Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
From Sept. 21-27, 2020, I led a group of volunteers to document the nineteenth-century scenery collection stored in the attic at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado. The wings, shutters, borders and other set pieces primarily dated from 1879 to 1890; each painted before the stage was renovated in 1902. One of the more interesting scenic pieces uncovered was a train. All that remained of the profile piece was the front end, with only a headlamp, chimney, cowcatcher (pilot) and boiler front remaining. The rest of the train was missing; the fabric likely removed and repainted for another setting over a century ago.
There were many nineteenth-century melodramas with exciting railroad scenes, complete with painted tracks and steaming locomotives. A variety of productions included that terrifying moment when a train raced full speed toward the hero or heroine. Whether the performer was tied to the tracks, or lying unconscious on the rails, the victim was always snatched away just prior to the train’s passing.
On Dec. 30, 1886, Leadville’s “Herald Democrat” noted the train scene in the recent production of “Under the Gaslight” at the opera house. The review reports, “The opera house was crowded last evening to witness this great scenic melodrama, which so entertainingly depicts may phases of high and low life in the great city of New York…The exciting railroad scene was given in grand style and evoked the heartiest approbation.” The touring show featured Lew Morrison and his Dramatic Company. However, “Under the Gaslight” was just one of the troupe’s offerings. The company also performed in “Not Guilty,” “Celebrated Case,” and “Faust.”
It is almost impossible to determine the exact production that first used the painted train before it was relegated as part of the stock. There are clues, however, that help estimate manufacture date. First and foremost, the construction of the piece was with odds and ends, not finely planed theatrical lumber. The profile piece also incorporated remnants of a wood shipping container for the cut edge. A portion of a company name, stenciled for shipping purposes, remains – Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. This helps determine an approximate date when added to the roughhewn board. Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. means that the piece was created after 1884, and not before.
The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. has quite an interesting history, once running a regional office in Denver, Colorado. Founded by John Moses Brunswick, the J. M. Brunswick Manufacturing Co opened on September 15, 1845, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Although initially specializing in the manufacture of carriages, the firm soon turned their focus to billiard tables. Brunswick billiard tables were an immediate success, and soon the company expanded nationwide, opening regional branches across the country that included Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans. By 1866, the firm was renamed J. M. Brunswick & Brother, as Brunswick added family members to run their regional offices. Keep in mind that in the 1860s, there were three main billiard manufacturers in the United States: J. M. Brunswick & Bro; Julius Balke’s Great Western Billiard Manufactory, and Phelan & Collender. In regard to Phelan & Collander, the name changed to the H. W. Collender Company after Hugh Collender’s father-in-law (Michael Phelan) passed away.
By 1874, J. M. Brunswick & Brother merged with Julius Balke’s Great Western Billiard Manufactory, becoming J. M. Brunswick & Balke Co. The firm incorporated in 1879, and then merged with another competitor – H. W. Collender Company. In merging with Collender, Brunswick acquired Collender’s patented billiard cushions, but the company was not renamed for another five years. In 1884, the formation of Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company indicated a monopoly of American billiard manufacturers.
As the years passed, the company manufactured many other products that included bar counters, saloon fixtures, bowling alley supplies, poker checks, cigar counters, beer coolers, refrigerators, chairs, tables, lamps, and other products. It remains unclear what was in the wooden shipping box that was used for the train profile at the Tabor Opera House. By the twentieth century the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. product line was further diversified, adding toilet seats, car tires, phonographs, WWII target drone aircraft, school furniture, golfing equipment and pinsetters. Such variety! The company again changed its name in 1960, becoming the Brunswick Corporation on August 10. For more information about the history of this fascinating company, visit: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/brunswick-corporation-history/
For more information about the Tabor Opera House’s historic scenery collection, visit www.drypigment.net and keyword search “Tabor Opera House.”
To be continued…
Train effects, as I’m sure you know, continued well into the 1900s, with playwright Lincoln S. Carter leading the group by a mile. A dedicated scenographer, he had about a half dozen of his effects patented. His effects included a raced between a train and a car (BEDFORD’S HOPE), and, in a patented effect in THE FAST MAIL, that of a train headed straight towards the audience! This last one had the audience on their feet and cheering for a good five minutes! He famously designed the sensational effect of a train racing through fire (!) used in THE NINETY AND NINE–and had to sue for credit and a portion of the royalties from the author.
I am aware of their continued appeal, but thank you for you comment. It is wonderful when people add information to the posts!