Month: March 2021

Copyright © 2021 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

It has taken me four years to explore the life and times of Thomas G. Moses from 1856 to 1924. There is one whole decade to go until his passing in 1934.  Moses started his art career in 1873, so I have covered fifty-one-years’ worth of scenic art projects, significant events, and interesting personalities.

My initial plan was to have my daily posts result in three books: The Life and Times of Thomas G.  Moses; the History of the Sosman & Landis Scenic Studios, and Scenic Art in America, 1880-1920. The first book was to tell the complete story of Thomas G. Moses’ career from 1873 to 1934. By the time I reached 1900, however, I realized that the story would have to be told as a trilogy, broken down into three separate time spans: 1873-1904, 1904-1923, and 1924-1934.

I then recognized that my story about Moses really had to start with the establishment of Sosman & Landis. I started writing about the firm and got quite far in my manuscript, with only last section to go. The final part of my book included brief biographies of Sosman & Landis scenic artists, stage mechanics, and other employees. I have identified over fifty individuals who passed through the Sosman & Landis doors between 1879 and 1924. As with every personal project, however, the time I set aside to work on my book evaporated as my business workload increased.

Starting tomorrow, I take a two month break from my current storyline and return to the history of Sosman and Landis.  I will post a brief biography for each of the studio staff that I have identified to date.

What makes the establishment and success of Sosman & Landis so unique is its founders. Neither Sosman, nor Landis, came from a theatre lineage. They did not grow up working at an opera house or touring with a production company. They did not spend their youths as apprentices to scenic artists or decorative painters.  Each man grew up in a small midwestern town, starting out in another profession before selecting a theatre career.

Sosman and Landis met in 1875 and the two immediately became friends and traveling companions. Their working partnership began as “Sosman and Landis, scenic artists.” It was not until 1879 that they settled in Chicago and officially established “Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio.”  Thomas G. Moses was the first scenic artist who joined their firm in 1880, shortly following the addition of one salesman. From June 1881 to July 1882, Sosman & Landis delivered scenery to seventy-four theaters, opera houses and music halls in nineteen states and three territories.

An 1889 Sosman & Landis catalogue advertised that the firm had installed scenery in more than 2000 opera houses and halls nationwide. This number increased to 4,000 by 1894 and 6,000 by 1901. In 1902,  Sosman & Landis not only supplied scenery to stages in the United States, Mexico and Canada, but also to other countries.  At their peak, they employed a staff of sixty-five at the main studio and a staff of twelve in the annex studio. So far, I have a list of fifty-one individuals who worked on their staff. Starting tomorrow, I am going to slowly work my way through that list.

Examples of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University. The Scenic Collection includes elements from the settings of 90 operas, with approximately 900 backdrops and borders and more than 2200 framed scenic units. The stage settings illustrate an exceptional range of production styles between 1889 and 1932. In addition to the scenery there are 3 dimensional units including furniture and properties. Furthermore, the collection is supported by an extraordinary archive of production notebooks, property lists, inventories, expense records, performance time sheets, correspondence, original photographs of the sets, selected costumes, and opera stars of the period, ground plans and blueprints, painters elevations and renderings, original costume and set design drawings, and 120 exquisitely painted and detailed ¼” scale maquettes of the settings.

Unfortunately, some of the scenery has been damaged since initial documentation. The roof leaks and flooding is a problem due to non-working sump pumps.

Copyright © 2021 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1924, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Met Fulton at Denver and were soon on our way to San Jose.  Arriving in San Francisco, we soon reached the 3^rd Street Station just in time to catch a train for San Jose…It took us eight days to close a $7,000.00 contract.” Moses was working with Fitch Fulton to land Scottish Rite contracts in 1924. In addition to San Jose, California, their projects included Scottish Rite scenery for Fort Scott, Kansas and Pasadena, California.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the San Jose Scottish Rite was announced in the “Salina Daily Index” on Feb. 20, 1924. The article reported, “Work on Scottish Rite Temple Progressing Rapidly.” The construction went quicker than the contract negotiations. Like most Scottish Rites at this time, discussions were drawn out until the last possible moment. This never worked well for either the scenic studio or client. In the end it everything was rushed through, greatly taking its toll on the artists and installers.  

In 1925 that Moses recorded, “We finally received out contract back from San Jose after they had it a month, which settled the matter of our going there immediately after we completed Pasadena.” The San Jose Scottish Rite was scheduled to open at the beginning of May.

