their gross receipts were only $9,000.00, instead of the expected $12,000.00. They started with a cast of five people in the show and ended up with twenty-three. Moses recalled that Hamilton took the advice of every old showman on the Island, but none of the suggestions proved to be of any use.
This unfortunate turn of events prompted the two to sell the attraction at the close of the season. When all was said and done, Moses & Hamilton only netted $1,000.00 for all of their effort. Although, better than a total loss, it still convinced the pair that Hamilton was not cut out to be a showman and the game of outdoor spectacles was too risky to play.
I think that Moses didn’t want to risk everything, as he was 47 years old and had worked so hard to enjoy a moderate level of financial success and security. He was working his tail off in 1903, producing stock scenery, touring theatre shows, and outdoor amusements. Yet he remained the prime talent in the studio and was leading the painting of most projects. The amount of work that was completed in 1903 by Moses & Hamilton seems almost unreal to me.
The two would soon part; Moses would return to the secure paycheck of the Sosman & Landis studio, while Hamilton would continue with non-traditional theatre and work in the East for another decade. Hamilton would become associated with the New York Painting Studio, the eastern affiliate of Sosman & Landis run by David Hunt. Hamilton would eventually specialize in massive spectacles for the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
To be continued…
