Month: August 2020

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1908 P. Dodd Ackerman delivered scenery for the musical farce “Too Many Wives.”  The show featured Joe Morris and his company, with Ackerman designing and painting the settings at his Bushwick Avenue studio in Brooklyn. The play was later turned into a movie by 1937. I chuckled when I read the title of the show, as it foreshadowed the next decade for Ackerman. Ackerman’s scenic success was not necessarily reflective of his marital status; he would list three different wives by 1920. Ackerman seemed to always be in the right place at the right time for scenic work; just not with women.

On July 16, 1897, P. Dodd Ackerman married Marguerite “Margaret” Meyer in Manhattan, New York. The couple celebrated the birth of one daughter in 1899, Emma “Emmie” Bella Ackerman. At the time, the small family was living in Brooklyn, New York. However, the marriage was not meant to last. Although, the couple was still listed as living together in 1915, their marriage was on the rocks. In 1915 their daughter also graduated and began a life of her own. I have to wonder if the first Mrs. Ackerman lived the “if I can just hold on until my daughter graduates” mindset.

In 1916 Margaret M. Ackerman filed for a legal separation, asking for a $100 per week alimony. In the legal suit, Mrs. Ackerman submitted letters between her husband and daughter’s young friend May Smith. At the time, Philip Dodd Ackerman was 41 years old. Mrs. Ackerman filed proof of correspondence between his husband and Miss May/Mae Smith. Some newspapers announced, “Mrs. Philip Dodd Ackerman Charges Husband is overly friendly with Mae Smith, submits letters to girl” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 16 March 1916, page 2). The “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” article elaborated, “Mrs. Ackerman’s complaint is that her husband is over-friendly with a girl named Mae Smith, who is so young that she was introduced into the family originally as a companion to Miss Emmie Bell Ackerman, who is still in school. Ackerman and Miss Smith, the wife charges, live in the same house in Rockville Centre, L. I., and that Ackerman has made efforts to adopt her as his daughter. Ackerman, according to the charge, pays Miss Smith’s expenses. Ackerman and Miss Smith both deny the wife’s intimations, and Miss Smith says she is a stenographer, thoroughly capable of earning her own living and does not need Ackerman’s support, nor does she get it. The wife introduced in her affidavit for alimony some letters which she said her husband wrote to Miss Smith and which indicate a friendship which Ackerman was unable to break off, because of his fondness for the girl.” How horrifying for all, especially when your personal life makes headlines.

“The Standard Union” reported “Ackerman denies flatly any familiarity with May Smith. Who, he says, was brought into his home at Rockville Centre by his wife. The couple were married in 1897 and have one child, Emmie Bell Ackerman. The girl attended Packer Collegiate Institute up to the early part of the year, but Ackerman refused to pay her tuition longer, because, he said, her mother was continually keeping her home. Ackerman’s scenic studio is at 1576-80 Bushwick avenues, and he does work for the Schuberts. The couple lived at 499 Washington avenue, Brooklyn, also” (March 16, 1916, page 5).

The “Buffalo Times” published some of the letters allegedly written by Ackerman to Smith (24 March 1916, page 2). One, dated May 21^st, 1915, read, “My Dear Little Girl: I hate to recall the sad-eyed look you gave me last night when we parted – I hope and pray only temporarily – but I want you to feel just as I told you, dear. I do not want to place you in a position wherein your mother is not aggregable to you; and yet, dear, I cannot give you up. I cannot do this. I love you so dearly. Forgive me writing you, dear. I cannot resist it. And possibly you want to forget me too, and yet I will do these things to you to ever remind you of me. Some sad, old day today. I am glad I have many things to think of, and I am sorry you have not too many things to do that would relieve your mind. With all the love in the world to you dear. Your sweetheart, PHILIP.”

In the same article Mrs. Ackerman asserted her that husband also wrote, “My Dear May: You little rascal. Here I have been in the studio all day and you did not call me up. Did you forget me, dear? It is nearly 6 and I am pounding away at a sketch. I would love to be with you, dear, but if I stick at this and finish it can be longer with you tomorrow.” Mrs. Ackerman further accused her husband of lavishing Miss Smith with vanity purses, hats and plumes. She also reported that Mrs. Ackerman believed her husband had introduced Miss Smith as his secretary, his cousin, his niece and even once as Mrs. Ackerman. She also added that he “got his mother to take out adoption papers for Miss Smith, so that the girl may pass as his daughter.” What a tale to tell the newspapers; it certainly brought the entire family into the public eye.  In response to his wife’s accusations, Ackerman denied his wife’s charges and said that Miss Smith visited their home as Mrs. Ackerman’s friend. The newspaper article reported, “He admitted calling Miss Smith ‘my dear’ facetiously and only in his wife’s presence.”

Although Ackerman denied familiarity with the girl, two years later he listed Mrs. May Ackerman as his wife on his WWI draft registration card. The couple was residing at 140 West 39^th St. At the time, his occupation was listed as a theatrical scenery manufacturer, running P. Dodd Ackerman Studios Inc., also at 140 West 39^th, NY, NY. Ackerman’s physical appearance was described as medium height and medium build with light blue eyes and blond hair.

This had to have been an extremely awkward time for the Ackermans. As drama encircled the couple, their daughter was forging ahead in life, finding love and a marriage all her own.

In the midst of scandal, their daughter married Howard Turner in 1917.  She is listed as Emma B., Emmie, Emily and Bell. in various historical records. Her wedding announcement in “Brooklyn Life” announced, “Miss Bell Ackerman’s marriage to Mr. Howard Turner has just been announced. The wedding took place in Jersey City on the thirteenth of last month. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Dodd Ackerman, formerly of Rockville Centre, and a Packer girl of the class of 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Turner will reside at 275 Ocean Avenue” (Brooklyn Life, Oct. 17, 1917, Vol. LVI, No. 1441, page 15). She later remarried and was listed as Mrs. Fred Barrett at the time of her father’s passing.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

Philip Dodd Ackerman (1875-1963) was an actor, scenic artist, designer and producer. He became an extremely well-known and well-respected Broadway designer, and has numerous entries in the Broadway Database (https://www.ibdb.com/). Ackerman is credited with ninety-one productions from 1897-1939, but this is just a small percentage of his work throughout the duration of his career.

In 1929, the “Daily News” announced, “P. Dodd Ackerman who has created the settings for 800 productions intends to become a full-fledged producer. He is reported to have been the nameless angel of more than one show, but now he comes out in the open and announces that he will stage “Montana Fury” by David Davidson, jr. It is all about an idiot hill-billy, and the role will fall to Barry McCollum. Ackerman’s 800 scenic production is A. H. Wood’s German play, ‘Hokus Pokus.’ His first play was Harrison Gray Fisk’s “The Privateer” (NY, 28 Jul 1929 page 162).

Philip Ackerman is quite an interesting character, and possibly one of the more fascinating personalities that I have encountered to date. The 1880 US Federal census listed the Ackerman family living in Mobile, Alabama. At the time, Joseph Ackerman (b. 1848) was a salesman. His wife Frances and two young sons, Philip and Earle, were living with him. Joseph came from a relatively large family, one of eight children born to Joseph Chandler Ackerman (1812-1867) and Sophia Belinda Vanburen (1821-1892). Joseph Ackerman was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1848. At the age of twenty-six, he married Frances T. Dibble in 1874. Philip was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 16, 1875, Phillip was the son of Joseph Van Buren Ackerman (1848-1882) and Frances T. Dibble (1842-1916). Two years later, his brother Earle Van Buren Ackerman arrived was born in Pensacola, Florida, on July 29, 1877. E A. Akerman (1877-1970) also became a scenic artist. There is no indication of how, or why, the world of theater beckoned both sons, luring each to New York. However, when they entered the scenic art profession opportunities were abundant and financial prospects high.

