Month: August 2019

Wendy Waszut-Barrett, President of Historic Stage Services, and Jenny Knott, Rosco Project Manager, taught another painting class as part of the annual conference and trade show for CITT/ICTS Rendez-Vous 2019. In the past, we have taught historic and contemporary techniques for drapery painting and foliage. This year, we were inspired by Klondike history, teaching “All That Glitters is Not Gold: Painting the Magic.” We simultaneously explored historic gold-painting techniques and metallic finishes for decorative objects.

Our studio was the old Whitehorse Fire Hall, now a performance space. Located along the fast-flowing Yukon River, for short breaks, we were able to step outside and enjoy the view of old pilings that once supported the piers where riverboats stopped to deliver supplies.

After arriving in town and prepping for the workshop, Jenny and I were able to rejuvenate our batteries. Prior to my arrival in town, Jenny visited a local glass studio and bumped into the owner. An invitation was extended to Jenny; traveling north to kayak at her nearby cabin. I was fortunate to be a lucky recipient of the kindness, and the two of us paddled around a lake during the evening of my first full day in the Yukon.

There is something to be said about a gesture of kindness from a stranger, especially one at this magnitude. It immediately shapes your perception of the area and the people. The friendship and kindness extended by the local residents of Whitehorse is quite astounding, and humbling. The experience of kayaking on a serene lake, exploring the shoreline and hearing the loons was magical. I have not been so relaxed in years, with no solid plan or agenda. The beautiful log cabin had neither running water nor electricity, but there were welcome instructions, a gorgeous view, and the much-needed serenity. If ever I needed validation of being on the right track, doing the right thing at the right time, this was it.

Jenny and I ended up scheduling a “hot date” to create glass at Lumel Studios, our host’s company. We spent an hour, shaping and blowing glass in the shapes of paper weights, balls and bowls. What a transformative experience!

I have never stopped being a student. I love learning and working with my hands. Whether it is tuck-pointing, landscaping, gardening, embroidery, or other crafts, there is an energy that emerges when completing the project. This is intensified when learning with phenomenal instructors. The hour spent at Lumel Studios was a golden moment, that is now stored in my treasure box of memories.

I cannot stress enough how wonderful CITT/ICTS is for my spirit. Kindred spirits and positive personalities that celebrate the moment while planning for the future. It is always an impressive and inspirational event.

To be continued…

I am taking a break from posting photographs of historic scenery until early September, as I am out of the country again. I am teaching a scene painting class with Jenny Knott of Rosco for CITT/ICTS (Canadian Institute of Theatre Technology).

This year, the national conference is in Whitehorse, a small city of 30,000 citizens in the Yukon.

From here, I venture south to Canmore and Banff, and then west to the Fargo-Moorhead area for the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion. To keep me busy on my travels, I am transcribing the last four handwritten diaries of scenic artist Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934). See you in September with a new backdrop theme!

Until then enjoy today’s my post to FB Page Dry Pigment, where I daily post images and painted details of historic scenery. Scenery by Toomey & Volland for the Scottish Rite in St.Louis, Missouri, 1923. These posts will also resume in September.

While looking for additional information pertaining to Thomas G. Moses’ Kansas exhibit at the 1911 Chicago Land Show, I came across an interesting article about a panorama painted for the Omaha Land show that opened in the Omaha Coliseum on October 16, 1911. It was the artist that caught my eye, a new name for me.  As I researched his history and artistic philosophy, it prompted me to include him in the storyline. Arts education for children and its benefits for society are not a new concept, individuals have been fighting for the inclusion of art classes in American public schools for over a century. What my generation once took for granted, daily arts classes, metallurgy, or woodworking, is not necessarily part of out children’s academic experience anymore.

Here is the article published in the “Daily Bee” that initially brought George L. Schreiber to my attention (“Vale depicted in Panorama,” Omaha, Nebraska, 11 October 1911, page 5):

“One of the first big exhibits for the Omaha Land Show which opens in the Coliseum next Monday arrived from Salem, Ore. The displays are representative of eight counties in the Willamette valley.

A novel and interesting feature will be the panoramic painting depicting the characteristics of the fertile land in the valley. The panorama was painted by George L. Schrieber, who is already here to install the big canvas. As a painting it is a work of art and it is bound to attract much attention. Electrical effects to show the variation of the light from the break of day until sundown will make the canvas all the more realistic. W. T. Groves, who will have charge of the soil products display from Willamette valley, has arrived in Omaha and is awaiting the arrival of the exhibit. He will display fruits, grasses, forage and garden products, demonstrating the wide diversity of crops raised in his section of the country. In addition to the exhibit there will be a lecturer here to give illustrated talks on the Willamette valley.”

In additional to this grand painting, the article continued, “The Bolster-Trowbridge Company has announced that it will give away a carload of grape juice to the visitors at the Land Show. The liquor will come from California, where the company has large interests. The wines made in California are regarded highly among connoisseurs and the Trowbridge-Bolster booth at the Land show will no doubt be found every attractive to many visitors.”

Of Schrieber’s work, “The Statesman Journal” reported “a representative of the Kansas City exposition was enthusiastic in his praises of the display and was very anxious to have the same exhibition at Kansas City” (Salem, Oregon, 7 Nov. 1911, page 1). There was a Land Show in Kansas City the following year.

Little is known of Schreiber, beyond a dozen newspaper article that provide a peak into his life in Chicago, and later, Salem, Oregon. Although few, the story is compelling and tells of his passion to teach art. In January 1894, Schreiber taught semi-weekly courses on the history of art at the Chicago Art Institute( Inter ocean, 24, Dec. 1893, page 15), His classes were held at the Newberry Library Center, using Mrs. D. K. Pearson’s collection of Braun photographs.  For the Columbian Exposition, Schreiber was selected to do the painted decor for the Children’s Building, illustrating the decorative movement in education (Chicago Tribune, 11, February 1893, page 9). What is fascinating is that Schreiber’s work was directed by a committee of kindergarteners.