That spring, Moses wrote, “I started for San Jose on March 27^th and found Naile had everything in good shape.  Fulton and I got busy immediately, got a good start and pounded away pretty steadily until April 18^th”.  It was at this point that Moses’ health troubles came to a climax and he was rushed to hospital by Dr. Moore and Fitch Fulton. He wrote, “All through my illness, I had to keep work going and had to ask the Madam to see that the salaries were paid and the work at the Consistory did not stop.  It was opened on time and we were through on April 27^th, a few days before my second operation.” Moses’ second operation was on May 1, 1925, with him recovering at the hospital all month. He was not released until May 30.

The San Jose Scottish Rite Temple opened on May 8, 1925. On May 10, 1925, the “Oakland Tribune” announced, “Masons Dedicate San Jose Home.” The article reported, “Formal dedication of the new $450,000 San Jose Scottish Rite Temple was made last evening with Sovereign Grand Commander J. H. Cowles, highest ranking Mason in the United States, as guest of honor. The dedication ceremony followed a banquet in honor of Cowles and Sovereign Grand Inspector W. P. Filmer. Scottish Rite Masons and their ladies only were in attendance, and the big new temple at Third and St. James streets was packed to capacity for the rites.”  

By 1926, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “During this year, I have had the opportunity to paint several large canvases to be presented to Masonic Temples and school boards.  I presented one large canvas to the San Jose Consistory.”  He also presented paintings to the Tacoma Scottish Rite, the Board of Education at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and Saint Francis Academy of Joliet.”  His paintings included the inscription “Compliments of Sosman & Landis.”  Of his gifts to various clients, Moses wrote, “While these are all in the line of business, it gives me the opportunity of painting them.”

To be continued…

Examples of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.

The Scenic Collection includes elements from the settings of 90 operas, with approximately 900 backdrops and borders and more than 2200 framed scenic units. The stage settings illustrate an exceptional range of production styles between 1889 and 1932. In addition to the scenery there are 3 dimensional units including furniture and properties. Furthermore, the collection is supported by an extraordinary archive of production notebooks, property lists, inventories, expense records, performance time sheets, correspondence, original photographs of the sets, selected costumes, and opera stars of the period, ground plans and blueprints, painters elevations and renderings, original costume and set design drawings, and 120 exquisitely painted and detailed ¼” scale maquettes of the settings.

Unfortunately, some of the scenery has been damaged since initial documentation. The roof leaks and flooding is a problem due to non-working sump pumps

Copyright © 2021 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

On February 14, 1925, the “Pasadena Post” reported, “While Mr. Moses has watched carefully the painting of the curtains, much credit for their final perfection must go to the assistant and scenic artist, F. B. Fulton. Mr. Fulton believes the scenic work to be some of the finest he has ever produced. The final work of hanging and installing the curtains will be under the supervision of Harry Naile, a member of the Sosman & Landis company. This work demands such expert workmanship that Mr. Naile was brought from Chicago so that no mistakes in installation could be made.”

Harry Naile and Fitch Fulton were repeatedly mentioned by Moses in the 1920s. Other projects with stage carpentry and installed by Naile include the Tacoma Scottish Rite and the Binghamton Scottish Rite. In regard to the Binghamton project, Moses wrote, “I insisted on having Naile on the job…He and Mrs. Naile arrived on the 1^st of October and we then proceeded to get things going.”  Between 1924 and 1925, Moses, Naile and Fitch Fulton bounced from one project to another. Although, I have written about Naile in the past, here is a recap as he plays a more prominent role in the storyline at this point. 

Harry Elmore Naile was born in Pierceton, Indiana, on June 15, 1879. He was one of four children born to Mary Elizabeth Orr (1854-1900) and Louis Phillip Naile (1855-1918). His siblings were Roy, Grace, and Ralph. He also had a halfsister, Loretta; Naile’s father remarried after the death of his mother. I have yet to find any information about Naile’s early life or when he entered the theatre profession. However, he came by the trade naturally as his father was a house carpenter. It is not a surprise that he was born into the trade. Like many young men at this time, he headed west and settled in Colorado Springs.

In 1907, he married Georgia E. Robinson in Colorado Springs. She was the only child of William W. Robinson (1863-1926) and Mary A. “Mamie” Rogers (1869-1954). Her father was a painter, and possibly provided an initial introduction for the couple. At the time Harry was  twenty-seven years old and Georgia was nineteen years old. The couple spent the majority of their marriage apart, with Harry lodging in various hotels and boarding houses for work as a stage carpenter. By 1913, the Polk County directory listed “Naile, Harry E. (Georgia), removed to Chicago, Illinois, from Colorado Springs.”  In 1916 he was working for Sosman & Landis on a New York project with Nicholas J. Pausback.  

Naile remained in the Chicago area for much of his life, working as both a stage carpenter and stage mechanic. By 1918, he was at the Chateau Theatre on 3810 Broadway. His WWI draft registration noted that he was 5’-7” tall, with a slender build and blue eyes. No hair color was mentioned at all.  By 1920, the Naile was living at 57 East Van Buren Street.

