Copyright © 2022 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1888, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “My assistant was Jack Taylor and a good hustler.” Both Moses and Taylor were working for Sosman & Landis at the time. Two of their projects included the Grand Opera House in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Theater.
I am going to start with the year 1888, before I get into the life and career of Jack Taylor . That year Moses returned to Sosman & Landis after a failed partnership with Walter Burridge and J. D. Louderback. It was Perry Landis who convinced Moses to return to the firm that spring. They accidentally met in Altoona, Pennsylvania, each going after the same project at the Mountain City Theatre. Of the encounter, Moses wrote, “Mr. Landis also showed up after the same job. After our meeting, we went to the hotel and sat up long after midnight, talking over business. Sosman and Landis wanted me to come back with them, and I agreed to do so as soon as I could finish my work. I was to receive my old salary of $50.00 per week, and a chance to do contract work, which would increase my salary to $4000.00 per year.” Because of this deal, Sosman & Landis won the contract, as Mr. Plack want Moses to paint the scenery for his Mountain City Theater. By June, Moses was painting scenery for Sosman & Landis in California. When he arrived at the Grand Opera House in Los Angeles, the paint frame was still being completed. This is when he mentioned his assistant Taylor. Moses’ comment that Taylor was a “good hustler,” meant that his assistant worked fast. They painted together all June and into July.
On July 8, 1888, the “Los Angeles Herald” published an article entitled “The Grand” describing the “great transformation” as the venue underwent a renovation (page 2). Moses’ work for the Grand Opera House, located on S. Main, was mentioned in the article. Here is the article in its entirety:
“The remodeled Grand Opera House will be thrown open to the public tomorrow night, and those who attend will scarcely believe that in so short a time so great a change could have been made. From the entrance on Main street to the back of the stage there is scarcely a feature which will remind the visitors in the least of the appearance of the house as it was six weeks ago. The lobby has been so changed by mural and stucco work that it presents an entirely different appearance. The box office wherein Frank W. Conant, the popular Treasurer, has held forth for many seasons, has been entirely remodeled and enlarged. It is now ” the model box office of the Coast, and with its plate and stained glass is an ornament which greatly relieves and makes inviting the entrance to the theater. As elsewhere in the theater, the tone of the work is terra-cotta and bronze, and must be seen to be appreciated. The entrance to the lower portion of the house has also been entirely changed and passing through the portals as now arranged the visitor will gaze upon one of the prettiest interiors in the country. The upholstering of blue plush harmonizes with the bronze and terracotta of the walls and proscenium, and the brass rails around the ledge and proscenium boxes add to the general appearance in such a manner as to give the impression that a master-hand has had the arrangement of the work. The seats on the main floor are new, and are upholstered in blue plush. They have the latest attachments designed for the comfort of the audience. The center aisle has been taken out and two side aisles run from the back to the stage. Just below the dress circle are six lodge boxes, each holding four seats. These are upholstered in blue, and are surrounded by highly polished brass rails. At each rail are four proscenium boxes so arranged that each has an unobstructed view of the stage. The decorations of these are in perfect keeping with the rest of the house. The proscenium arch is a marvel of beauty and attracts immediate attention. The prevailing tone here is bronze and terracotta, with which the drapery of the boxes harmonizes. The former gallery has been turned into a family circle, in which the chairs formerly in the parquet and dress circle have been placed. The entrance to this part of the house is by two flights of stairs starting at each side of the lobby. Above this is the gallery, from every part of which the stage is in plain view. This gallery increases the seating capacity of the Opera House by about 500. The new drop curtain is one of the prettiest ever seen on this Coast, and besides this there are eight new sets of scenery which will replace those of which the public is somewhat tired. Manager H. C. Wyatt is responsible for this change for the better in the Grand Opera House, and it was through his efforts that the architect, Mr. Woods, was engaged. The sale of seats for Denman Thompson will be at the new box office to-morrow morning.”
In California, Moses also painted scenery for the new Los Angeles Theatre, located on Spring Street between Second and Third. It is likely that Taylor stayed in California to assist him. On Dec. 16, 1888, “The Los Angeles Times” reported, “The proscenium arch is 30×28, and the drop curtains slide up and down, without having to be rolled. The drop curtain proper is a gorgeous affair, representing foliage and drapery. The entré-act curtain gives a picturesque scene in Jerusalem, set in handsome frame, and with the words ‘Nadjy Daud’ underneath. This was reported to be the name of the artist of the picture, which T. G. Moses of Chicago has copied on his curtain” (page 2).