In 1896, Schreiber was on the advisory committee of artists, alongside James William Pattison and Caroline D. Wade for the juries of selection and admission to the Chicago Institute of Art (Chicago Tribune, 26 July 1896, page 42). The following year, he exhibited several pieces at the annual exhibition of the Cosmopolitan Club held in conjunction with the chrysanthemum show at Battery D. He showed a large number of works combining the figures of children in landscapes. The “Chicago Tribune” reported that Schreiber also exhibited “a portrait of himself, a figure of a mother caressing her child, and a fantasy of a Japanese girl surrounded by chrysanthemums” (7 Nov. 1897, 43).

It was his participation in the 1900 national conference for the Mothers’ League in Chicago that caught my eye, however. Schreiber was one of the featured speakers for the event and his topic was “What Shall Art Mean to the Child?” (The Saint Paul Globe, 22 July 1900, page 21). For the remainder of his life, Schreiber was an advocate for art, giving many lectures on the benefits of art, not only on children, but also the life of the community. His passion for arts education brought him to the public schools in Salem, Oregon.

By 1911, Mr. George L. Schreiber was listed as the supervisor of drawing in the Salem public schools (The Capital Journal, Salem Oregon, 22 Sept, 1911, page 5).  His assistant was Miss Virginia May Mann and the two were quite a pair, enriching the lives of the area’s children. “The Capital Journal” reported that Salem is “probably the only city in the state which the pupils are not required to buy textbooks in drawing, the teacher himself being the textbook. The school board furnishes the drawing paper, clay, charcoal, and materials for basketry, and the pupils buy their own watercolors at the bookstores. Drawing is one of the most practical and useful studies in the public schools, and one in which the pupils are becoming more interested.” In addition to drawing, the pupils of the grammar grades were taught sewing and woodwork, the former to the girls of the seventh and eight grades, and the latter to the boys of these grades.

In a 1912 article, Professor George L. Schreiber delivered an address to the men of the “Salem Six O’clock Club.” His talk explored the influence of art and the effect it has on the life of the community. The speech is really quite wonderful, especially with Schreiber’s primary point being, “The child or the man who has once opened his eyes to beauty is safe to trust because he thereby becomes a caretaker.” I believe that the sentiment holds true today, especially when you look at the individuals who are attacking the necessity of art in public education or any sort of funding for the arts. In 1912, Schreiber also addressed the beautification of public spaces, public parks and the corresponding result of civic pride in one’s environment; artistic endeavors enrich a community and bring individuals together. Schreiber’s closing remarks in the “Salem Six O’Clock Club” speech stressed, “If we have faith in our community, let us then invest it with our faith and clothe it with beauty, and, in the years to come, when our heirs shall possess it they will say, ‘Our fathers have builded well; they have given us a fair inheritance.”

We live in a time when the arts are a constant target. Will our children and grandchildren feel that we have given them a “fair inheritance.” I hope so.

To be continued…

In 1911, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Lawrence, Kansas, yielded a Masonic job, which meant a lot of work for the Land Show.” Land shows were held for the purpose of exhibiting and explaining the agricultural and other resources of the states with exhibits that included lectures and the distribution of information. 

Scenery for Lawrence Scottish Rite was a little free advertising for Sosman & Landis, leading to the Kansas exhibit for the Land Show in Chicago. On Nov. 8, 1911, the “Evening Telegram” reported that Charles I. Zirkle of Topeka was leaving for Chicago to “install the Kansas Land Show exhibit” (Garden City, Kansas, page 3). Later, Zirkle spoke at the “Kansas Realty Men” convention in Topeka, delivering the same daily lecture from the Chicago land show that promoted settlement and travel to the Kansas (Parson Daily Sun, Parsons, Kansas, 29 Dec. 1911, page 4).

In 1911, Land Shows were held in Minneapolis, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Omaha, Pittsburgh, and Salt Lake City. Of the Land Show in Los Angeles during 1911, the “Los Angeles Times reported, “The big railroad companies interested in the settlement of the West immediately grasped the possibilities of the show and bought space in the Coliseum Building and spent many thousands of dollars in getting together splendid exhibits of fruits, grains and vegetables from districts along their line.” (5 Nov. 1911, page 21). A general sales agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad said, “The big land shows are a wonderful illustration of newspaper initiative and railroad co-operation,” explaining that when the land shows commenced, Chicago was then “the great land distributing center of the country.”

For the Chicago Land Show, the “Chicago Daily Tribune” advertised the event as “the greatest exposition in Chicago since the World’s Fair” in 1893 (Nov. 16, 1911, page 20). The exposition was held in the Chicago Coliseum on Wabash Ave., near 16^th St. and exhibiting space was valued at $47,000 and filled with the finest produce of the land from fifteen states, inviting men and women of Chicago to exchange their steam-heated flats for rural homes.

The Union Pacific Railroad exhibit at the Chicago Coliseum was installed at an expense of $20,000, consisting of three specially prepared rooms and thousands of feet of moving picture films. Of the exhibit, the newspapers described, “Continental moving picture travelogues are to be operated in the rooms, illustrating mining and agricultural industries in the territory through which the railroad furnishes transportation (Nov. 16, 1911, page 20).

Local advertisements urged, “Come down and talk to the men, who like yourself, could not get ahead in the big city and who gave up their jobs, went West and South and are now independent of the landlord.” Each day of the Land Show, one farm  was given away to a lucky visitor. Other daily prizes included potatoes; 40,000 of which were distributed on Idaho day at the expense of the state. The State of California shipped in seven carloads of fruit and one  carload of violets to be presented to female visitors on California day.

