Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1922 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Started on a bunch of Masonic models, and it will take some time to do them. Went to Joplin, Mo., after a good contract. Was too high.” A similar thing would happen only a few months later, with Moses writing, “Made several trips to Davenport in hopes of getting the big contract of about $16,000.00, but we were too high.
Sosman & Landis was nearing the end of its existence at the same time many other studios were getting their start. Sosman & Landis lost the Joplin job to another Chicago firm – The Fabric Studio. The Fabric Studio appeared on the scene as abruptly as it disappeared a few years later. However, between 1922 and 1923 the studio showed much promise. The same year that they landed the Joplin Scottish Rite project, they delivered some very impressive scenery to the Orpheum Theatre in Wichita, Kansas. Interestingly, by 1923, Thomas G. Moses and Fred R. Megan rented the Fabric Studios’ space as they waited to purchase the Sosman & Landis name; waiting for the firm to liquidate all their assets.
The Fabric Studio scenery painted for the Joplin Scottish Rite is colorful, impressive, and indicative of a changing aesthetic. I had an opportunity to visit the Joplin Scottish Rite and document the historic scenery collection during the summer of 2018 and document the scenery painted at the Fabric Studios. Here is link to my post about that visit: https://drypigment.net2018/07/03/travels-of-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-the-joplin-scottish-rite-july-2/
There was a studio stamp on many drops that included the address 117 N. State, 4th floor, Chicago, Illinois. At this time, there were three main individuals running The Fabric Studio, artistic director P T. Blackburn and stage carpenter J. A. Bannon. As most young studios, the men continued to work independently while getting the studio up and running. In the end, the Joplin Scottish Rite may be the only artistic legacy left of this short-lived studio.
The earliest mention of the Fabric Studio that I have located to date is from the summer of 1921. The company placed a want ad in the “Chicago Tribune,” advertising for girls to help in their sewing room (“Chicago Tribune,” 27 August 1921, page 14). The earliest work credited to the new form was for Princess Minstrel Misses. Advertisements placed in “The Richmond Item” announced, “Seven young ladies in ‘a Fanfare of Joy, Song and Dance and Music’ with Cecil Jefferson. A miniature minstrel production offered exclusively by seven talented girls with an elaborate stage setting. Hear these clever girls in the latest songs and jokes. Costumes by Hazel Rene, Chicago. Scenery by The Fabric Studio, Chicago. 20 minutes of Real Entertainment” (8 Dec 1921, page 5).
In 1922, The Fabric Studio of Chicago was competing with the Kansas City Scenic Co. for the contract to paint and install a new front curtain and scenery for the Memorial Auditorium in Wellington, Kansas. W. S. Mayer was the salesman for The Fabric Studio of Chicago (“Wellington Daily News,” 25 August 1922, page 1). That same year, The Fabric Studio also secured a substantial contract for Wichita’s Orpheum Theatre. The “Wichita Eagle” reported the Fabric Studio’s scenery included the original asbestos curtain depicting a gold gauze curtain with an exterior garden scene, a Spanish market scene; a silk velour for the valance; a grand drapery; a silver gauze tableaux curtain; a picture sheet; “two exterior oleos and drops;” a complete conservatory set; and a complete Gothic set (3 September 1922, page 48).
The chief scenic artist associated with the Fabric Studios at this time was P. T. Blackburn. He is quite an interesting individual. Blackburn was the head of the artistic staff for several stock companies over the years, including the Grand Players from Davenport, Iowa. Max Schroeder was another scenic artist who represented painted for the firm 1922, specializing in landscapes. Blackburn and Schroeder greatly contributed the studio’s colorful aesthetic. The firm’s head installation expert was J. A. Bannon, an older gentleman with extensive experience with stage machinery and the installation of stage systems.
Blackburn was credited as specializing in fine plushes, satins, and velours, such as the gold gauze front curtain and the silver gauze tableaux curtain for the Orpheum. Of the gold curtain delivered by the Fabric studio. The “Wichita Daily Eagle,” reported, “Scenery in the Orpheum theater ranks with that any vaudeville theater in the entire country, according to J. A. Bannon, who came to Wichita from Chicago, to install the scenery for the Fabric Studio, the makers. Bannon should be an authority since he is an old timer in the show business and has installed scenery in theaters in nearly every city in the United States. Bannon is very enthusiastic about the gold gauze curtain which he says is an unusually fine production. It portrays an exterior garden scene and was painted by Max Schroeder. A wonderful work has been accomplished in the floor perspective of the scene in the curtain. The perspective is only twenty-five inches in extent but gives the floor appearance of being twenty-five feet.” Of Bannon, the article reported, “Bannon started ‘trouping’ as a property man with Karafe’s Water Queen in the eighties. He soon became stage carpenter and traveled as such for years, visiting Wichita many times.”
In 1923, the “Quad City Times” include a portrait of Blackburn and reported, “Mr. Blackburn, scenery artist at the Grand theater is a star never seen by the audience. All of the scenery is painted by him. ‘It is an endless job – this business of being a scenery painter of a stock company – but I like it anyway,’ opined Mr. Blackburn yesterday, He had been with the Grand company for more than a year” (18 March 1923, page 21). In 1923, Blackburn was also producing scenery for productions, such as “Nice People” in 1923 (The Daily Times, Davenport, Iowa, 27 Jan 1923, page 8). Blackburn was mentioned as a scenic artist when he married in 1923 (The Daily Ties, 21 April 1923, page 7). The article announced, “Miss Erma Hermiston, youngest daughter of Mrs. Fred Hanson of DeWitt, was married to P. T. Blackburn, scenic artist for the Grand Players, now appearing at English’s Opera house, Indianapolis. Mr. Blackburn has for over a year and a half been artist for the company during the stay at the Grand in Davenport. Both he and his bride, who had made her home in this city, are very well known. The wedding took place at the First Presbyterian church, Rev. Milner officiating.” The couple was listed in the Colorado Divorce index on Sept 3, 1930.
By 1931, Blackburn was credited with the settings for Loew’s and Paramount’s “Lysistrata” ( “Los Angeles Record,” 28 Dec 1931, page 8). He also did the sets for “Shanghai Gesture” (Los Angeles Evening Express, 1 Sept 1931, page 10). In 1932 he was noted as a “well known Hollywood stage designer and artist,” associated with the comedy “Just Married” (Honolulu Star 7 July 1932, page 8). By 1949, Blackburn was the head artist for Paramount Studios and a weekend resident of the San Jacinto mountain resort area (“The Desert Sun,” Palm Springs, California, 17 May 1949, page 4). In addition to scenic art, Blackburn and his department also developed new stage equipment and curtain tracks for scenery painted by Paramount artists.
To be continued…