It remains unclear as to how long Taylor assisted Moses. In addition to the Grand and Los Angeles Theater, Moses worked on a variety of other Sosman & Landis projects that year, including the New California Theatre (San Francisco, CA), and two other venues in South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and La Crosse, Wisconsin. In 1888, Sosman & Landis was inundated with work, having successfully secured projects across the country. Work included: scenery for Benedict’s touring production of “Monte Cristo”; Power’s new Grand Opera House in Decatur, Illinois; the new opera house in Owensboro, Kentucky; and the Turn Hall in Fremont, Nebraska, to name a few. They also delivered scenery for several social events that year, including the Carnival of Nations for the Young Women’s Association at the Exposition Building in Chicago and a Grand Ball at the Elms in Leavenworth, Kansas. Sosman & Landis managed several teams of scenic artists, stage carpenters, and their assistants all over the nation, rapidly contracting and completing a variety of projects that year.
The other factor to consider is Moses’ describing Taylor as an “assistant.” At Sosman & Landis, the position of scenic art assistant was a step up from “paint boy,” or “pot boy.” Paint boy was the starting point for most aspiring scenic artists at Sosman & Landis, a young individual responsible for a myriad of menial tasks at the studio. Paint boys were also referred to as pot boys during this time. Pot boy was a reference to one of their tasks, filling pots with color (dry pigment paste) on an artist’s palette.
There was no guarantee that any paint boy transitioned to the role of assistant. In many cases, paint boys never left the position, so simply departed from the studio in either disgrace or disgust. John Hanny, who began as a paint boy at Sosman & Landis in 1906, later recalled the life of a paint boy in a letters written to Dr. John Rothgeb late in life. Hanny wrote, “When the artist wanted his palette cleaned, he called for a ‘swipe-up’ which included having his palette washed with a sponge, brushes cleaned, clean hot size, pail of clean water and straight edges wiped clean.” Paint boys were responsible for “swipe-ups.”
Hanny even wrote a brief definition of “Paint Boys”:
“PAINT-BOYS. A mis-leading compound word. As there was no apprentice-ship policy at Sosman & Landis. The word paint had no significance relating to the duties they were expected to perform. The word BOYS meant young lads who were not old enough to know better, but were strong and hefty enough for heavy work and needed a job…the Paint-Boys did all of the heavy work around the Studio. They prepared the Palettes for the Artists in the morning, filling the bowls with color, hot size, clean water, clean straight edges, etc. During the day they washed up the Palettes whenever the Artist wanted. Other jobs were handling all the sets and drops off the paint frames and stacking them….then the other jobs – priming drops and wings, cutting the muslin, sweeping the floor, running errands, loading wagons, etc. If capable, were allowed to pick pounces, cut and shellac stencils. The word Paint-Boys really meant cheap labor. Only a lad who could endure this program and still have the ‘yen’ and urge strong enough could qualify as a proper scene painter.”
However, there were some stalwart individuals who advanced and became scenic artist assistants. Their chores then transitioned from menial tasks to scene painting. Individual assistants were assigned to journeyman scenic artists at Sosman & Landis, providing a unique opportunity for a young artist to study with an older and more experienced scenic artists. If they proved worthy, the scenic artist assistant would eventually earn his own palette. Then, these young artists would work their way up the line. Hanny described that this ascent began with first painting tormentors and grand drapery borders. After a young artist showed proficiency in these compositions, they moved onto advertising drops (but not lettering), surrounds for drop curtains (but not the center composition), street scenes and olio drops (but not figure painting). Eventually, an aspiring artist earned his own palette at Sosman & Landis. However, the promotion was never guaranteed and many left for other studios or decorative firms.
Keep in mind that Taylor was already working as a scenic artist assistant at Sosman & Landis in June 1888 when Moses returned to work at the firm. He was also a fairly proficient assistant, or Taylor would not have been sent to California to assist the firm’s star artist. It is possibly that Taylor had been with the firm for a few years, starting as early as 1886. However, it remains unclear as to where Taylor permanently resided, or if he always on the road. Keep in mind that by 1888, Sosman & Landis managed three regional branches: Chicago, New York and Kansas City. Taylor could have been associated with Chicago, New York, Kansas City, or all three as a “floater,” drifting from one job to the next. It is also possible that Moses brought Taylor with him from New York. Whenever Moses returned to Sosman & Landis after a striking out on his own, he returned with those he was already working with at the time. Taylor may have been an assistant to Moses at Moses & Hamilton in New York.
