Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1916, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Pausback went to the 20th Street studio, part of which we rented for a couple of months. We put plenty of help with Pausback to rush the work through, and I think he will be able to pull it out, as we are too busy at Clinton street to take much of it.”
Sosman & Landis’ main studio was on Clinton Street. Over the years, the firm would lease additional studio spaces that were referred to as “annex studios.” The 20th Street Studio was an annex studio. For years, any annex studio was under the direct supervision of Moses, unless he was called away – which was a lot. Since 1904, Moses was in charge of all design, construction, painting and installation of projects at Sosman & Landis. This was not a first-time that Moses moved staff from one building to another. Since 1908, Pausback has bounced back and forth between the main studio and various annexes, he was a shop manager.
Nicholas “Nick” John Pausback Jr. was a scenic artist, described as a tall, slender man with grey eyes and dark brown hair.
Pausback was born on May 5, 1881; this makes him twenty-five years younger than Moses. The Registry of Births for the city of St. Louis, Missouri, lists that Nick Pausback was born at Rappahannock St. and his parents were to Nicholas and Caroline Pausback. He was one of seven children; his siblings were Maria (b. 1879), Joseph (b. 1883), Eva (b. 1884), August (b. 1885), Stella (b. 1888), and Clara (b. 1889).
The 1900 US Census lists the nineteen-year-old Pausback as living with his family at 3113 Magnolia in St. Louis, Missouri. At the time, his occupation was noted as “artist – painting.” He was the only one in the family that entered theatre industry. His siblings worked as milliners, salesmen in clock stores, clerks in a mill and saloon employees. Pausabck’s mother even worked at a grocery store. Interestingly, his little brother became an boxer, making headlines after ca collapse in the ring during a 1906 match at the Broadway A.C. in St. Louis (“St. Louis Globe-Democrat,” 18 April 1906, page 13). Brother Joe was in the 125-pound class and reported to be a “youngster with a record for having the stiffest punch of any boy of his weight in the city” (St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 16 April 1906, page 11). I have not tried to track down the other siblings at this time.
In 1902, there was a newspaper announcement about Nick Pausback’s twenty-first birthday party (St. Louis Republic, 11 May 1902, page 17). Quite a few people attended, including fellow scenic artist Armbruster. Although no first name was given, my best guess is Otto, as he was working for Moses at the time.
By 1905, Pausback was credited with fully equipping the new Grand Theatre in Owensboro, Kentucky. The “Messenger-Inquirer” reported, “Mr. Nicholas Pausback of St. Louis is the artist employed. He has painted several of the scenes and is now at work on the others. There will be twenty hanging scenes and about seventy-five all told. The greater part of these will be in frames…When the work is completed the Grand will have one of the very best equipped of stages. The two ‘tormentors’ painted by Mr. Pausback have been placed and they are receiving favorable criticism of all who see them.” The project also included a heavy asbestos curtain with “beautiful Venetian scene” (Messenger-Inquirer, 18 July 1905, page 6). Other pieces mentioned included two drop curtains and a fancy parlor scene painted in a Japanese pattern.
That same year, Pausback was also engaged to paint new scenery for the new opera house in Central City (Messenger-Inquirer, 26 July 1905, page 8). The venue would become known as the Gish Opera House. By the way, Central City is halfway between Louisville and Nashville; I had to look. Only four years later, the opera house went up in flames; the fire started during commencement exercises for the Central City School’s music class. The music teacher and children ranging from ages 5-12 were the main victims, perishing in a tragedy locals termed the “Opera House Holocaust” (Cincinnati Enquirer, 26 May 1909, page 1).
Pausback did marry and start a family in St. Louis too. His bride was Ottilia (also Otilia) Groebl (b. 1883), a German immigrant who arrived in 1898. The couple celebrated the birth of six children, three girls and three boys: Nicholas (B. 1905), Elvira (b. 1906), Raymond (b. 1908), Mary (b. 1912), Lawrence (b. 1922) and Therese (b. 1927). Only the first two children were born in St. Louis.
It was in 1907 that Pausback and his family moved from St. Louis to Chicago, and I wonder employment at Sosman & Landis prompted the move. That year, he started to work for the firm as their paint shop foreman. Moses, wrote, “I depended a great deal on Pausback to look after the work while I was away.”