The first Land Show was held during 1909.  In 1911, it was estimated that $33,000 were spent by the management and exhibitors in decorating the interior of the coliseum, with the entire collection of exhibits valued at $150,000, the spending equivalent of over $4,000,000 today. Of the $150,000 in 1911, $47,000 worth of products was sold during the show, and increase from $34,000 in 1909.

Of the Salt Lake City Exhibits, the “Los Angeles Times” reported, “According to the Salta Lake Tribune, the Commerical Club and the Utah Development Company of Salt Lake are arranging one of the best exhibits that Utah can produce for tge land show here.‘The results of the exhibit sent to the last land show at the Los Angeles were so successful that it is proposed to make the best of this opportunity.’ Says the Tribune. Elaborate and extensive preparations are in progress in Salt Lake City for a series of excursions from the city during the land show, and it is expected that hundeds of members of the Commercial Club and other organizations will come here especially to attend the exposition. General Manager Wilson is in receipt of a letter from Frederick Thompson, scenic artist, who designed Luna Park, Dreamland and A Trip to the Moon at Coney Island, stating that he will submit plans for decorations and entertainment which he expects to surpass anything heretofore attempted in the West” (“Los Angeles Times” 5 Nov. 1911, page 21).

To be continued…

In 1911, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Lawrence, Kansas, yielded a Masonic job.”  The scenery and stage machinery were similar to that installed at Scottish Rite theaters in Wichita, Kansas, Winona and St. Paul, Minnesota, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Grand Forks, North Dakota, Tucson, Arizona, and the list goes on. Although smaller in scope than some of the other scenery collections, the same counterweight system (Brown’s Special system) was installed, with the lines spaced on four-inch centers. Like many other Scottish Rite Valleys in the first two deacdes of the twentieth century, funds were pouring in and men with vision planned massive edifices to accommodate the ever-increasing membership. Unfortunately, this period of unprecedented growth often meant that no plans were in place for extended periods of membership decline or financial challenges.

Ninety-two years later, the building was on the market, citing those two exact issues. It was one of the early Scottish Rite theaters to change hands, signaling the start of a shift within the Southern Jurisdiction. At the turn of the twentieth century, the Kansas Scottish rite was riding the crest of expansion in the Southern Jurisdiction. They were at the forefront of a new movement as Scottish Rite theaters and degree productions spread like rapidfire. In 1911, there were seven Scottish Rite Valleys in Kansas, located in Kansas City, Fort Scott, Salina, Topeka, Lawrence, Wichita, and  Leavenworth. In 1919, the “Lawrence Daily Journal-World” reported, “Largest Class in History” (28 January 1919, page 1). The article noted, “With the addition of more candidates for the Scottish Rite degrees, the mid-winter class now being conducted thorugh the mysteries of higher Masonry, has now become the largest class in the history of the Lawrence Scottish Rite bodies. There are now 119 candidates in the class.” This was a new trend, adding a mid-winter reunion to the standard fall and spring schedule.  The need to add an additional reunion each year to accommodate increased numbers of candidates shows how rapidly the Scottish Rite Rite was expanding in, Kansas.  The “Fort Scott Tribune,”  reported “The four bodies of Scottish Rite Masonry have just adopted plans for a reunion which will be somewhat a deviation from former reunions and an innovation in Masonry. A midwinter reunion is to be held next year, the dates being February 12, 13 and 14^th” (Fort Scott Tribune, 19 Dec. 1911, page 6).

Almost a century later, Kansas was again riding the crest of another Scottish Rite wave – one of declining membership, lost properties and missing artifacts. In May 2003, the Scottish Rite building was placed on the market. So what happened in Kansas?

In 2003, LJWorld.com posted the following article to the Lawrence Journal World website (https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2003/may/14/landmark_sheds_its/):

“A LAWRENCE LANDMARK IS FOR SALE

Faced with aging membership and ever-increasing costs, Lawrence-area Freemasons have decided to sell the majestic Scottish Rite Temple, 1001 Mass.

“This isn’t something that any of us want to do. It hurts,” said Tom Wilkerson, the organization’s executive secretary. “But we’ve projected out the costs of operations, and we know we can’t continue to draw on our resources like we have. It has to be done.”

THE ASKING PRICE: $775,000.

The buyer will have the option of also buying the buildings that house the Scottish Rite office and the Variety Store at 1005 and 1007 Mass., respectively.

‘We’ll entertain any proposal received,’ Wilkerson said. [my thought: bad move to put that in print].

Built in 1911, the Egyptian Revival-style building features several meeting rooms, a 275-seat auditorium and balcony, and, in the basement, a dining room that’s 55 feet wide and a half-block long.

A kitchen, too, is downstairs in an area carved out from underneath the sidewalk alongside the north side of the building. The building does not have an elevator.

Suspended above the auditorium’s stage are 55 backdrops — each painted long ago by art students from Kansas University — that are raised or lowered in accordance with the particular Scottish Rite ceremony being performed.

“We’ll keep those,” Wilkerson said.

GENERATING INTEREST

The building is listed with Coldwell Banker McGrew Real Estate.

“There’s been quite a bit of interest in it,” said Doug Brown, the Realtor assigned to the property. “The fact that the building has historic significance and that it’s on Mass. is quite a draw for investors.”

Brown said the building was “incredibly well-built” and could be converted to a variety of uses.

“The upstairs, maybe, could be turned into apartments; the downstairs to retail,” he said. “It would be a great place for receptions.”

“Or an upscale restaurant,” said Carol vonTersch, president of the Lawrence Preservation Alliance. “There’s been talk of that in the past, but, at the time, the Masons weren’t ready to sell.”

