Another Moorish-revival style theater drop curtain was featured in the 1894 article “Well-known Drop Curtain in Philadelphia Theatres.” It was published in “The Philadelphia Inquirer” on Dec. 18, 1894.
“The drop curtain at the South Broad Theatre is the work of two scenic painters, Messrs. Schaefer and Maeder, both of whom are now dead. The curtain, which represents a Moorish scene, was painted four years ago. It presents a scene common enough in the East, where a courtier woos his lady love with the aid of a mandolin. The scene reveals a lady leaning from the balcony window of a Moorish castle, listening to a courtier on the pavement below, who strains his passion from the strings of the mandolin.”
The scenic artists mentioned in the article were William Schaeffer and Gaspard Maeder.
The article mentions another drop curtain by Maeder in Philadelphia: “The handsome drop at the Girard Avenue Theatre is the work of Gaspard Maeder. It was painted in 1890, and was the last drop curtain ever painted by that artist.”
Gaspard Maeder was born 1839. As a scenic artist, he specialized in landscapes and rural scenes. Like many of his generation, he was an itinerant scenic artist, traveling throughout the country for work. His name appears sporadically in newspaper reviews and advertisements, yet little is known of his life; his parents outshone their children. He came from a theatrical family, with everyone working in the performing arts.
Gaspard was the eldest son of James Gaspard Maeder (1809-1876) and Clara Fisher (1811-1898). His father was a distinguished composer, musical director, teacher, theatrical manager, and singer. J. G. Maeder emigrated from Dublin, Ireland, in 1833, accompanying two other theatrical professionals of the time – Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Wood. Shortly after his arrival in 1834, he married Clara, an actress and opera singer. In 1834, he wrote an opera for his wife called “Peri, or the Enchanted Fountain.” The couple opened a theater in New Orleans too.
Clara Fisher Maeder published her autobiography in 1897, and was reported to be the oldest living actress at the time (Inter Ocean, 25 April 1897, page 44). She died just a year later. Her life is absolutely fascinating, as she performed continuously on the stage from 1817 until 1889. In short, her first performance was on Dec. 10, 1817, at the Drury Lane Theatre as Lord Filmnap in the production of David Garrick’s “Lilliput.” When she was sixteen, her family immigrated to the United States. Her American debut was at the Park Theatre, where she was an immediate success. Her father, Frederick George Fisher, was a librarian and well-known amateur actor. She performed with many great actors of the day, including Edwin Forrest, Laura Keene, Joseph Jefferson, Edmund Kean, William Charles Macready, Edwin Booth, and John Brougham.
The couple had seven children, with three sons and one daughter surviving to adulthood: Gaspard, the scenic artist, Frederick G., an actor, Frank, a business manager of Salsbury’s Troubadours, and Mollie, and actress at Wood’s Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio (The Era, London, 25 June 1876, page 9).
By 1856, Gaspard Maeder was working as an assistant scenic artist to Messrs. Hyllyard and Culbert at the Bowery Theatre in New York (New York Daily Herald, 23 June 1856, page 3). He was seventeen years old at the time. At the age of 18, he was working as a scenic artist on his own for the Mobile Theatre. He continued at small theaters throughout the region, soon meeting his future wife. In 1862, at the age of 23, Maeder married Maria Farren. The couple had only one child. Their son who predeceased both of them, passing away three years before his father.
By 1863, Maeder and Lewis painted the “Polymorama of the American War” on display at Queen’s Hall on Bold Street Liverpool Mercury, etc. 24 Oct, 1863, page 1). The panorama depicted principal events of the Civil War, which he exhibited in England. For years afterward he painted much of the scenery of Wallack’s theatre. Whenever quick work was required his services were in demand. His special talent lay in landscapes and rural scenes. Maeder also painted scenery for approximately seven years at the Boston Museum.
By 1878, Maeder was associated with the Walnut Street Theatre, painting new scenery for various productions, such as “The Shamrock” (The Times, 28 May, 1878, page 3). In 1881, Maeder was listed as the scenic artist at Booth’s Theatre (The Cincinnati Enquirer, 4 Sept. 1881, page 12). Other venues where he painted included Philadelphia’s Arch Street Theatre (1882) and the Academy of Music (1886). At the Academy of Music he was credited with producing “elaborate new scenery and realistic stage pictures” for Charles Fechter’s “Monte Cristo.” The show starred James O’Neill (The Buffalo Times, 18 Oct. 1886, page 8).
By 1887 Maeder was working with William Schaeffer and Daniel Cremens (The Times, Philadelphia, 4 Sept. 1887, page 3). Two years later, Maeder was painting scenery for Marie Wainwright’s production of “Twelfth Night,” along with Richard Marston, Charles Graham, Phil Goatcher and William Schaeffer (Daily Standard, 29 May 1889, page 4). It was during this time that Maeder and Schaeffer created the drop curtain for the South Broad Street Theatre.
Maeder was only fifty-three years old when he passed away at his residence on 311 East Fourteenth Street, New York. For over five weeks he had battled chronic catarrh (Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan, 1892, page 10). His died from a similar condition in 1876 at the age of sixty-seven.
To be continued…