Pausback did not consistently work at Sosman & Landis, however, as he also worked for a variety of other firms. Like many scenic artists of the time, Pausback picked up work wherever he could find it. During the late-nineteenth and early twentieth century, scenic artists accepted extra work even when working full-time positions. Demand for scenic art outweighed the supply and a great deal of money could be made in a relatively short period of time for any ambitious artist. The phrase “make hay while the sun shines” certainly comes to mind.
The 1910 US census listed Pausback as an advertiser in the “Packing Co.” industry, still working as a scenic artist though. He would provide this same information for the 1920 census too which makes me wonder what the Packing Co. delivered. There are too many packing companies to even hazard a guess at this time. In 1911, Moses again records that Pausback took charge of the 20th Street studio.
By 1916, Pausback was back at the 20th Street studio and also installed a few shows in New York. At the time he was working with the stage carpenter Harry Nailer. Then everything changes. My guess is World War I and a redistribution of labor. The next year Pausback was working in the advertising department at Swift & Co., located in Chicago’s Union Stock Yards. Keep in mind that many scenic artists were snatched up by the military; camouflage painting was in its infancy and would draw heavily on the expertise of stage painters, those who were skilled at painting for a distance. A decade later, Pausback established his own studio.
In 1927, he founded Pausback studios and ran the firm for twenty years, retiring only six years before his passing in 1953. His scenery company was located at 3727 Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago (Chicago Tribune 2 Dec. 1928, page 2). In 1928 Pausback also wrote a book on stage craft (Dec. 17, 1928). He was in his late forties and seems to have been hitting his stride. Things were continuing to look up, work was plentiful, and there was a new and insatiable client – academic theater.
Educational and academic institutions became a primary client for Pausback Studios, as well as many theatrical supply firms of the time. Public schools were in a constant state of demand, with an ever-growing need for rigging, draperies, and scenic options. Publications focused on how amateur productions could forgo the need of any theatrical expert – “do it yourself” became a popular approach; you just needed enthusiasm and an instructional manual to produce a show. Part of me wonders if this was the beginning of the end for the professional scene painter, hence the mass migration to Hollywood where an advanced skill set was still required to produce magic.
Of Pausback’s children, only his daughter Alvera (b. 1907) was working for the company after the market crash in 1929. She remained a clerk, possibly the result of labor reduction. Pausback Scenery Co. also provided properties for “Wings of a Century,” a feature at the 1933 world fair in Chicago. In the 1930s, Pausback studio made a huge splash with oversized Christmas tree ornaments. Towards the end of his career, Pausback worked with Arthur “Art” W. Oberbeck, another former Sosman & Landis employee (“Blue Island Sun Standard,” 15 June 1944, Page 6). Oberbeck started as a paint boy at the Sosman & Landis studio in 1904, just a few years before Pauysback joined the staff.
Interestingly, Pausback was also an amateur magician. As a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the American Society of Magicians, he was known as “Nicodemus, the Magician” (Chicago Tribune 14 May 1953, page 36).https://newspaperarchive.com/blue-island-sun-standard-jun-15-1944-p-6/
Overall, Pausback’s obituary listed that he was in the theatrical scenery business for 45 years and did not retire until 1947. It was a little longer than that, according to my calculations. Pausback passed away at the age of 72 in 1953. He is buried in St. Mary Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum in Evergreen Park, Illinois (Section 1, lot 764). This is now on my “to visit” list, as I track across country and pay homage to those who came before me.
I end with this: His obituary remembers, “Nicholas J. Pausback, 72, of 1000 S. Rhodes av., retired theatrical scenery contractor, died yesterday in his home. Mr. Pausback, who retired six years ago, supplied amateur and professional theatrical scenery for 45 years, the last 20 years as owner of Pausback Scenic studios. An amateur magician, he was a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the American Society of Magicians. Surviving are his widow, Otilia, three daughters, Mrs. Elvira Pausback Howard, Mrs. Mary Crescentia Welsh and Mrs. Therese Curtis, and three sons, the Very Rev. Gabriel of the Carmelite Order, Raymond Joseph and Lawrence” (Chicago Tribune, 14 May 1953, page 36).
Pausback’s obituary also credited him as a “scenic artist de luxe”(Chicago Tribune 14 May 1953, page 36). Life goes by too fast, and we are too quick to summarize another’s life in a few sentences. Kudos to the families that did more. I am desperately trying to preserve our past and pay tribute to those unsung theatrical geniuses.
In the end, Pausback Studios merged with Acme and Carsen in 1957 to form the Acme Carsen Pausback Studio. See past post 566 for more information about Acme and Carsen of Chicago; it is quite a story.
To be continued…