Tracking down Jack Taylor was extremely difficult, especially since “Jack” was a nickname. After trailing many false leads and cross-referencing dozens of historical records, I think that I managed to successfully track down the assistant mentioned by Moses in 1888. Taylor was from New York.
John W. “Jack” Taylor was born on April 4, 1873. He was the only son of Lafayette Taylor (b. 1847) and Maria Amanda North (b. 1851). His father was the son of Edward Randolph Taylor (1801-1884) and Martha Taylor (1809-1880). The 1860 US Federal Census listed his father, then aged 13 yrs. old, as an inmate at an Asylum for the Poor with the rest of the Taylor family, Edward Taylor (54 yrs.) and Martha Taylor (51 yrs.), Henry Taylor (23 yrs., farm hand), George Taylor (22 yrs., mariner), Edward Taylor Jr. (14 yrs., farm hand), and Isaac M. Taylor (10).
Lafayette Taylor transitioned from pauper to private, enlisting in the Union Army when he was 15 yrs. old. He joined the 23rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry on August 28, 1862, after the Civil War started. He was mustered in as a Private in Company K on September 13, 1862. Lafayette served in the December 1862 Fredericksburg Campaign and the May 1863 Chancellorsville Campaign. He was honorably mustered out as on June 27, 1863, at Beverly, New Jersey. This provides a little insight into Jack Taylor’s father, who would die when he was only 8 yrs. old.
The Lafayette Taylor and his wife Maria A. “Mary” North is a little unclear. The 1870 US Federal Census listed Lafayette and Mary A. Taylor as part of the Aaron H. North Household in Camden Middle Ward, Camden County, New Jersey. At the time, Lafayette was listed as a 25 yrs. old carpenter and Mary as a 27 yrs. old domestic. Aaron North was a 39-yrs.-old grocer, and head of the household. Other members of the North household included Aaron’s wife Emma (32 yrs.) and children Clara (10 yrs. old) and Wilbert (5 yrs. old). And yet, Maria did not marry Lafayette until 1871. New Jersey marriage records list the date of Lafayette and Maria’s marriage as Jan. 18, 1871 in Chews Landing. Chews Landing was an unincorporated community in Gloucester Township of Camden County, New Jersey. The two would later be buried the nearby town of Blackwood, New Jersey. Like Chews Landing, Blackwood was an unincorporated community within Gloucester Township, Camden County, New Jersey. The couple remained in the area, celebrating the birth of their only son in Camden County, the spring of 1873.
By 1878, Lafayette Taylor was listed as a stair builder in the Camden Directory, living at 616 north Sixth St. The 1880 US Federal Census reported that the Taylor family was still living in Chews Landing. The household only included Lafayette, Maria and John at the time. At the time, Lafayette was working as a carpenter and John was only thirteen years old. Sadly, both John and his father were listed as sick, with Lafayette suffering from consumption and John ailing from Catarrh. Taylor’s father passed away on June 18, 1881, and was buried at Blackwood Methodist Cemetery in Blackwood, New Jersey. I was shocked, when I located the gravestone of Lafayette Taylor in Blackwood.
I have yet to locate any information about Taylor or his mother in the year’s immediately following his father’s passing. However, in 1887, Maria A. Taylor received a permit to build a home in Brooklyn, New York. Her was one of 83 building permits issued by Commissioner Platt at the time. On October 8, 1887, “The Brooklyn Daily Eagle” reported “On the south west corner of Railroad avenue and Hill street, in the Twenty-sixth Ward, Miss Maria A. Taylor is about to erect a two-story frame residence, 14×30 for one family, cost $500.” (page 1). Taylor would live with his mother in her home on Railroad avenue from 1896 until his passing in 1938. John W. Taylor was repeatedly listed as an artist at that residence in the “Brooklyn Directory” over the years.
The 1910 Census listed Taylor as a sign painter, working for an advertising company. That year, the Taylor household included his uncle Richard Paddow (74) and his aunt Mary E. Paddow (69). At the time, Taylor was 37 yrs. old and single. Ten years later, the 1920 Census listed Taylor and his mother still living at 438 Railroad Ave. in Brooklyn. He was listed as an artist in the “Paintings” industry. His mother, now 68 yrs. old was working as a music teacher. The two continued to live together for another decade and the 1930 census listed Taylor and his mother still living in Brooklyn, but now 420 Autumn Ave. The report listed that neither was working; both unemployed, likely a result of the market crash of 1929.