The Alliance, vonTersch said, hoped to work with whoever buys the building.

“It’s a very important building in the downtown area. People remember that building,” she said. “We’re exceedingly concerned about what’s to happen to it, I can assure you of that.”

It’s not yet known where the Masons will go after the building is sold.

“A committee has been appointed that’ll make that decision,” Wilkerson said. “A lot of it’s going to depend on whether the buyer wants the buildings next door. If they don’t, we’ll probably move into where The Variety Store is now; if they do, we’ll either buy a building or build something new.”

OLD

Wilkerson said about 500 men and women belong to the masonic lodges and auxiliaries that use the temple. Most are unable to attend the monthly meetings.

“Our mean age is 66,” he said of the membership. “That’s pretty old.”

Wilkerson attributed the decline in membership to lackluster recruiting and increased demands on members’ time.

“It’s a sad thing to say, but being in a fraternal organization takes away from a person’s family time and, over the years, that’s just gotten harder and harder to do,” he said. “All the service organizations are going through the same thing.” [my thought: not a great advertisement to join].

Wilkerson says the Mason’s reputation for secrecy far exceeds reality.

“Actually, we kind of joke about that,” he said. “Our meetings are closed, that’s true. But if somebody really wanted to know what was going on, they could just go to the library. Books have been written about it.”

Wilkerson said there’s nothing secret about the building. “We rent it out for receptions and things,” he said. “And before we decided to sell, we’d talked about opening it up to public for tours or ham-and-bean lunches.”

On June 24, 2005, the same newspaper reported that the Lawrence-area Scottish Rite Freemasons were saying goodbye to their 94-year old building and holding an open house and formal relocation ceremony at the new Lawrence Masonic Center, at 1601 W 23rd St., citing, “The 5,500-square-foot store-front-style space is more practical and cheaper to lease and operate than the old building at 1001 Mass., which was purchased by Lawrence developer Doug Compton.” The article noted, “Local Freemasons are hoping the new building and new look will help attract younger men to the organization.” Now, I don’t know about you, but meeting in a shopping mall would not necessarily be any incentive for me to join the Fraternity, but then, I am not potential candidate material. Here is the link to the full article: https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/jun/24/freemasons/

Of the new location, the “Lawrence Journal-World” reported, “Their new building features an entrance that leads into a commons or reception area, complete with a conference table and chairs. Nearby is a large room that can be used for dinners and banquets. There is a library, a storage room and a large meeting room near the back with a skylight over the venerable master’s chair at one end of the room. The building will serve as a meeting place for 362 Scottish Rite members with several Lawrence-area Masonic orders. It was chosen after attempts to find a suitable building that could be purchased failed. ‘We were going to buy, but everything was so expensive,’ said Danny Keller, the assistant personal representative for Lawrence Valley. ‘We had a lot of problems, so we just decided to lease for a few years.’

When I visited Lawrence last summer, we drove by the Masonic Center, now just down the street from the previous shopping mall location.  It remainded me of the many pole barns that store tractors in the Midwest.  For an organization that often links its history to the operative masons and cathedral builders of Europe, it is a little embarrassing to see the Scottish Rite eagle on a small window surrounded metal siding.  I was unable to venture inside, but there was no indication of a theater or fly tower in sight. When Wilkerson explained that the Scottish Rite was going to retain the 55 drops from the old temple, I have to wonder where they are now.

For additional history about the Lawrence Scottish Rite, see my past post, “Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar: Part 621 – Meanwhile in Lawrence, Kansas” (https://drypigment.net2019/01/20/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-part-621-meanwhile-in-lawrence-kansas/).

To be continued…

On July 14, 1911, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I went to Chattanooga, Tenn., to make some sketches from Missionary Ridge, and took a run up Mt. Lookout – believe me it is my last.  I don’t care for the sensation of the incline.  I got some good photos and had Mr. Reif’s car and chauffeur to take me anywhere.  I went the limit and saw everything, and made three pencil sketches.  Closed another contract on the strength of my sketches – $1,800.00.”

Moses was referring to Charles Reif, president of the Chattanooga Brewing Company. Reif was the son of Brewery founder George Reif who established the business in 1890. A George immigrant, Reif came to America in 1861, settling in Cincinnati where he worked at a meat packing plant. George invested in beer, becoming a major shareholder in Jung Brewing Co until it was sold in 1889. By 1890, the Reif family moved to Chattanooga, where George became one of the principle men who bought the brewing business of Conrad Geise & Co. The business was soon incorporated, as the Chattanooga Brewing Co. George remained the president the company until his passing in 1899, when control of the company was passed to his son, Charles, born in 1865.

By 1911, the Chattanooga Brewing Co. was quite large, distributing approximately 150,000 barrels of beer annually. Chicago hosted an International Brewers’ Congress during October 1911 that was devoted to showing visitors various beer exhibits. The Chattanooga Brewing Co. was one of many companies who contracted Sosman & Landis to create their exhibit for the Brewer’s Show, held at the Chicago Coliseum. Of the Chattanooga Brewery Co. project, Moses wrote, “Our Chattanooga picture came out best of all.  It was a perfect representation of the city and the surrounding country.”

In the spring of 1911 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Early in April I started on the designs for the Brewers’ Show, in which they wanted to demonstrate that beer is a food and not a beverage.” Other exhibitors with exhibits by Sosman & Landis included the Schoenhoffen Brewing Company and the Dubuque Brewing and Malting Company.