Ackerman became a scenic artist when he was about twenty years old. Typically, scenic artists began their careers at the ages of sixteen or seventeen. Later advertisements suggested that his studio was founded in 1890, but the 1892 New York Census listed Ackerman’s trade as a “gilder”; he was seventeen at the time  It is possible that he took an interest in painting and art in 1890, but wouldn’t enter the theatre for another five or six years. Ackerman repeatedly cited that his first stage show was “The Privateer” Harrison Gray Fiske. Lew Morrison purchased Fiske’s melodrama in 1895 with the intent to produce it the following season (The Richmond Item, 18 Feb 1895, page 3). By 1897, Fiske took Morrison and Abram to court for violation of their contract with “The Privateer,” citing that they failed to provide “adequate scenery and a competent company” (Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY, 22 Aug. 1897, page 15). Fiske asked for a temporary injunction for Morrison and Abram to have the opportunity to live up to their contract. Therefore, Ackerman either delivered scenery for the failed attempt in 1896 or the revised production in 1897.

Regardless, 1897 was a turning point for Ackerman. He married Marguerite “Margaret” Meyer in Manhattan, New York on July 16, 1897.  At twenty-two years old he was rapidly making a name for himself, and soon became associated with the Empire and Novelty Theatres. The couple celebrated the birth of one daughter by 1899, Emma Bella Ackerman. At the time, the small family was living in Brooklyn, New York.

In 1898 Ackerman painted special scenery for the James-Kidder-Warde Company’s productions of “The School for Scandal.” When the three-star combination toured Lexington, “The Morning Herald” reported, “Special scenery from the brush of Mr. P. Dodd Ackerman, scenic artist for the Empire Theatre, New York, has prepared for all of the plays” (Lexington, 29 Oct. 1898). That year Ackerman also painted scenery for the “A Fair Rebel” at the Novelty Theatre. The “All the scenery necessary for the production has been under the direction of P. Dodd Ackerman” (The Brooklyn Citizen, 4 Dec. 1898, page 10).

By 1899, “The Gazette” described Dodd’s scenic contribution to Howard Hall’s “A Soldier of the Empire” (Montreal, 21 Sept. 1899, page 5). The review reported, “The costuming is of the Directoire fashion, while the elaborate scenic investiture is perfection of the artist’s skill. The latter is by P. Dodd Ackerman whose work for the Frohman productions, particularly “Under the Red Robe,” called for so much praise in the past.

At the turn of the century, newspapers refereed to the scenic artist as “that international famous artist, P. Dodd Ackerman” during his work for “The Honest Blacksmith” (Courier-News, Bridgeport, NJ, 8 Nov. 1900, page 2). During this same time, he was also responsible designing scenery for the revival of “M’liss,” a comedy drama of western life, produced by A. J. Spencer of Jacob Litt’s office (Democrat and Chronicle, 13 May 1900, page 14). Ackerman was quickly becoming a rising star in the scenic art world.

The 1900 US Federal Census listed Ackerman as an artist and living at 878 Driggs Avenue I Brooklyn, NY. That year, he briefly partnered with Homer F. Emens to deliver scenery for the production of “Aria” at the Columbia Theatre (Evening Star, Washington, D.C., 17 March 1900, page 20). Reviews noted, “’Aria’ is to be very big scenically, and the picturesque settings by Homer Emens and P. Dodd Ackerman.” The partnership continued into 1901 with the pair designing and painting scenery for “The Power Behind the Throne” (Brattleboro Reformer, 17 Sept. 1901, page 1).

By the fall of 1901, Ackerman was again working solo with assistants. The “Brooklyn Citizen” noted that Ackerman and his “assistants” were the scenic artists for the Orpheum theatre, and delivering scenery for all the upcoming shows at the Gotham Theatre, formerly the Brooklyn Music Hall, after its renovation (15 Sept. 1901, page 10). They were responsible for new scenery. He also designed scenery for the Elite Stock Company’s production  “All the Comforts of Home” (The Brooklyn Citizen, 10 Nov. 1901, page 10), as well as scenery for “Russian Serfs,” a melodrama dealing with the Crimean War (The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 29 Dec, 1901, page 16).

In 1902, business was going so well, that Ackerman bought a house on Warwick Street in Brooklyn from Catherine Rose (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 18, Jan 1902, page 16). “The Buffalo Review” reported “Four complete sets” for “The Lily and the Prince” were being painted by Homer Emens, P. Dodd Ackerman, L. W. Seavey and Church & Wheeler (17 Feb 1902, page 5).

It was in 1902 that Ackerman formed a partnership with Lemuel L. Graham, Thomas G. Moses’ former business partner. Purchasing a studio on Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. The property was described as “s w s, 100 n w n e 56.3; John C. Schenck to Philip D. Ackerman and Lemuel L. Graham” (The Standard Union, 13 Aug. 1902, page 10).  By July 1903, ownership of the property was transferred from Graham to Ackerman (The Standard Union, 22 Jul 1903, page 10), effectively forming the P. Dodd Ackerman Studio. The same property would be transferred to Louis Jacobs by 1904 (Time Union, 4 May 1904, page 13), yet Ackerman’s business address would remain the same.

1903 productions with scenery by Ackerman included “Mayor and The Judge” – with the Scranton “Tribune” reporting the show was “painted by the celebrated artist P. Dodd Ackerman of New York City” (The Tribune, Scranton, 9 Dec. 1902, page 6). Ackerman was also credited with the Gotham Theatre production “Pearl of Savoy” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 20 April 1902, page 52), the Elite Theatre Company’s “The Unknown” (16 March 1902, page 24); “Tracy the Outlaw” (Brooklyn Citizen, 5 Oct. 1902, page 16); “Beacon Lights” (Times Union, 8 March 1902, page 17); “A Rough Rider’s Romance” (Brooklyn Citizen, 22 Feb 1903, page 16)’ “Deserted at the Altar” (Times Union, Brooklyn, 14 Nov. 1903, page 13); and “The Lost Paradise (The Standard Union, Brooklyn, 18 Jan. 1903, page 15). When “Deserted at the Altar” appeared at the Novelty Theatre, newspapers reported, “P. Dodd Ackerman, the celebrated scenic artis, worked three solid months on scenery for the ‘Deserted at the Altar’” The Fall River Daily Herald, 28 Nov. 1903, page 2).

That same year P. Dodd Ackerman was listed as the scenic artist for both the Gotham and Orpheum Theatres in Brooklyn, NY (The Brooklyn Citizen, 22 Feb. 1903). He advertised in “Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide” under “P. Dodd Ackerman, Scenic Artist” adding, “now occupying my large Studio building devoted exclusively to this business.” Ackerman’s business address was still listed as 1576 to 1580 Bushwick Ave. He advertised, “Productions carefully prepared and models designed from Author’s descriptions,” offering “estimates gladly furnished for both Painting and Constructing scenery, properties, electrical apparatus, etc.” Ackerman expanded his firm the next year, changing the name to “P. Dodd Ackerman & Co.” The company was advertised as “Scenic Artists and Constructors.”

1904, the scenery for Burlington’s New Theatre was credited by P. Dodd Ackerman & Co., of Brooklyn, NY (Burlington Clipper, 15 October 1904, page 5). By 1905 the firm’s services included “Electrical scenic productions for parks, etc. scenery for theatres, halls and exhibitions, act drops and asbestos curtains, fireproof scenery and storage.”