Maria Amanda Taylor died at the age of 84 in 1936. Her obituary was published in the Brooklyn Times Union on March 30, 1936. Her obituary published in the Brooklyn Times Union on March 30, 1936, page 20. “Maria Amanda Taylor, 84, widow of Lafayette Taylor and a prominent member of the Goodsell Memorial M. E. Church, will be buried tomorrow at Blackwood, N. J. Funeral services will be conducted in the church tonight at 8 o’clock by the Rev. Dr. Ralph Welles, the pastor. Mrs. Taylor died on Saturday in her home, 432 Autumn Ave. She was one of the 13 founders of the Goodsell Memorial Church, and played organ in its early days. For 25 years, she was superintendent of the primary department of the Sunday School. A son, John W. Taylor, survives.” Maria’s obituary was also published in ”The Brooklyn Daily Eagle” the same day, announcing: “Services Tonight for Maria Taylor. Funeral services will be held tonight at 8 p.m. at the Goodsell Memorial M. E. Church for Mrs. Maria Amanda Taylor, 84, widow of Lafayette Taylor, one of the 13 original founders of the church, who died Saturday at her home, 432 Autumn Ave. She was for many years the only teacher of piano in the section. Mrs. Goodsell [sic] played the organ during the early days of the Goodsell Memorial Church, and was superintendent of the Sunday School for 25 years. A son, John, survives. The services will be conducted by the Rev. Dr. Ralph Welles Keeler, pastor of the church. Burial will be in Blackwood, N. J.” (page 15).
John W. Taylor died on April 3, 1938 at Kings County Hospital (451 Clarkson Avenue) from Pulmonary Tuberculosis. He was buried April 7, 1938 in Black Wood Cemetery, Black Wood, NJ. Death records for John W. Taylor report show that he was still working as a sign painter when he passed, still living at 432 Autumn Ave. His death certificate listed that the informant was his brother, also noted as an executor of his estate – Lafayette Taylor. To date, I have yet to locate any historic record suggesting that Taylor had any other sibling.
Interestingly, John W. Taylor and Maria A. Taylor made newspapers in 1942. On Feb. 23, 1942, “The Brooklyn Citizen” announced:
“ SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, COUNTY OF KINGS – HOME OWNERS’ LOAN CORPORATION, plaintiff vs. GEORGE E. RHODEBECK, heirs-at-law, next-of-kin, devisees, distributes, grantees, assignees, creditors, lienors, trustees, executors, administrators and successors in the interest of MARIA A. TAYLOR and JOHN W. TAYLOR, her son, both deceased, if they be living, and if any of the foregoing be dead, their respective heirs-at-law, next-of-kin, devisees, distributes, grantees, assignees, creditors, lienors, trustees, executors, administrators and successors in interest of the aforesaid classes of persons and all persons who by purchase, marriage, succession or otherwise have or claim an interest on or lien upon the premises described in the complaint, derived through or from any of the aforesaid identities and whereabouts of all of the foregoing being unknown to plaintiff, et. Al., defendants.
SUMMONS AND NOTICE.
TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: You are hereby summoned to answer the complaint in this action and to swerve a copy of your answer, or if the complaint is not served with the summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the plaintiff’s attorney withing twenty (20) days after the service of this summons exclusive of the day of service and in case of your failure to appear or answer judgement will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint.
Dated, New York, Jan. 17, 1942.
SIDNEY SCHNEIDERMAN,
Attorney for Plaintiff,
Office and Post Office Address, 36 West 44th Street, Borough of Manhattan, City of New York.
TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS IN THIS ACTION:
The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an order of Hon. EDWIN L. GARVIN, a Justice of the Supreme Court, Kings County, dated January 14, 1942, and filed with the complaint in the office of the Clerk of Kings County. The object of this action is to reform and foreclose a mortgage held by the plaintiff, made by MARIA A. TAYLOR., dated March 29, 1934, and recorded in the Kings, County Registers office on March 29, 1934, in Liber 7889 of Mortgages, page 205, covering premises situated on the corner formed by the intersection of the southerly side of Hill street with the westerly side of Autumn Avenue, being 25 feet front and rear and 100 feet in depth on each side, less any land lying in the bed of Autumn Avenue as a result of the shifting lines of said street, and more particularly described in said mortgage, and known as 423 Autumn Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.
Dated, January 17, 1942.
SIDNEY SCHNEIDERMAN,
Attorney for Plaintiff” (page 6).
To be continued…
I was amused by the sentence in the article about auditorium of The Grand, “…so arranged that each has an obstructed view of the stage.” I would hope the reporter meant “unobstructed…” but one never knows!