As the work for Brewer’s exhibits commenced, Moses wrote, “We started Brewer’s work at the 20^th Street studio, with an extra number of men…The Brewer’s Show opened October 12^th with enormous crowds.  Had a lot of trouble getting our work into the building….Sosman was well pleased, as there was a good profit in the work.  Some of the brewers thought I had overcharged them.” In the end, the Brewery Show of 1911 was a success. By October 23, over 94,000 patrons attended the exposition and consumed over 500,000 glasses of beer (Statesman Journal, 24 Oct, 1911, page 9). Sosman & Landis secured $25,350.00 in contracts for the event, today’s equivalent purchasing power of $683,361.28 – a sizable amount of work. For the opening of the show, the “Chicago Tribune” quoted Henry E. O. Heinemann, secretary of the exposition, “Thousands of dollars have been spent for the foundations alone, so tons of brewing machinery must be properly set. An army of painters, decorators, scene builders, and machinists was busy all day and far into the night getting everything ready for the opening” (12 October 1911, page 7).

The success of the Brewer’s Show did not last long, however, as change was in the air. The Chattanooga Brewing Co. only operated until 1915, when Prohibition forced them to close their doors. The brand lay dormant for decades until recently. In 2010 the company was resurrected at 1804 Chestnut St. In Chattanooga, Tennessee. Here is the new website if you are thirsty and in the area: https://www.chattabrew.com/

To be continued…

When Western Scenery Co. made an appearance in Lincoln, Nebraska, during 1911, the “Lincoln Herald” reported,  “In the past 10 years the subject of scenery painting has attracted the attention of the most skillful painters in the world. The demand is for a much higher grade of artistic painting especially in localities where artwork is appreciated. Lincoln is fortunate in having Western Scenery Co., formerly of Chicago, located here, at 2042 O Street under the management of Mr. C. L. Dodson” (March 3, 1911).

A year earlier, the business directory section of the “New York Dramatic Mirror” listed ten scenic studios: H. P. Knight Scenic Studios (New York), Sosman & Landis Great Scene Painting Studio (Chicago), M. Armbruster & Sons (Columbus), Ormston Scenic Construction Co. (New York), the O. H. Story Scenic Co. (Boston), Inc., P. Dodd Ackerman Scenic Studio (New York), Schell’s Scenic Studio (Columbus, Ohio), the Myer’s Company, Inc., Scenic Studio (Steubenville, Ohio), Howard Tuttle (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), H. Fredericks (New York), and the C. Wash. Valentine Scenic Studios (Brooklyn, NY). Individual advertisements included Edward Fourneir (Minneapolis, MN), W. H. McConnell (Minneapolis), and H. Maurice Tuttle (Milwaukee).

There were many other scenic studios at the time not listed in the “New York Dramatic Mirror,” such as Toomey & Volland, Lee Lash, and New York Studios.  Keep in mind that by 1910, Sosman & Landis studio was celebrating three decades of business, having installed stock scenery collections in thousands of theaters nationwide. During the period from 1880 to 1894 alone, they had delivered stock scenery collections to 4000 theaters nationwide.

Although scenic art production was nearing its peak in the United States, change was in the air. The same year that the Sosman & Landis shops were manufacturing hundreds of painted scenes in Chicago, a new type of drop curtain arrived at the Blackstone Theatre. One January 13, 1911, the “Fremont Tribune” of Fremont, Kansas, reported, “The new Blackstone theater in Chicago possesses the finest stage curtain in the United States, if not the world. It is a solid piece of imported tapestry and cost $15,ooo without including the duty” (page 5). $15,000 in 1911 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $404, 436.32 in 2019. The article continued, “There are only two other theaters in the world that have curtains of the same kind, and neither of these, it is said, is a fine a piece of work as Blackstone’s. One of these curtains is at Milan [Italy] and the other in [Moscow] Russia. No Paris playhouse has such a curtain, and there is none in England. The curtain was woven especially at Aubusson, near Paris. It is the largest single piece of tapestry ever imported into this country, measuring 30 ½ by 42 feet.”

The work began in the studio of M. Lemaille in Montmartre, Paris, two years prior to delivery. From a small cartoon, a full sign-painting was created for the tapestry artisans. The actual weaving did not commence until June 1910 at Aubusson. The tapestry was a partial reproduction of a famous tapestry owned by Napoleon that depicted a group of young people dancing on the green in the time of Louis XII.

The April 1911 publication of “Fine Arts Journal” included the article “A $15,000 Tapestry Drop Curtain” (Vol. 24, No. 4, pp.280-281). The Blackstone Theatre was credited as being “the most modern and the handsomest playhouse in America,” erected by Chicago businessmen at a cost of $500,000 in Hubbard Place between Michigan Boulevard and Wabash Avenue and adjoining the Blackstone Hotel. Charles Frohman, Klaw and Erlanger were the lessees with Harry J. Power as manager and Augustus Pitou, Jr. as business manager.

It was William J. Sinclair, director of the Hasselgren Studios, who conceived the idea of having a drop curtain of tapestry. Hasselgren Studios was a furniture company and celebrated interior-decorating firm that operated between 1911 and 1937 in Chicago. The firm was famous for their fine art work in mansions, hired for decorating. The artistic staff included scenic artists who painted ceiling murals on canvas that were shipped and hung in distant locales. They were also well known for their Oriental rugs, too, many of which were woven in Persia and would take years to complete.  (Quad City Times, 24 May 1953, page 4). The company went bankrupt in the 1920s, with much of the stock being sold to John A. Colby and Sons. The order for the Tapestry drop curtain was placed over two years before delivery and necessitated a full-sized “cartoon” for the design.  The piece was completed only a month before its arrival in the United States and the duty was noted as “a small fortune.”

What should be contemplated after thinking of this substantial purchase is the significance of the proscenium opening. Although the auditorium was ornately decorated with Ivory, dull gold and green, the “Fine Arts Journal” explained that the color scheme was “specifically designed to harmonize with and display the beautiful tapestry drop curtain.” As in many cases with previously painted drops curtains, the entire auditorium functioned as a frame for the artwork hanging in the proscenium.  The architectural elements were simply supportive to whatever was suspended in the focal point of the auditorium – the proscenium.