In 1905, Ackerman transferred the Warwick St. home to his wife, Margaret M. Ackerman (Times Union, 6 May 1905, page 9). This is likely the year that marriage troubles accelerated for the young couple. Yet their marriage seemed to struggle along for another decade. That same year, P. Dodd Ackerman’s studio and the studio of Gates and Morange delivered scenery for “The Lightning Conductor” (Courier-News, Bridgewater, 18 Dec. 1905, page 4). In 1906, the “Greensboro Dispatch” reported P. Dodd Ackerman was part of a team dispatched to Alaska’s Klondyke country to gather images of atmosphere and scenes for “The One Woman” (17 Oct, 1906, page 8) – “The hunters after atmosphere and scenes spent three weeks wandering about the Alaska goldfields and returned to New York City with enough stuff for half a dozen shows…The three scenes in Alaska are actual sketches from life and will be recognized by many who have visited the Klondyke. The electrical effects, which include the play of the aurora borealis on the sky, and its reflection on the snow-capped mountains, the lurid gleams of red and blue lights on glaciers and the snow drifts, the curtain of light, the Alaskan cloud effect, the sun shining at midnight, and the prayer fires of the Esquimaux, or ‘witch lights,’ as the miners call them – with the usual stage lights make an unusual equipment.” The stage electrician that went on the trip was Charles Hayman.”

On Aug. 24, 1907, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle listed P. Dodd Ackerman’s purchase of a new home from Edwin G. Wright in Nassau County, in Riverside Park, Rockville Centre (page 20). By 1910 Ackerman moved to Hempstead, New York. He seems to have been living with his wife and daughter again; daughter Emma was eight years old at the time.

By 1911, the studios of Ackerman and John H. Young delivered scenery for Paul Wilstach’s dramatic version of “Thais” (The Gazette, York, Penn, 14 Feb 1911, page 9). John H. Young was also a close friend and colleague of Moses whom I have covered extensively in past posts. By his point in his career, Young was also a well-known and well-respected Broadway Designer.

In 1912 the “Washington Herald” reported Ackerman’s involvement with “The Chimes of Normandy.” The article reported, “Edward Temple, formerly stage director of the new York Hippodrome, had staged the production, while Reisig, late of the Metropolitan Opera and P. Dodd Ackerman have built the succession of cyclorama scenes, and the armor and costumes have been imported from France especially for this production (20 Oct 1912, page 22). “The scenes have been built on a cyclorama plan” (Burlington Free Press, 22 Sept. 1913, page 6).

Then there was a decided shift; a shift in his life, his marriage and his career. It is not that he began failing in his career, but his love life became quite complicated.

By 1914, Ackerman partnered with his brother E. A. Ackerman, establishing Ackerman Brothers Scenic Studio. Previously, brother Earle was also running his own studio, renting the old Harley Merry space in Flatbush until it burned to the ground in 1911. The 1914 “Gus Hill’s Theatrical Directory,” included an advertisement for Ackerman Bros. The ad stated, “scenery painted and constructed,” also offering “motion picture settings.” Their studio was listed on Bushwick Ave.

This is about the time when everything changes for Ackerman and his first wife; their marriage appears to start falling apart, with their separation making the newspapers by 1916. That will be a separate post tomorrow.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

The scenic art world was small in 1920. Then, just as now, personalities circled around one another as if dancers at a ball, occasionally changing partners along the way. Today’s post is about P. Dodd Ackerman, a friend and colleague of Thomas G. Moses who made the papers in 1920. The next few posts will explore the life and career of P. D. Ackerman and his brother E. A. Ackerman.

On Feb. 29, 1920, Ackerman was featured in a “New York Tribune” the newspaper article. The headline for the article announced, “Work of the Scenic Artist Has Advanced Materially Says P. Dodd Ackerman” (New York Tribune, 29 Feb 1920, page 34). The most interesting section of the article for me was the section: “Theatrical managers are now accepting designs from men who do not make the scenery. Ackerman does not believe in this and has come to be one of the pioneers in coming out against the practice. He believes that the man who is the artist, who is practical, who understands stagecraft and has education can do the type of work now required in the theater, although he has been a member of the old school of stage design.” Times were changing and the scenic world was turning upside down with the appearance of designers without a full understanding of stagecraft.”Here is the article in its entirety, as it provides an interesting perspective of the scenic art world in 1920, viewed from a member of the “old school”:

“J. E. Dodson, the English character actor in the late Charles Frohman’s companies, liked stage interiors to match the socks he wore. When P. Dodd Ackerman and Ed Unitt, the scenic artists with the producer, were at work on scenery for a new play he would come up, show them his socks and say:‘Boys, be sure to get the right shade for these.’“Now Ackerman has a very different problem. He is trying to design a room which will be the setting for the three acts of Max Marcin’s new play, ‘Three Live Ghosts.” It must not be ornate, it must not be highly furnished and yet it must hold the interest of the audience throughout the play.‘Sounds very simple, doesn’t it?’ he asked in the office of his studio opposite of the Metropolitan Opera House. ‘Yet I have been going about for ten days trying to dream of just the right room.’In these two instances there is summed up the advance in scenic art, an advance which has come in the last six or eight years, starting in Europe. When Dodson was acting and even years after his retirement, stage decorations were supposed to be reproductions of nature or of a locality or room. They were copied line for line, and the element of imagination, although present, did not enter into the designing of the scenery. Simplicity and suggestion are the keynotes of modern stage designing. Imagination is called upon, both the imagination of the artist and the imagination of the audience, and much is only hinted at, sometimes very faintly. Big, blank wall spaces are being used and are believed to be more decorative than the highly ornate hangings of a few years ago.Scene painters until four or five years ago, designed, created and made the scenery themselves Theatrical managers are now accepting designs from men who do not make the scenery. Ackerman does not believe in this and has come to be one of the pioneers in coming out against the practice. He believes that the man who is the artist, who is practical, who understands stagecraft and has education can do the type of work now required in the theater, although he has been a member of the old school of stage design.‘Many studios have allowed managers to hand them so-called designs and have made them possible through their efforts,’ he said. ‘The man who did only the very primitive part of the work got all the credit and the studios were never heard of. But it meant an income to them and they were satisfied. I have consistently refused work with any except of my own designs, and I have had a hard battle to convince managers that a man with an established reputation in the old school can change the order of things and do the new. How many theatergoers who laugh at the situations and admire the acting give even a moment’s consideration to the thought, the time and the expense of the stage decorations which often help make or ruins a production? It is doubtful of the ratio is more than one in ten.Briefly Mr. Ackerman, who has designed and built scenery for many Winter Garden productions, for ‘The Magic Melody’ and ‘The Passions Flower,’ now current on Broadway; for ‘Le Coq d’Or,’ at the Metropolitan and many other plays, described the steps leading from the manuscript to the completion of the scenery and its erection of the stage.The manuscript is turned over to the scenic artist, and frequently the playwright confers with him and suggests what he desires to bring out in various scenes. After reading the manuscript and noting the locale or setting, the artist designs the scenes in colored studies. These are submitted to a manager and at a conference at which the author, the stage director and the artist are present, they are discussed and either accepted or rejected.‘Sometimes it is necessary to make a great many studies before one is accepted. It is just like writing a play or a story. You might hit it at the first attempt, or you might have to wrote and rewrite until you are successful,’Models, drawn to scale and planned as carefully as houses, are made from the sketches and are also submitted. When they are passed, working drawings for the builders are made, and they are charged with determining the mechanical details of the work. For example, every piece of scenery must be no more than five feet ten inches in width in order to make railway transportation of the sets possible. The scenes are usually all fitted up before the painters start on them, and when completed are set up in the theater by the mechanic who built them from the plans, usually not until the day of the dress rehearsal.‘Lighting is a very important element,’ Mr. Ackerman said, ‘and I stipulate in every contract that I make that it must be under my supervision. I know the play, and working with the stage director it is possible to bring out the desired effects. Stage lighting, I find, is largely a matter of patience and experiment. In costume plays, it is necessary to have the actors on the stage during the experiments to see the effect of the lights on their costumes.The average time necessary to design and build the scenery for a play is from six to eight weeks, but seldom is enough time given.‘It is necessary then to think quickly and have a great source of knowledge at the tips of one’s fingers,’ Mr. Ackerman continued.To prepare for his work, Mr. Ackerman studied at the Art Students League, at Cooper Union, and Beaux Arts in Paris. He has also traveled and read extensively. Ed Unitt and he were the artists for the late Charles Frohman, and this, he says, was the best job he ever had.Through the lofty-ceilinged studio he led the way. Huge canvases, many colored, were stretched out on frames, waiting for the artist’s brush. Yet no scaffolds or ladders were visible. Simply by pulling a rope, which adjusts a system of weights, it is possible for one man to place the gigantic easel in any position he desires.‘Scenery,’ he concluded, ‘must be a background. When it gets beyond a background, then it is stage scenery. It should never intrude so much that the audience overlooks the play, the costumes or the people on the stage.”