After the Pasadena Scottish Rite project, Moses, Fulton and Nail worked on a project in San Jose, California. Of the project, Moses wrote, “I started for San Jose on March 27^th and found Naile had everything in good shape.” The trio also worked in Los Angeles on the “Fullerton job.” By 1930, Naile was still living in Chicago, now at the Kenmore Beach Hotel, 552 Kenmore Avenue. The 1930 US Federal Census listed Naile as a superintendent for a theatrical supply company, although it remains unclear as to which firm.

He died shortly after the US Federal census recorded his employment. Naile passed away on September 15, 1930. He was only fifty years old at the time and had been married to Georgia for twenty-three years. I have yet to locate any death notice or obituary, giving any cause for his passing. Georgia was left a widow at forty-six years old and never remarried. Of Georgia’s own passing the Colorado Springs “Gazette Telegraph” printed, “Naile- Mrs. Georgia Naile, 2612 W. Cucharras, passed away Tuesday at a local nursing home”  (12 March 1975, page 4).

Both Georgia and Harry are buried in Colorado Springs’ Evergreen Cemetery.

To be continued…

Examples of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.

The Scenic Collection includes elements from the settings of 90 operas, with approximately 900 backdrops and borders and more than 2200 framed scenic units. The stage settings illustrate an exceptional range of production styles between 1889 and 1932. In addition to the scenery there are 3 dimensional units including furniture and properties. Furthermore, the collection is supported by an extraordinary archive of production notebooks, property lists, inventories, expense records, performance time sheets, correspondence, original photographs of the sets, selected costumes, and opera stars of the period, ground plans and blueprints, painters elevations and renderings, original costume and set design drawings, and 120 exquisitely painted and detailed ¼” scale maquettes of the settings.

Unfortunately, some of the scenery has been damaged since initial documentation. The roof leaks and flooding is a problem due to non-working sump pumps.

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

Between 1924 and 1925, Thomas G. Moses, Fitch B. Fulton and Harry E. Naile delivered scenery to several Masonic theaters. The Pasadena Scottish Rite project began on the heels of the Fort Scott Scottish Rite project. It all started with Fort Scott, Kansas.

In August 1924, Moses wrote, “Fulton is now in Fort Scott getting ready for our big work. I bought a round trip ticket for a long western trip and started on the 16th of August arriving in Fort Scott on the 17th. Put in one day with Fulton, leaving on the 19th.”

Fulton was on site setting up the paint space in the theater and was already painting when Moses arrived for a day in Fort Scott. The two worked on a platform twenty-feet above the stage-left side of the theater. The project would be completed in spits and spurts that year.

After leaving Fort Scott and stopping in Salt Lake City, Moses arrived in Los Angeles on the afternoon of the August 22, He wrote, “Got busy immediately at Pasadena for ten days. As a final deal, I offered the Little Rock drops for $8,500.00, closed the deal and at Los Angeles for a big interior for the Consistory.”

So, while Fulton began the Fort Scott job, Moses landed the Pasadena job.

Moses returned to the Fort Scott Project, finished the work with Fulton, and then headed back to Chicago. By November 1924, Moses wrote, “I must get back to Pasadena as they want to open on the 24th of February, so we put the house in perfect shape for cold weather and got our tickets via the D.R.G. through Colorado. Met Fulton at Denver and were soon on our way to San Jose. Arriving in San Francisco, we reached the 3rd Street Station just in time to catch a train for San Jose. Went to the Vendome Hotel and Mrs. Fulton came up. It took us eight days to close a $7,000.00 contract and get to Los Angeles where we spent two days, finally securing a fine apartment at the 159 S. Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena, where we will remain for two months. Had a delightful Christmas day at Walters.”

Moses and Fulton planned on preparing the used Little Rock scenery for installation and painting a few new scenes for the Pasadena Scottish Rite.

On February 14, 1925, the “Pasadena Post” reported, “The magnificent scenic drop curtains which have been hung in the new Scottish Rite cathedral to be dedicated Tuesday evening, are a gift of Major Charles M. Skillen, in memory of his son, the later Dr. Ralph G. Skillen. Both father and sone were charter members of the Pasadena Consistory.“The 73 drops represent some of the finest work of the artists of Sosman & Landis company of Chicago have ever produced, according to Thomas G. Moses, president of the firm, who is in Pasadena to personally supervise the work of installing them. “Each of the drops was especially designed and finished for the Pasadena cathedral. Months were spent in the preparation of then, it is said. About half were painted in the Chicago studios of the company and the reminder finished in this city. While Mr. Moses has watched carefully the painting of the curtains, much credit for their final perfection must go to the assistant and scenic artist, F. B. Fulton. Mr. Fulton believes the scenic work to be some of the finest he has ever produced. The final work of hanging and installing the curtains will be under the supervision of Harry Nail, a member of the Sosman & Landis company. This work demands such expert workmanship that Mr. Nail [sic.] was brought from Chicago so that no mistakes in installation could be made.”