To be continued…

In 1911, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I did a good curtain for Lincoln, Nebr.” As I started combing through newspaper records for a drop curtains in Lincoln mentioned during 1911, I came across several interesting articles, including one drop curtain for Leavenworth prison. It is difficult to verify Moses’ work without a secondary source, such as a newspaper clipping, so I am uncertain the exact nature of his project. I often feel that I am grasping at straws in the dark, until a little gem pops up out of nowhere. 

Fortunately, while looking in Lincoln newspapers for information, one article came to my attention. It was published in  “The Lincoln Herald” on March 3, 1911, and brought a new scenic studio to my attention. The headline of the article was “Western Scenery Co. C. L. Dodson, Manager. ” Here is the article in its entirety:

“In the past 10 years the subject of scenery painting has attracted the attention of the most skillful painters in the world. The demand is for a much higher grade of artistic painting especially in localities where artwork is appreciated. Lincoln is fortunate in having Western Scenery Co., formerly of Chicago, located here, at 2042 O Street under the management of Mr. C. L. Dodson.

It is the purpose of this company to make a specialty of scenery and curtains for theatres by the most approved and up to date methods, They receive many inquiries and orders for this class of work and are at this time painting a drop curtain for the opera house at Harper, Kansas, which, when completed will be a high grade piece of work. Mr. Dodson is widely known throughout the west as a master of the art and has made curtains for the opera house at Beatrice, Wilber and many other towns in the west. He employs only competent men who are reliable in their work. For more detailed information call, phone address Western Scenery Co. 2041 O Street, Bell A2594.”

There is a great possibility that Moses was one of the “competent men who are reliable in their work” that Dodson employed during a particularly busy period. However, little is known of the Western Scenery Co. of Lincoln, Nebraska. Two Dodson’s lived in Lincoln in 1911, with C. A. Dodson residing at 108 North 27^th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska (Lincoln Journal Star, 21 June 1911, page 7). Were there a C. A. Dodson and a C. L. Dodson? Near the end of summer in 1911, however, another advertisement appeared in the “Lincoln Star.”  “Dodson & Dodson” advertised as “Scenic Artists, Opera House scenery, aluminum curtains, stand alone stuff a specialty. We book vaudeville attractions. 108 North 27^th. Bell A2594” (6 August 1911, page 12).

As I continued to search for clues about the Dodsons, C. A. Dodson was described as “artist, genius, dope-fiend, and much married man” (Lincoln Star, 23 Feb. 1909, page 3). Reading the various newspaper articles about Dodson’s drunken episodes, however, was like watching an artist’s life slowly go down the drain.  It was the time when alcohol addiction was perceived as a character flaw and not a disease.

The earliest article that I came across was published on Dec. 26, 1908. C. A. Dodson.  Described as an “individual whose uncontrollable thirst and passionate love of ‘dope’ has made him a derelict…he was arrested yesterday on a charge of taking a ride in a cab when he didn’t have coin to pay for the privilege.” On February 1, 1909, the “Lincoln Journal” reported, C. A. Dodson, the man with an uncontrollable predilection to alcoholism and unending spasms of delirium tremens, is in the city jail. He was able to walk without staggering a few days ago, so was released from the county jail. He immediate secured a job of decorative painting at Friend. At that place he imbibed again and his subsequent antics so horrified the populace they hired a keeper for him, put the couple on the next train and sent them to Lincoln, where Dodson was released again. The police soon gathered him in again as in his usual conditions.”

A similar story about Dodson was published a few months later, on February 2, 1909, in the “Lincoln State Journal” (page 10):

“C. A. Dodson, a scenic artist, who has been of late a frequent occupant of the city hall, and who has been sent to the insane asylum as a dipsomaniac was brought into the police yesterday afternoon by a resident of Friend who had come across Dodson in that city acting in a peculiar manner. The man from Friend said that the citizens of that place had been much alarmed by the actions and had requested that he be taken to the Lincoln police and an attempt made to have him taken again to the asylum. The doctors at the asylum say that Dodson has reached the incurable stage of dipsomania and that it is useless to send him for treatment. Dodson is also a dope fiend as well as a systemic drinker, being a user of morphine and cocaine. Chief of Police Cooper said yesterday that he was at loss to know what to do with the man, as he was no sooner released from the custody of the police that he was back in jail in a lamentable state. It was the opinion of Judge Risser that Dodson should be permanently assigned to one of the state institutions as he was now so far gone nervously that he was no longer able to care for himself and really needed a constant guardian. Dodson was sent to the county jail yesterday afternoon and Judge Risser purposes taking his case up with the insanity board with the view of having him permanently committed to one of the state institutions.” Sadly, later that year, Dodson was accused of beating his wife and received jail time (Lincoln Star, 7 Dec, 1909, page 1). The article reported, “On complaint of his wife that he had been coercing her to give him all the money she made as a department store clerk that he might use it to purchase whiskey, and that he had been guilty of beating her, C. A. Dobson was Tuesday sentenced to thirty days in county jail. For some time Dodson has been known to the police as a shiftless citizen, who cares little for work and less for keeping poverty from his home, and when he was brought before the police magistrate Tuesday on the charge of wife-beating he was given a moderate sentence.” For a little context, Dodson’s first wife, Mary E. Dodson, filed for divorce against C. A. Dodson on May 18, 1895 (Kirwin Globe, Kirwin, Kansas 5 April 1895, page 4).