To place Ackerman within the context of the Thomas G. Moses story, both Moses and Ackerman partnered with the same artist – L. L. Graham. In 1882, Thomas G. Moses left the Sosman & Landis Studio for the first time. He partnered with Lemuel L. Graham for just over a year. Graham later partnered with P. Dodd Ackerman in Brooklyn, New York. Their studio building was at 1576 to 1580 Bushwick Ave, New York. They purchased the Brooklyn lot in August 1902. By this time, Moses was also working in New York and had partnered with William F. Hamilton, forming Hamilton & Moses.I will continue to explore the life and career of Ackerman in tomorrow’s post.To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

Sosman & Landis provided scenery for the show “Polly and Her Pals” in 1920. On Nov. 22, 1920, the “The Item” reported:

“Polly and Her Pals.

“Musical comedy has improved wonderfully in the past few years, but ‘Polly and Her Pals,’ the George M. Gatts production is the biggest step forward from an artistic musical standpoint, that musical comedy has seen in many months. The book was written by John P. Mulgrew, the author of many celebrated Broadway successes. The scenery is the work of Sosman & Landis, Gowns by Madames Hickson and Orange. It was staged by Virgil Bennett. Musical comedy depends on first a good book and then a good score, and in Hampton Durand, George M. Gatts secured a composer internationally famous. In ‘Polly and Her Pals’ will be found lilting airs from the pen of Mr. Harry Hume, and include ‘Underneath a Southern Moon,’ ‘In that Quaint Old Town of Algiers,’ ‘Little Miss Chatterbox,’ ‘A Wonder What Father saw at the Seashore,’ ‘Different Eyes,’ ‘That Typical Topical Tune,’ ‘The Polar Bear Shiver,’ ‘An Old Fashioned Bride,’ and ‘What a Wonderful Girl You Are.’” (Sumter, South Carolina, 22 Nov. 1920, page 6).

Like Gatts’ “Katzenjammer Kids” production, “Polly and Her Pals” was based on an American comic strip by cartoonish Cliff Sterett. Debuting as “Positive Polly” on Dec. 4, 1912, the comic strip’s title was changed to “Polly and Her Pals” by Jan. 17, 1913. “Polly and Her Pals” was the first single feature with the same characters to run six days a week and as a Sunday page (Hamilton Evening Journal, 21 Nov. 1925, page 24). The cartoon told the adventures of Polly, Delicia, Aunt Maggie, Ashur, Ma, Pa, the valet Neewah and the family Puss. Raleigh’s “News and Observer” reported, “The plot of Polly and Her Pals is the same that has been featured in the conventional musical comedy since the invention of that form of entertainment. The first act drags, as the first act of most such comedies do, but toward the finish a lot of pep is injected into the proceedings that leaves one with the impression that ‘Polly and Her Pals’ isn’t halfway bad. While it can’t be said that Polly and Her Pals ranks with the best attractions of musical comedy of the season, there is no doubt about the fact that the motto of the cast is ‘We strive to please,’ and that is at least something in favor of the production” (9 Nov. 1920, page 7).

Jean Irwin played the title role of Polly, with Clyde T. Kerr as the love interest, Francis Lieb, the ambassador from Hitchy Koo. Johnny Philliber and Clara Coleman played Pa and Ma Perkins.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

After a two-week break, I am back to the life and times of Thomas G. Moses. To recap, in 1918 Moses resigned as the president of Sosman & Landis. He initially worked for New York Studios and then left to join Chicago Studios. However, both were short lived, as by the spring of 1920, Moses was back at Sosman & Landis. We he returned to the studio, Moses agreed to only an annual contract. The same spring that Moses returned, Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio was credited with scenery for the Redpath Chautauqua’s production of “H. M. S. Pinafore.”

Annual Chautauqua events, or tent shows, were held in cities across the country during the spring and summer, featuring programs with all types of entertainment that ranged from popular Broadway shows and orchestra concerts to magicians and lecturers. During its peak, some 12,000 communities hosted a Chautauqua. The Redpath Chautauqua was massive circuit with hundreds of shows and thousands of entertainers. Although there were many Chautauqua agencies that contracted entertainers and lecturers, one of the most notable was the Redpath agency.

The “Newberry Weekly” included a picture of the 1920 Redpath Chautauqua production with the caption, “A feature of the coming Redpath Chautauqua here will be the presentation of a complete production of the famous Gilbert and Sullivan light opera ‘Pinafore,’ with special lighting and scenic effects, the scenery having been built especially for the Redpath production by Sosman & Landis, noted scenic artists of Chicago” (Newberry, South Carolina, May 4, 1920, page 3).

The “Bedford Daily” reported, “Three seasons ago the Redpath management presented a complete production of ‘The Mikado; which was so enthusiastically received that Chautauqua patrons have ever since been asking for another Gilbert and Sullivan opera”(5 June 1920, page 2). “The Mikado” production had also boasted scenery by Sosman & Landis. In 1917, a company of thirty, selected in part from the Chicago Grand Opera Company, had performed “The Mikado.” For more information about the Redpath Chautauqua Circuit and “The Mikado” tour, see past post 967 (https://drypigment.net2020/04/21/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-part-967-the-redpath-chautauquas-mikado-1917/).

By 1920, Sosman & Landis contracts ran the gamut, from tent shows to charity balls. Although Moses returned in April, he and his wife left for a 40-day western vacation that summer. Of his trip, he wrote, “We left for the West August 19^th…Arrived home on September 28^th, having been gone forty days, it was certainly some trip… It took me a few days before I was I the harness again, and working just the same as I did before I left two years ago.  Landis and I got out after business within a few days after my arrival and succeeded in landing a few good ones.  I started to do some painting but it did not last long, as I had too much other business to do.  I found the conditions altogether different from what I supposed them to be – too much overhead.  It will be awfully hard to keep up the output to balance it all I was very well pleased to learn that from September 1^st, we made a profit of $12,000.00 before January 1^st.  I am afraid we will use it all up before spring.”