Only if you were standing backstage at the Pasadena Scottish Rite and saw “Little Rock” written all over the back of many of the scenes would you suspect that they scenery was not new. That a good portion of the collection was previously designed and installed at the Little Rock Scottish Rite in Arkansas.

When the Scottish Rite in Little Rock purchased new scenery in 1923, their old scenery was returned on credit, applied toward the purchase of new scenery. This used collection was stored and then split between the Miami Scottish Rite and the Pasadena Scottish Rite. When some of the old Little Rock scenery arrived in Pasadena, Moses and Fulton touched up the scenes and then added some drops.Over the decades, the scenery collection was expanded, touched up, and repositioned. A complete remodel of the auditorium took place from 1964-1965, greatly altering the overall aesthetic and proscenium opening that showcased the scenic artworks.https://www.pasadenascottishrite.org/about-us/history/

Mike Hume has a lovely post about the Pasadena Scottish Rite Cathedral at https://www.historictheatrephotos.com/…/Scottish-Rite…

as well as his photographs at Atlas Obscura (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/scottish-rite-cathedral).To be continued…

Examples of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.

The Scenic Collection includes elements from the settings of 90 operas, with approximately 900 backdrops and borders and more than 2200 framed scenic units. The stage settings illustrate an exceptional range of production styles between 1889 and 1932. In addition to the scenery there are 3 dimensional units including furniture and properties. Furthermore, the collection is supported by an extraordinary archive of production notebooks, property lists, inventories, expense records, performance time sheets, correspondence, original photographs of the sets, selected costumes, and opera stars of the period, ground plans and blueprints, painters elevations and renderings, original costume and set design drawings, and 120 exquisitely painted and detailed ¼” scale maquettes of the settings.

Unfortunately, some of the scenery has been damaged since initial documentation. The roof leaks and flooding is a problem due to non-working sump pumps.

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

Thomas G. Moses worked with Fitch Fulton on a variety of Scottish Rite scenery projects during 1924 and 1925. One was Pasadena Scottish Rite, a project that offered escape from the cold in Chicago.  Moses desperately wanted to spend his winters in California, and the Pasadena Scottish Rite project ensured a few months of work in a warm location. 

At the end of 1924, Moses wrote, “The last Sunday in the year we spent at the Fultons, where we enjoyed the day.  As I had hoped a year ago, we are spending the winter in California and so far we have thoroughly enjoyed it, as we have many winters in the past.”

Even when Moses and Fulton weren’t painting scenery, they enjoyed social gatherings and sketching trips. The two were a generation apart, with Fulton in his 40s and Moses in his 60s. Both were skilled artists and greatly enjoyed plein air painting. Of one excursion, Moses wrote, “Walter, Fulton and I went out for a day’s sketching at Sycamore Rock near Eagle Rock.  We had plenty of visitors.  I found a vast difference between the far east and California as far as atmosphere is concerned.  So, I was not as successful with my sketches as I had hoped to be.”

Later in 1925, Moses wrote, “We all enjoyed the many week-end trips, we took with wonderful lunches and good sketching grounds.  Mrs. Fulton looked after the eats and she certainly did not overlook anything, as we were overfed and did not feel like sketching after the meal.  We found some very good sketching down in Topanga Canyon, over towards Santa Monica and Flint Cliff.  I would like to make an extended sketching trip out here, but I am very much afraid I will never be able to, as business will keep me from it as it has always done in the past.  It has been very pleasant out of doors.  Some days the sun was so hot that we had to get under a tree – pretty good for January.”

To be continued…

Examples of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University. The Scenic Collection includes elements from the settings of 90 operas, with approximately 900 backdrops and borders and more than 2200 framed scenic units. The stage settings illustrate an exceptional range of production styles between 1889 and 1932. In addition to the scenery there are 3 dimensional units including furniture and properties. Furthermore, the collection is supported by an extraordinary archive of production notebooks, property lists, inventories, expense records, performance time sheets, correspondence, original photographs of the sets, selected costumes, and opera stars of the period, ground plans and blueprints, painters elevations and renderings, original costume and set design drawings, and 120 exquisitely painted and detailed ¼” scale maquettes of the settings.

Unfortunately, some of the scenery has been damaged since initial documentation. The roof leaks and flooding is a problem due to non-working sump pumps.