In 1913, Dodson was still spending spells in jail for drunkenness and threatening his wife with physical harm (Lincoln Star, 5 Oct. 1913, page 4). He made headlines again, this time for picking up a heavy cuspidor and hurling it into the midst of a group of prisoners.  It struck Robert Robinson, a veterinary surgeon, who was serving a similar sentence, and split open his ear.

By 1915, the “Nebraska State Journal” reported, “C. A. Dodge, paroled on April 6 from the state insane asylum, was picked up on the street yesterday afternoon in a drunken conditions. When examined at the police station he was found to be suffering from his former trouble and the hospital authorities were notified. He was returned to the asylum last night” (19 Nov. 1915, page 4).

In 1916, the “Lincoln Journal Star” reported, “C. A. Dodson, a patient at the asylum, escaped from the institution early Monday morning. He was found by the police at 9 o’clock near Eighteenth and G streets and was taken back to the hospital” (10 July 1916, page 10).

There was not much to discover about Dodson after 1916, no death notice or any other asylum escapes. It is just such a sad story, yet a small blip in the life of American scenic art.

To be continued…

In 1911, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Some more work at Memphis, Tenn., Masonic.” Sosman & Landis delivered additional scenery two years after the initial installation. In 1909, Moses recorded that Sosman & Landis produced a scenery collection for the Scottish Rite in Memphis, Tennessee. At the time, scenery was purchased through M. C. Lilley and work subcontracted to Sosman & Landis.  

The first reunion in the Memphis Scottish Rite building was held from November 15 to 19, 1909. Over the years, a variety of Masonic activity at the Memphis Scottish Rite Temple was reported in newspaper articles, personal correspondence, and business letters.

In 1916, a letter from Charles Rosenbaum of Little Rock, Arkansas, to Frank A. Derr of Guthrie, Oklahoma, addressed the use of footlights in Scottish Rite theaters. The letter noted that the Scottish Rite in Memphis Tennessee employed the use of footlights for their degree productions. The Guthrie Scottish Rite was considering the installation of footlights for their stage.

Rosenbaum responded to Derr’s query on June 10, 1916:

“I note what you say about footlights, but what use are they? In our old synagogue [the Albert Pike Cathedral, 1896], we had footlights; we found them sort of a nuisance. When we built on 8^th and Scott [the Albert Pike Consistory Building, 1902] we left them out entirely.

While in New York several years ago talking to Stage expert equipment people they showed me foot light equipment they were building for a High School building and it had a nice disappearing arrangement, which was all right.

I asked what was the necessary for foot lights, and why they were used.

The answer was —You have to have them to throw up the light on the people on the front of the stage to light up and destroy the rawness of their makeup, which means the paint and stuff they use on their faces, they said you can’t get along without them for that reason.

I said —Suppose there is no makeup, and I described our use of a stage, and they said it would be foolish to have footlights at all, and only in case we rented the building for theatrical purposes would it be necessary, because when Actors and Actresses made up the necessity would it be evident.

So —as we don’t rent for any such purpose and don’t make up our faces, and have no business very far out toward the front of the stage, or for that matter in front of the curtain line, we have no use for ‘foot lights, to high light our faces and they have no use for them in Memphis either unless they rent for shows of one kind or another.’”

There is something to consider beyond the topic of footlights that Rosenbaum discusses in the letter.  When many Scottish Rite stages were constructed, they were never intended for public use or rentals. Times have changed and public rental income is a necessity.  This mean that many stages have been altered to accommodate a renter, or make it more appealing for public rentals.

Over the years, the Memphis Scottish Rite altered their building for a variety or reasons, including a movie set. While examining the history of the building, I discovered an article that reporting the theater was “expanded and refurbished” when used to film performance scenes for the 2005 movie “Walk the Line,” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspon.

In some ways, the rental of Scottish Rite buildings and stages for filmwork has provided much necessary income for many Scottish Rite Valleys. However, the money comes at a price.  Damage inevitably occurs over time as various lighting systems and other equipment are installed for a specific film scene, or temporary structures are anchored to existing walls. 

I think of the continued television and film work that occurs in the Santa Fe Scottish Rite and recognize the recent changes that have compromised a once unique system. The original counterweight system, known as Brown’s Special System, has been irreparably altered from its original state. Photographs of this system that were published in “The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre (2018, Museum of New mexico Press) depict a pristine system, one that remained unaltered since its installation in 1912. No matter the historical significance, or words of caution, nothing could have prevented its alteration over the past two years.

I understand that change is inevitable as the Fraternity responds to declining membership.  In many instances, the loss of membership means a loss of annual revenue, prompting Scottish Rite Valleys to respond in various ways, such as public rentals. Some renovate the space that generates the greatest rental income; in many instances it is the stage and auditorium. For an organization that remained locked in time for decades, a few individuals are irreparably altering their spaces.  Stage houses, specifically the scenery, stage machinery and other systems, are often repaired, altered, or renovated, without any undertstanding of the system. Furthermore, these alterations are often completed without the knowledge of the membership or staff.  Sadly, a few members consider these historic buildings as their personal playgrounds, completing one “home-improvement” projects after another and using unrated hardware, duct tape, contact cement, and other inappropriate products for their work. 

Go visit your nearest Scottish Rite theater now, as change is coming and it might be different by tomorrow.

To be continued…

I return to the life and times of Thomas G. Moses. In 1911, Moses recorded that Sosman & Landis received “a small contract at Cheyenne of Masonic work.”

Sosman & Landis were well known in Cheyenne, having delivered stock scenery to the Grand Opera House in 1882. Sosman & Landis artists paired up to complete many projects on site, traveling from one theater to another and crisscrossing the country. From 1881-1882, Moses and studio founder, Joseph S. Sosman were a team, completing one project after another as salesman Abraham “Perry” Landis secured each contract.