He would remain on annual contract. In 1921 wrote, “we had a director’s meeting and it was settled that I remain at $8,000.00 a year.”   The monetary equivalent of an $8,000 annual salary in 1920 is approximately $103,000.00 today.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

From August 9 to 24 I painted a grand teaser (border) and two grand tormentors (legs) at the University of Minnesota in Duluth for the Sanderson Arts Centre in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. The three pieces form a portal, reducing the proscenium opening from 50 feet wide to 25 feet wide for more intimate performances, with trim heights ranging from 14 feet to 18 feet. Although the design was finalized and all materials ordered in June, the project became delayed when the paint space became unavailable due to COVID-related concerns. At the beginning of August, the space was again available for my original timeframe, now only a week away. Everything shifted into high gear as I planned for an Aug. 9 start. The rental was only possible if I worked there completely solo and constantly wore a mask; so, the unloading of supplies, setting up the space, unfolding drops, snapping lines, and handling bending sticks was just me. Keep in mind that the sizes of the scenic pieces were 54’w x 12’h (teaser) and the two torms at 19’w x 20’h 9 (legs); still doable by a single person, but just unpleasant.

I left Minneapolis on Sunday, August 9 at 6:15AM in the morning. By 9AM I was unloading all of my supplies into the humid shop and jumped into the project. The days were a blur of 12-hr. to 14-hr. days. I finished the teaser on August 19 and the two torms on August 21. August 22 was a day for tweaking, with my final day in the space reserved for clean-up. The drops shipped on Monday, August 24. I returned to Minneapolis last night after my fifteen-day absence. In regard to the logistics of the project, the border was painted on the main stage floor and the legs on the motorized paint frame. Being able to paint all three pieces simultaneously was the plan, as I could shift from one piece to another, allowing for ample dry time. It also meant that I was able to shift position constantly, something that is incredibly helpful when physically doing a long stretch.

I can’t wait to see how to pieces look in place as this is a permanent installation. More later.

For the next two weeks, I am taking a break from my blog to complete an out-of-town painting project. I will return to posting on Aug. 24, 2020.

This spring I designed a permanent portal for the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  The next two weeks will be spent painting the three pieces. Based on historical samples and color palettes, the drops are quite large, and intended to reduce the 50’ proscenium opening for more intimate performances. The top piece (Grand Border) measures 12’h x 54’w and will be painted down. The side pieces (Grand Tormentors), 20’h x 18’w, will be painted up, on a vertical frame. I will post the process photos upon completion. 

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1920 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Walter Moses went to Colorado Springs in June to sketch and invited the Madam and I to call on him, which we will do…We left for the West August 19^th.  As I have written the trip up very fully in my travelogues, I will not repeat it here.  Arrived home on September 28^th, having been gone forty days, it was certainly some trip.”

Walter Farrington Moses (1874-1947) was his half-brother, and a well-known American Landscape painter.

The Wikipedia entry for Walter notes the following: “After studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he founded the Art Craft Club of Chicago in 1916 and was art director of Vogue Studios. He was an instructor at the Fashion School of Illustrating in Chicago. He was the author-illustrator of Artistic Anatomy and managing director of the California Art Club in 1922. A prolific plein air painter, his works are infused with light and air and captured the unspoiled beauty of Southern California of the 1920s and 1930s. He settled in Los Angeles in 1922 and founded the Art Guild Academy in 1930 where he taught for many years. He lived in Eagle Rock, California until his death on October 25, 1947. Moses signed his paintings using various variations of his name, including Walter Farrington Moses, Walter Farrington, W. Farrington, Farrington, Moses, Farrington Moses, W.F. Moses and Walton. Here is a link to some of his work previously sold at auction: https://www.invaluable.com/artist/moses-walter-farrington-kosq2fakok/sold-at-auction-prices/

Walter was the second of two sons born to Lucius Moses from his second marriage to Adeline G. Moses (sometimes spelled Adaline). She was eighteen years younger than Lucius, born on April 17, 1874.  Walter primarily grew up in Chicago after his parents left the small town of Sterling.  In Chicago, Lucius ran a grocery store. At the time Walter lived with his father, mother, brother Kirke, and much older half-sister, who was an actress.

On June 7, 1899, Walter married Florence S. Babcock in Kankakee, Illinois. The couple raised two children, Horace J. and Edith S.  The 1910 census listed Walter as a commercial artist, living in Kankakee.  His mother was living with them too at the age of 75.

There is so much information about Walter out there; really too much to fit in a single post. On Oct. 15, 1916 Moses placed an ad in the “Chicago Tribune.” The want ad noted, “ARTIST _ A firm in Toronto, Canada, operating a complete publishing plants, desires the services of a high grade designer – one who is capable of earning $75 a week; must have had experience in preparation of dummies for catalogues, folders, etc. For further particulars see MR. WALTER F. MOSES, Commercial Art School, 116 S. Michigan-av.” (Chicago Tribune 15 Oct 1916, page 64).

Walter’s WWI Draft Registration card listed his occupation as “Art Prop. School,” and his employer’s name as “Commercial Art School” at 116 S. Michigan Ave in Chicago. In 1918, his physical description noted that Walter was short, of medium build, with brown eyes and gray hair. Walter was 44 years old at the time. His residence was at 317 N. Humphrey St. in Oak Park, nine blocks away from his older brother.

By 1919, Walter Moses placed an ad in the “Chicago Tribune:”

ARTIST.

Figure man, capable of doing commercial illustrating: $5,000 per year guaranteed, with opportunity of making $6,000 or $7,000; out of town position, Apply to Walter F. Moses. Commercial Art School. 116 S. Michigan” (Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 1919, page 20).

The 1920 census still listed Walter living in Oak Park and working as a landscape artist. He and his older brother lived in the same area, and both were well-known for their painted landscapes.

At the beginning of 1921, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Walter Moses called and we talked over our plans for the coming summer at Colorado Springs and Manito, where we expect to clean up a fortune on small pictures besides getting some sketches around Pike’s Peak.”

Later in 1921, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “December 13^th the Madam and I were on our way to Kansas City where we put in a day, then on our way to Los Angeles where we arrived early Saturday morning.  Spent the day with Walter Moses and family.”

After working in Tacoma in 1922, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “On completion of our work, we went to Oakland for a day’s visit with Walter and family, the we proceeded on our way to Los Angeles.”

In 1924, Moses wrote, “I went over to see Walter and family.  September 1^st we went out on a sketching trip and I certainly enjoyed it very much.. Had a delightful Christmas day at Walters.”

By 1929, the “Los Angeles Times” reported that Walter Moses was teaching “short cuts in business” for artists (27 Jan. 1929, page 64). The article announced, “Guild Academy Offers Students Practical Aid in Learning Profession. An Unusually interesting offer to students who wish to make commercia art their profession is offered by the Art Guild Academy. Under this offer young artists are given the privilege of testing their drawing ability without charge for the tuition. The test includes life and illustrative drawing and creative subjects in art fundamentals. After the test the students are frankly advised as to just what their possibilities for us success are in commercial art. This development in commercial art which is offered by the academy has been built and is personally directed under Walter F. Moses. The Art Guild Academia is aware that this is a commercial and industrial era and its entire curriculum is composed of subjects for which there is demand. It’s training leads directly to the most desirable branches of commercial art. The training of the academy appeals only to the student who wishes to enter the field professionally. The course offers a thorough study of the practical application of art in the commercial world. The aim of the school is to fit students for commercial artists without serving student apprenticeship. A feature of this course is that the lessons are all illustrated and printed for the convenience of students who wish to do additional work at home.”

