Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1915, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “June 1st, Mama and I started for our first California trip that had no business attached to it, but I found a little when I reached Pasadena, a little misfit at Root’s Strand Theatre. Fixed it up and settled in full. This trip I have written up in detail elsewhere.
When we reached Salt Lake on our return trip, I received a wire from Sosman requesting me to return at once, as he was going away for a trip in his car. He returned July 24th in bad shape and died August 7th. On the 10th, a stockholders meeting was called and I was elected president of the Sosman and Landis Company. Arthur Sosman was elected vice-president and P. Lester Landis, secretary and treasurer. It is very strange to me that I had never given this change of the business a thought. I had never thought of Sosman dying.”
On August 8, 1915, the “Chicago Tribune” reported “JOSEPH S. SOSMAN dies yesterday at his residence in Lake Bluff. Mr. Sosman was 70 years old and had been a resident of Chicago forty-five years. He was president of Sosman & Landis, scenic studios. He is survived by his widow and two sons, Arthur and Fred. He was a member of the Illinois Athletic club and a high Mason.”(page 13).
On August 28, 1915 “Oak Leaves” announced, “President of ‘Scenery’ Company Thomas G. Moses has become president of the firm of Sosman & Landis of Chicago, for many years one of the leading houses in the country engaged in the making and painting of scenery and the making of ‘properties’ for theatrical productions. Mr. Landis died several years ago and Mr. Sosman died early this month. Mr. Moses has been identified with the firm for thirty-five years, and is recognized as one of the leading artists in this line in the country. The business has grown from the employment of a single artist, when Mr. Moses first took up the work, until it now requires thirty-five artists and fifteen stage mechanics. Mr. Moses first became a stockholder and vice president of the company ten years ago and; now succeeds to the active control. Mr. Moses is a well known citizen of Oak Park and his made his home at 233 South Euclid for twenty-two years” (page 25).
Later that year, Moses wrote, “I hope our first year with the business will pan out pretty good, and I feel it will take at least three years to pull it out and make it stand up by itself. Having no capital is an awful handicap and I don’t see how the business was run on for so many years without more surplus, for we always had plenty of work and have a good reputation for good work.” Well, I think that the lack of capitol had to do with their Scottish Rite scenery contracts. For years, the Sosman & Landis Studio financed various Scottish Rite Valleys for terms of six years or more after collections were delivered in full. Only a third of the entire bill was due upon completion, the rest of the payments were spread out over months, if not years. Unfortunately when the last third was due, many Valleys were always late on the final payments, making both artists and studios beg for what was contractually theirs. In some cases, the Valleys decided just not to pay their bills to the men who labored for their building and theater. It really goes against everything that the Fraternity teaches, and I have yet to find that this was an anomaly.
At the end of 1915, Moses added, “This year ended with a lot of unfinished work on the books and I am very much afraid that my picture painting is going to receive a good bump, now that I have more responsibilities to assume. I hope within a year that Lester will get into the office work so I will not have much of that to do.” Perry Landis’ son Perry “Lester” Landis and Moses would continue to work on projects together until Moses’ passing in 1934, but he would never have the same knack for the job. The younger Landis did not exhibit the same skills or theatrical connections as his father. In addition, times were changing and to meet new demands, scenic studios had to follow trends. Moses firmly stuck to the painting end of the business, desperately hoping to ride the same wave that the firm had been on since 1880.
For the past few years, I have been writing a book about Sosman & Landis, the firm’s influence on American theater and visual spectacle is substantial. This includes research and writing that I do in addition to my daily posts, although some has been shared at www.drypigment.net.
Of all the scenic studios that appeared in the fifty-year period between the 1870 and 1920, Sosman & Landis shaped the landscape of American theatre, yet they do not appear in any theatre history books. They created the foundation and trained several generations of scenic artists who opened later opened studios across the country or dominated the world of fine art.
Sosman & Landis’ work dominates early issues of Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide. So many theatres list the firm as delivering their stock scenery collections. Between 1880 and 1894, the Firm delivered scenery to 4000 theaters. That number is significant when considering that Sosman & Landis scenery was the first theatrical scenery ever encountered by many Midwestern and western citizens in small rural communities. Larger audiences in metropolitan areas also were familiar with the scenic studio, as their name appeared in print across the country with both touring shows, new theaters, opera houses, musical academies, social halls, amusement parks and grand circus spectacles.
To be continued…