The Scottish Rite Theatre is located in the Masonic Temple, home to multiple Masonic orders. Located at 1820 Capitol Avenue in Cheyenne, construction commenced on a three-story structure in 1901, costing local Masons $45,000. Unfortunately, in 1903 the building was gutted by fire. The “Natrona County Tribune” reported, “The fire originated by defective electric light wiring over the stage at the south end of the building. The loss was estimated at $50,000; insurance $33,500, $30,00 of which was on the building and $3,500 on paraphernalia. The elegant paraphernalia of the Scottish Rite Masons, costing at least $6,000 was entirely destroyed, and besides this many suits belonging to the members of the order were lost. Only a few rugs and several pieces of furniture were saved. The structure will be rebuilt at once. The structure will be rebuilt at once. The Scottish Rite Masons had just finished holding a reunion in the building, at which forty-one new members were admitted on the night before the building was destroyed, this being the first reunion held in the building since its completion” (5 March 1903, page 8). After receiving their insurance settlement, the Cheyenne Scottish Rite Bodies reconstructed the damaged stage and interior.

Sosman & Landis delivered an initial collection of scenery to this Masonic Hall in 1911, and membership numbers began to skyrocket.

On January 25, 1911, the “Natrona County Tribune” reported, “Cheyenne. – The semi-annual reunion of Wyoming Consistory No. 1 here met Jan. 4, and is attended by Masons from all sections of the state. A class of twenty-six candidates for the Scottish Rite degree has been selected” (Caspar, Wyoming, page 6). By that fall, there were fifty candidates at the Scottish Rite reunion in Cheyenne (Natrona County Tribune, 20 Dec. 1911, page 6). Over a year later, there were forty-six candidates (Natrona County Tribune, 26 Dec. 1912, page 2).

A new Scottish Rite Cathedral was planned in 1920 as membership rapidly outgrew its current quarters. The “Casper Star-Tribune” reported, “Tentative plans for the cathedral which Wyoming Consistory No. 1, A.A.S.R., is to erect at Capitol Avenue and Twentieth Street, have been approved. They call for a structure of Grecian architecture, with a frontage of 132 feet on Capitol Avenue, which will cost approximately $500,000. Aside from the fact that it will be the largest and finest fraternal society building in Wyoming architecture.  Work on the building, it is planned and will begin next fall” (29 May 1920, page 9).

In 1921, “The Billings Gazette” reported that Wyoming had 1906 thirty-second degree Masons, an increase of 245 members in twelve months. Furthermore, the secretary of Wyoming Consistory No. 1 in Cheyenne reported, “the total resources of all four bodies of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite amount to $189,958.88” (17 Sept 1921, page 8). There were 2,090 members in the Rocky Mountain Lodge of Perfection; 1,961 members in the Albert Pike Chapter of the Knights of Rose Croix; and 1,961 members in the Cheyenne Council of Kadosh No. 1. 

I visited the Cheyenne Scottish Rite last year on June 18, 2018. It was father’s day when I documented the Cheyenne Scottish Rite scenery collection, with my husband and son working as stagehands that day. Our guide, Ron, explained that the building was expanded during the 1920s, an addition that included a new theater. Toomey & Volland studio records list a delivery of scenery to the Cheyenne Scottish Rite at that time. I identified three distinct scenery collections when examining the stencil placement. Two are consistent with Sosman & Landis and the third is likely from the studio of Toomey & Volland in St. Louis.

Some of the scenery includes the shipping label “Scottish Rite Bodies. Masonic Hall. Cheyenne, Wyoming.” This information is stenciled on the back and front of some bottom sandwich battens. Additional stenciling on the back of some drops also confirms the destination of Cheyenne, characteristic of standard Sosman & Landis Studio labeling during the first decade of the twentieth century. Keep in mind that it was common for Scottish Rite Valley’s to retain their original scenery when the initially expanded and increased and existing stage. Enlarging the original scenery delivered to the Masonic Hall in 1903 and 1911 for the 1920s stage was not unusual, even if a competing studio painted it.

The three collections at the Cheyenne Scottish Rite are not of any particular, or standard, size. It is obvious that many of the drops were hung at another venue prior to being installed above the current Scottish Rite stage. Charcoal markings denoting previous line sets are just one indicator of a previous life elsewhere.

In regard to painted aesthetics, the design and scenic art for some of the collection is consistent with other Sosman & Landis scenery delivered to Santa Fe (1912), St. Paul (1910), Winona (1909), Tucson (1914), Asheville (1914), and Grand Forks (1914). The painted flats accompanying many of the painted scenes, however, are not identified with stencils, nor characteristic of Sosman & Landis flats manufactured before 1908.  The profile pieces in Cheyenne only include a few pencil markings.  The design and construction of these pieces are not characteristic with Sosman & Landis set pieces, as they are also much brighter in color than the remainder of the collection, suggesting their delivery by Toomey & Volland aesthetic.

The stage machinery also predates the 1920s. It is an example of Brown’s Special System, also delivered to Santa Fe (1912), St. Paul (1910), Winona (1909), Tucson (1914), Ashville (1914), and Grand Forks (1914).

Finally, our host explained that additional drops that went unused for decades. They were rolled up and placed in an offstage area. Sadly, they were disposed of a few years ago without anyone documenting was thrown away, so we have no idea if this were an earlier collection, and adopted collection, or simply unused scenes. There is one dead hung drop curtain against the upstage wall.  It appears to be a drop curtain, as I was able to see some painted fringe and draperies, suggesting that this piece may have been the drop curtain from the previous stage at the Masonic Hall; the front curtain would have been not wide enough for the current proscenium opening. I would love to see what the composition is, as I was unable to see more than the bottom two feet of the drop.

To be continued…