In 1930, the Academy was still going strong. The “Los Angeles Times” reported, “Training of young men and women for good positions in the practical commercial art profession is the aim of the Art Guild Academy, 2405 West Sixth Street, according Walter F. Moses, founder and principal of the institution” (26 Jan. 1930, page 55). One of Moses’ more successful students was Herb Schmidt (Hi-Desert Star, Yucca Valley, California, 7 Jun 1978, page 20). He certainly made his mark in the fine art world.

Walter passed away on Oct. 25, 1947, thirteen years after his older brother Tom.

The “Los Angeles Times” published his obituary on Oct. 28, 1947:

Walter F. Moses

Funeral Rites for Walter Farrington Moses, 72, landscape artist, of 5215 Rockland Ave., will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. today in the Wee Kirk o’ the Heather Forest Lawn Memorial-Park. Mr. Moses died Saturday at Queen of Angels Hospital. He has been a resident of Los Angeles since 1927, coming here from Chicago where he founded the Commercial Art School. The artist established the Art Guild Academy here. The artist leaves his widow, a son Horace, daughter, Mrs. Edith M. Wills, and a brother.”

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1920 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Sister Lucia passed away on June 23^rd, and I had about an hour to get ready to make the trip to Woonsocket, R.I., after a good deal of hard work.  I got down and back very quickly.  Frank and Pitt came over to the funeral.  I went home with Pitt and remained overnight.  Left on Sunday.  Arrived in Chicago early Monday ready for a hustle.”

In a 1932 letter to his son Pitt, Moses wrote, “While I hope to enjoy a few more years of painting, the sudden passing of Illie, Frank and Lucia has forced me to realize that I have only a few more years at the most and when I do pass out, I want to feel that my life has not been wasted, and my work will live on for many years after I am gone.”

Lucia but also kept a diary, an 85-page book that she described as “My special occasions diary . . . a record, not of every day’s trivial round, but the events in each year which most express the general tenor of our lives.” She made entries from 1898 until the time of her death in 1920. Lucia is included in “A Guide to Women’s Diaries in the Manuscript Collection of the Rhode Island Historical Society Library,” edited by Rick Stattler. Her brother Tom is repeatedly mentioned in some of the excerpts posted online.

Although I have written about it before, here is a little background on the Moses family. Lucia was part of the first family, born to Lucius Manlius Moses and Mary W. Titcomb Moses. After Mary’s death, he remarried and fathered two more children with his second wife.

Capt. L. M. Moses was born in Great Falls, New Hampshire, in 1823. A sea captain and part owner in the ships that he sailed, he was the son of a sailor -Theodore Bland Moses, a merchant marine. Capt. Moses’ last ship was a bark built by William Hanscom in 1833.  Of the ship, Thomas Moses recorded, “The wonderful full rigged ship ‘Pactolus’ was handed over to another Master, much regretted by my Father, for he loved saltwater and sailing.  As I do sketching and painting, I am afraid I inherited some of his roving disposition.” The family sailed as far as east India, and as far south as Rio de Janeiro. Both Lucia and Thomas Moses were born at sea. Moses’ diary records that that his father was fortunate in the fact that he was allowed to bring his family along on seas voyages. Life on the sea, however, was never without tragedy. Two of the Moses’ children died while at sea, their first son Lucius and their daughter Kate.  The remaining children were Lucia Gray (1854), Thomas Gibbs (1856), Frank Deming (1858), and Illinois “Illie” Mary (1860). Capt. Moses then married his second wife, Adeline (Adaline) Gowen, Fifteen years his junior, the family increased in size again, with the births of Kirk W.  and Walter D. Moses.

Capt. Moses was a sea captain for twenty-two years. He left the sea in 1859, selling his interests in the ships and moving his family inland.  They headed west and eventually settled in small town of Sterling, Illinois. The “Sterling Daily Gazette” reported Lucius Moses to be “one of several old New England sea captains who settled in Whiteside county” (Dec. 13, 1927, page 2). The newspaper article also recounted, “A number of older residents of Sterling remember the Moses family. John Dundon’s father sold his first residence here to Mr. Moses when the family came here,  and Mr. Dundon went to school with the two Moses boys and their sister, Grace Moses.” “Grace” Moses, was actually Lucia Gray Moses, who went by “Gray” when she was young

I know that I have mentioned this before, but it is extremely difficult to track down a woman’s history because their names are constantly changing.  It is like they disappear when their name becomes erased and replaced with another. For example, when Lucia Gray Moses married her husband, she did not just get a new last name; that would have made it easy.  At first, she was listed as Mrs. Lucia Gray Cook, Mrs. Lucia G. Cook, and Mrs. L. G. Cook.”  Later the initial of her middle name even changes; “G,” is replaced with “M” to signify her maiden name of Moses – Mrs. Lucia M. Cook.  In other cases her entire birthname is completely dropped, and she is solely noted as Mrs. Stephen R. Cook, or Mrs. Stephen Cook.  Now if you throw in a nickname, like Grace or Gray, it becomes even more difficult. Or when an individual goes by their middle name, it is doubly hard. Even my husband goes by his middle name, Andrew, and not first name, George. In 1870, Illie was listed by her middle name of “Mary,” and similarly, Lucia was listed by her middle name, “Gray.” “Grace” was the name used by childhood friends in Sterling.

In Sterling, Illinois, Capt. Lucius Moses established Sterling Hide and Leather Shop with a partner. His business was a successful one and eventually he owned sole interest in the company, also running a tannery and harness shop. On Jan. 2, 1875, the “Sterling Gazette” advertised, “There are two tanneries in the city, one owned by Captain L. M. Moses, both doing good business)  (page 2). He would later move to Chicago and run a grocery store on Randolph Street. His second family was raised in the windy city, a far different experience for his younger sons Kirke and Walter.

Back to Lucia’s story… On Feb. 2, 1883, the “Boston Globe” announced the marriage of Samuel P. Cook and Lucia G. Moses, “both of Woonsocket” (page 3). The couple celebrated the birth of a son (Theodore P.) and daughter (Gertrude N.) In 1900, Samuel Cook was employed as a bank cashier, and the two children ages 14 and 15 were in school. By 1910, Cook was listed as a banker.

The same year as her passing, Lucia was mentioned in “History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Biographical” (NY: The American Historical Society, Inc. 1920). She was part of the entry for her husband:

“SAMUEL PENNY COOK — When a youth of eighteen years, just out of high school, Samuel P. Cook entered the service of the Producers National Bank of Woonsocket.  That was nearly half a century ago, and from the year of his admission, 1870, until the present, 1918, he has known no other business home nor a greater business interest.  This long term of service, eleven years of which has been as president of the bank, coupled with the fact that for a quarter of a century he was city treasurer, has given him a grasp of matters financial and brought him so prominently before the people that his opinions on finance carry the weight of authority. The radical changes made in the banking laws during the past few years, although not at first cheerfully accepted by the financiers of the country, and the problems presented were approached by bankers with characteristic caution, but as their value became apparent and their ability to meet national and international demands was proven, all doubt vanished and the splendid response made by national banks and bankers to the enormous demands made upon their financial resources and upon their patriotism is the best answer to any criticism of either American banking laws or upon the patriotism and good faith of American bankers.  No business has been called upon for greater sacrifice during these years of national stress and storm, and the best thought of the financial world has lent itself to the solution of the war’s financial problems.  As executive head of Woonsocket’s leading bank, Mr. Cook has borne his part in carrying the financial burden imposed upon this city and has as well ably fulfilled his obligations to those who look to the Producers Bank as their source of financial supply…Samuel P. Cook, son of Ariel Lindsey and Mary Harris (Phillips) Cook, was born in Albion, Rhode Island, July 20, 1852.  He attended graded and high schools of Woonsocket until 1870, then entered the employ of the Producers’ National Bank of Woonsocket, that bank having a savings department bearing the same name.  He developed unusual banking ability, and in 1885 was elected cashier of the Producers National Bank and treasurer of the Producers Savings Bank.  He held that office until January 14, 1907, when he was elected president of the Producers National Bank, his present high and responsible office.  He is a thoroughly capable financier, learned in the law of national finance as applied to banking, conservative yet not timid, ready at all times to trust his judgment in financial matters.  For twenty-five years he was treasurer of the city of Woonsocket and his business interests in the city are not inconsiderable. Mr. Cook is a member of the State Banking Association and of other societies, financial in their scope, is a Republican in politics, and an attendant at the First Universalist Church, his club the Squantum Association.  He holds all degrees of York Rite Masonry, belonging to Morning Star Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Union Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and Woonsocket Commandery, Knights Templar.  He is interested in the welfare of his adopted city and is generous in his support of all worthy aims.

Mr. Cook married, in 1883, Lucia G. Moses, and they are the parents of Theodore Phillips, born in Woonsocket, August 7, 1884, now receiving teller of the Producers National Bank, and a daughter, Gertrude Nourse, born April 15, 1886.” Here is the link: http://sites.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/articles/125.html

As I mentioned earlier, Lucia also kept a diary. She is included “A Guide to Women’s Diaries” in the Manuscript Collection of the Rhode Island Historical Society Library (https://www.rihs.org/mssinv/WomenGuide.htm#Intro). The document was originally compiled for a University of Rhode Island seminar in women’s history with Dr. Sharon Strom, April 1997. It was greatly expanded with the help of Rhode Island Historical Society staff and volunteers, June 2004.

Here is the full entry for Thomas G. Moses’ sister, Lucia:

Notes on the Lucia G. (Moses) Cook Diaries

Entries dated 1898 to 1920

Biographical:

Name at birth: Moses, Lucia Gray

Name after marriage: Cook, Lucia G. (Moses)

Birthdate and place: Circa 1854, at sea

Death date and place: Between 1920 and 1928

Age range during diary: 44 – 65

Residence during diary: Woonsocket, RI

Places written: Woonsocket; Digby, Nova Scotia.

Biographical note: Raised in New Hampshire, married a Woonsocket banker, and raised two children there.

Ethnicity: Yankee

Social class: Upper-middle

Background and comments:

Number of volumes: 1

Number of pages: 85

Exact dates: September 23 1898 to January 1 1920

Frequency of entries: Very irregular – perhaps two or three entries per year.

How was author identified?: Label on front cover

Brief description: Describes the diary herself as “My special occasions diary . . . a record, not of every day’s trivial round, but the events in each year which most express the general tenor of our lives.” Most entries are retrospective, covering the events of the past several months.

Writing quality: Generally good, although the handwriting is somewhat difficult.

Related papers at RIHS: Letter written by Lucia to her grandmother, 1868, inserted in diary.

Family members:

Father’s name: Moses, Lucius M.

Father’s occupation: Ship captain, born New Hampshire, died Chicago. Married 2nd: Adeline Gower.

Mother’s name: Titcomb, Mary W.

Mother’s dates: 1825-1861

Brothers: Thomas G. Moses (1856-), Frank D. Moses (1858-), Kirke W. Moses (1871-) (half-brother), Walter F. Moses (1874- ) (half-brother)

Sisters: Illinois Mary (according to genealogy)

Husband’s name: Cook, Samuel P.

Husband’s dates: 1852-1928

Husband’s occupation: President, Producers National Bank of Woonsocket

Marriage date and place: January 31 1883, Boston

Father-in-law’s name: Cook, Ariel L.

Father-in-law’s dates: 1823-1886

Mother-in-law’s name: Phillips, Mary H.

Mother-in-law’s dates: d.1917

Sons: Theodore Phillips Cook (1884-)

Daughters: Gertrude N. Cook (1886-, m. Smith?)

Topical content:

Events discussed: “On this day the awful world war ended, peace was declared! Banks, schools, mills, shops closed, and a joyous pandemonium reigned all day! The awful strain ended. Everyone relaxed!” [11/11/1918]

Social life: On 12/31/1910, “I gave a tea, to which I invited 204 people! Every morning, I was up at five, writing my invitations, and arranging my house. I had a caterer from Providence, and Raia the harpist… People were kind enough to say the affair was a great success.” [4/1910]

Family: On Christmas, “Cousin Theodore was an unexpected but welcome guest… Cousin Theodore spent a week, and left us, as he always does, the richer for the visit, for his outlook on life is broad and uplifting.” [12/25/1898] “I sat before the blazing open fire and read a bundle of my mother’s letter, which Tom sent me. They were written fifty years ago, and I am selfish enough to wish they were going to be mine.” [1/1903] Trouble with mother-in-law: “Mrs. Cook came to make her home with us… Right after X-Mas we began doing over what was my maid’s room for a room for Mrs. Cook…. The winter from then on was hell, no less. My children will know this and if this record falls into other hands I do not care… Mrs. Cook never liked me, and it is the irony of fate that she should have to end her days with me – only I am convinced that I should go first. But one lives through a great deal!” [10/1909] “Mrs. Cook spent the month with Ida Lord. For this relief, much thanks.” [1/1915] Death of mother-in-law on 2/26/1917 [4/12/1917].

Childhood: “Theodore and Gertrude were the best-looking children there – the best – but if they only fulfill the promise of their youth!” [9/13/1903]

Marriage: “My twenty-fifth wedding anniversary! Does anyone who has had a happy married life ever realize how the years slip away like summer clouds!” [1/31/1908]

Health: Lengthy description of diseased glands under daughter’s arm (possibly caused by vaccination) which resisted three operations and took several months to heal, interrupting her freshman year of college. [5/1905]

School: “In August Sam and I decided after grave deliberation to send Theodore to Phillips-Exeter. our chief reason being his lack of self-reliance.” [11/1901] Sends daughter Gertrude to Wellesley College so she can continue her music studies with Mrs. Hamilton. [9/1904] Theodore’s graduation from Exeter “the very happiest week of my life.” [5/1905] Daughter graduates from Wellesley. [4/1911]

Class relations: Trouble with an inexperienced servant: “I had under my elastic roof at one time Tom and Ella, Louise Greene, Horace Holden. Then Ernest Greene and Louise visited me, and they made the welkin ring. It was very hot, and I had a green Norwegian, but I somehow managed.” [6/1906] “The first of November, the axe fell. Mary Dooley, after living here three years, and serving good meals, garnished by a bad temper and lies, departed to live at the Donahoes and cook. With her went domestic peace. From the first of November until the first of June a procession of imbeciles, idiots and incompetents passed through my kitchen – seven in all. Most of the time I was my own chief cook and bottle washer.” [9/1912] “In May I made my usual visit to Dover: when I returned Polish Sofie gave her notice to earn $25 a week in a factory!” [11/11/1918]

Travel: Circa May 1898, “I began to agitate the question of Sam’s going to England. After his many years of faithful service in the bank he badly needed a change of thought and scene. He needed a great deal of persuasion before he could be induced to go.” [9/23/1898] Visits Ogunquit Beach in Maine 8/1900 [11/1900]. Spends a few weeks in Digby, Nova Scotia at second family home called “Bleakside” late each summer.

Geographical and architectural: “We had our first X-Mas celebration in the new house.” [12/25/1898] “Every year I realize more and more that, though transplanted, my roots are deep in New Hampshire soil.” [7/1901] Describes minor house renovations. [5/1902]

Cataloging information:

Catalog number: MSS 9001-C

Collection title: Lucia G. (Moses) Cook Diaries

Location within the collection:

Size: 10″ x 8″

Condition: Excellent

Graphic content: 1920 photograph of Nova Scotia home after final entry.

Provenance: 2002. 43. 2, gift of L.H. Strickland

Cataloged by Rick Stattler, July 2002

Bibliography:

Moses, Zebina. Historical Sketches of John Moses of Plymouth…, 219. Hartford: Casey, Lockwood & Brainard, 1890

Woonsocket directories, 1920-1928

1920 U.S. Census, Rhode Island E.D. 336, page 11

Subject headings:

Nova Scotia – Description and travel

Woonsocket, R.I. – Social life and customs

If you happen to visit, Lucia’s diary is in MSS 9001-C Box 12.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1920 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Early in June I went to Fox Lake to see about tearing down the club houses and moving them to another place… I go up to Fox Lake every Saturday, looking after the house and I hope to complete it on time.”

Moses was back at Sosman & Landis after two tumultuous years of working for New York Studios and Chicago Studios.  He was constantly suffering from headaches much of the time and had all but six teeth extracted. Yet he made time to visit and work on the Palette & Chisel Club’s house on Fox Lake. In two years, he would lose interest and begin focusing on the west coast.

In 1904, Moses became a member of the Salmagundi Club in New York, sponsored by R. M. Shurtleff.  Moses joined the Palette & Chisel Club when he was 50 years old in 1906.

Founded in 1895, the Palette & Chisel Club was an association of artists and craftsmen for the purpose of work and study. The organization’s members were reported to be “all wage-workers, busy during the week with pencil, brush or chisel, doing work to please other people” (Inland Printer, 1896). But on Sunday mornings, they assembled for five hours to paint for themselves.

In 1905, the members of the Palette and Chisel Club established a seasonal camp at Fox Lake, Illinois.

In 1906 Moses wrote, “I joined the Palette and Chisel Club at the Chicago Society of Artists.  I don’t know why, as I had so little time to give to pictures, but I live in hopes of doing something someday, that is what I have lived on for years, Hope, and how little we realize from our dreams of hope.  As the years roll by, I think one’s whole life is one continuous dream, unless we are wonderfully gifted and fame drops on us while we sleep.” 

The year that Moses joined the Palette and Chisel Club, the group consisted of sixty local painters, illustrators, and sculptors. The Chicago Tribune reported that it was “primarily a working club, being the oldest organization in the west” (Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 1906, page 2). That year, the club’s new enterprise was the maintenance of a permanent exhibition in the clubrooms on the seventh floor of the Athenæum building.

In the beginning it was quite rustic. Of the camping experience, Moses wrote, “June 1^st, I made my first trip to the Palette and Chisel Club camp at Fox Lake, Ill.  Helped to put up the tent.  A new experience for me, but I enjoyed it.  I slept well on a cot.  Made a few sketches.  A very interesting place.  I don’t like the cooking in the tent and there should be a floor in the tent.  I saw a great many improvements that could be made in the outfit and I started something very soon.” The Palette and Chisel Club camp drew a variety of artists during the summer months.  An artistic community was formed along the shores of Fox Lake, providing a haven far away from the hustle and bustle of work in Chicago. There were many Sosman & Landis employees who also became members of the Palette & Chisel Club, escaping to Fox Lake whenever they could. 

In 1908, Moses wrote, “I bought the portable house that we built years ago and at that time we received $300.00 for it.  I finally got it for $50.00, some bargain.  It cost $25.00 to remove it and we will put it up at Fox Lake in the Spring.  It has been used in Forest Park all summer to show “The Day in the Alps.”

By 1909, Moses wrote, “As we had put up the portable house in Fox Lake, I was better contented to go up.  I gave the camp a portable kitchen and it was some class.  I felt sure I would manage to get a camp outfit worth while and the boys all fell in line with me.” Moses enjoyed his scenic retreats to Fox Lake, escaping from the hard grind of the studio whenever he could during the summer. He painted numerous landscapes of Fox Lake and the Palette & Chisel camp house over the years, including on that I own from 1909. “

In 1910, Moses wrote, “Fox Lake appealed to me all summer.  I went up as much as possible and made good use of my time.  How I wished in vain for time and money to spend all summer sketching.  I know I could do something worthwhile.” Regardless of his own opinion, Moses was making progress in the eyes of Palette and Chisel Club members. By 1912 the Palette and Chisel Club honored Thomas G. Moses by giving him a big dinner and a new nickname – “Uncle Tom” of the Club.

By 1913, Moses was still spending time at Fox Lake, writing, “I enjoyed the summer at Fox Lake, as the motorboat kept us busy and I enjoyed the water.  I also did quite a number of sketches, a few very good, balance rather doubtful.”  That same year, he wrote, “The Palette and Chisel Club boys wanted me to give an exhibit at the club.  I always refused, claiming that I am not in the picture game, and paint pictures for pleasure only.  September 3^rd, a committee came to the house and insisted on going to the studio, I had over three hundred pictures in the studio; some very good but the other 275 were not as good, but the boys seemed to think I had at least 250 good ones, which was quite flattering.” That year, Moses also commented, “The Palette and Chisel Club were anxious to buy a lot near the lake, but we found it would cost too much.” Yet the search for a new home continued the following year.

In 1914, Moses wrote, “Early in April a number of Palette and Chisel Club boys, including myself, went to Fox Lake to look for a new site.  We didn’t find anything worthwhile, so we will remain where we are for another season… Miss Maude Oliver, Art Critic of the Herald, wanted to see the animals fed and housed, so she went to Fox Lake to the camp.  She requested that we all act perfectly natural and not put on any frills and do nothing out of the ordinary to entertain her.  I never saw a bunch act worse.  It was awful.  I think she got plenty of local color and artistic atmosphere for her article in the Sunday Herald the next week – convinced me that she had drunk a glass full of camp life…I am not very regular at Fox Lake this year and I miss sketching.  I also miss my rocks and running brooks.  I have to go some distance for that kind of a motive.”

By 1915, Moses commented about the Palette and Chisel Club’s new site on Fox Lake, “April 17^th a crowd of us went to Fox Lake and took down the old house and moved it to our new site south of the track on a very high hill, overlooking Pistakee Bay.  Got the carpenter and lumberyard men together and we arranged for credit and ordered the material for a new house 22 x 50, was soon ready for members.  We certainly got great sport in assisting the carpenter.  Pretty hard work for an artist, but they all did very well.”

The next few years include only a few sporadic entries in Moses’ memoirs. In 1917, Moses wrote, “I went to Fox Lake on Decoration Day, official opening.  I had a new cot sent up and it was certainly and improvement over the old one.  I actually rest now and enjoy going up.” In 1918, Moses wrote, “I have not been out to Fox Lake this year, the first I have missed in twelve years.  The business is in such an upset condition that I felt I should stick to it.” In 1919, Moses and his son Rupert made several trips to Fox Lake where he made a few sketches. He wrote,  “It is very nice to make the trip in a car, as we made it in three hours.  The roads were not any too good.”

By 1922, Moses wrote, “I made one trip to Fox Lake Camp.  It is not the same, and I am very sorry to say that I have lost interest in it, besides I feel that all the good sketching had been worked to death.” He did not write about Fox Lake again.

To be continued…