Copyright © 2023 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1891, Perry Landis explained to a reporter why he and Joseph Sosman selected Chicago for their first studio:
“…we were totally unknown, and New York presented a good deal of formidable competition. It’s the name you want in our business, and, at that time, we hadn’t got it.”
For years, I have tracked down artists who specialized in theatre scenery, those specifically listed in US City Directories. It has been a daunting task, but my research has helped me track the movements and demographics of scenic artists between 1850 and 1900. I have been able to explore shifts in occupational title as artists journeyed from one region to the next. Their job titles included scenic artists, scenery artists, scene artists, scenery painters, scene painters, and scenic painters. Some even omitted their occupation entirely in City Directories, or just went by artist or painter.
While entering scores of names, addresses, and dates, I noticed that many metropolitan areas east of Chicago were saturated with established artists. I completely understand why Sosman & Landis didn’t set up shop in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, New Orleans, or San Francisco. These cities already hosted generations of scene painters.
Although there was an abundance of work, it would have been a struggle to compete with more well-known and established artists. In short, there were too many artists in the eastern cities with long-standing reputations at specific entertainment venues and touring groups. Unless you were apprenticed to one of these master painters, it could have been difficult to get the most lucrative jobs with steady employment. Although the demand for painted scenery was greater than the supply of artists, location mattered. Connections were key in established markets.
In 1879, Chicago was still in the process of rebuilding itself after the Great Fire of 1871. This meant new construction, new buildings, and new transit lines. It also meant new theaters and new management. Any scenic art hierarchy that existed before the fire was long gone. In fact, many scenic artists had left Chicago in search of other work elsewhere across the country, settling into new venues and establishing new partnerships. This meant that those venturing west had little competition for a few years. In fact, Sosman & Landis was the only firm listed in the scenic artist section of the 1880 Chicago Directory. They had arrived in town the year before, quickly setting up shop on the south-side of Chicago.
In 1879, Sosman & Landis leased their first studio at 277 and 279 South Clark Street. Their space was in a multi-purpose building, located at the northeast corner of Van Buren and S. Clark. See the location below – marked with a red star.
Sosman & Landis’ first studio at the corner of Van Buren and Clark streets in Chicago. Here is a link to the full 1880 Mitchell map: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/1880_Mitchell_map_of_Chicago.jpg
The Studio Building
Rental advertisements published in the Chicago Tribune provide some insight into the rental spaces at 277 and 279 South Clark street. There were several retail spaces, dozens of residential units, and a large hall.
For example, on April 12, 1873, the Chicago Tribune listed:
“TO RENT – STORE 20×50 IN BRICK BUILDING, on the south side; first-class location for a good drug store. Also two others, same size, suitable for dry goods or boot and shoe. Call or address Room 6, 279 Clark-st., corner Van Buren” (page 7)
On Oct. 31, 1875, the Chicago Tribune published:
“TO RENT – CHEAP – OFFICES AND SLEEEPING rooms in the building known as 277 and 279 South Clark-st. A large hall suitable for lodge or society purposes, in building 277 and 279 South Clark-st. Also basement 279 South Clark -st…Inquire of GEO. G. NEWBURY, Rooms 8 and 9 Bryan Block, or the OWNER, 279 South Clark-st” (page 15). For additional context, George Gardner Newbury (1842-1912) was a real estate agent and loan broker. At the time of his passing, his obituary remembered him as “one of the oldest real estate men in Chicago” (Chicago Tribune 3, Jan. 1912, p. 11).
Another rent ad published in the Chicago Tribune on April 8, 1877, announced:
“TO RENT – SECOND AND THIRD FLOORS of 277 and 279 South Clark-st. containing 26 rooms with all conveniences. Inquire of GEORGE G. NEWBURY, Rooms 8 and 9 Bryan Block” (page 13).
The Sosman & Landis Studio was strategically situated between two public transit lines and a railway depot. Known as the Rock Island Depot, the station housed the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific R.R., as well as the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Lines. Close proximity to a railway hub was important for theatrical manufacturers to succeed, especially if they planned to import skilled labor and export product.
1886 Robinson Fire Map showing the location of the train depot, located one block west of Sosman and Landis on Van Buren.
Although a few studios advertised “scenery to let” at this time, Sosman & Landis advertised mail-order scenery. In fact, they may have been the first US scenic studio to offer this service. Sosman & Landis placed an advertisement in the Chicago Tribune on May 17, 1879:
“SCENERY FOR HALLS – AN ELEGANT Landscape drop-curtain, only $30; parlor scene, $18; wood scene, $18; street scene, $18, kitchen scene, $15; prison scene, $15, all new and first-class suitable for small halls or amateur societies. Can be shipped to any part of the country. SOSMAN & LANDIS, 277 and 279 South Clark-st., Chicago” (page 3).
1879 Sosman & Landis advertisement.
I really wonder if Sosman & Landis rented the great hall in the building at 277 and 279 South Clark Street. It certainly made sense as they needed room for construction, sewing, painting, and storage. Also, if there had been an existing stock scenery collection in the hall, it that could have been removed, refurbished, and immediately sold.
The Neighborhood
In addition to exploring the various rental spaces at 277 and 279 South Clark Street, I identified 47 individuals living in the building during 1880. Occupations listed for the residents included carpenter, blacksmith, tinsmith, printer, clerk, bookkeeper, tailor, shoemaker, broker, and speculator.
This heavily-trafficked neighborhood was home to a variety of individuals from varying ethnic and economic backgrounds. The area was diverse, albeit somewhat rough. In fact, a portion of the neighborhood was even labeled “whisky row.” Newspaper articles and public records described robberies, fist fights, shootings, suicides, and homicides. Perusing newspaper accounts between 1879-1880 indicated an interesting mix of people, organizations, and activities.
There was also an incredible amount of good that was done in the area – missionary work, charity, and black activism – all at the intersection of Clark and Van Buren Streets. A few particular groups caught me eye as I read through hundreds of articles from 1879-1880.
This intersection was considered one of the “great thoroughfares” for the Yoke Fellows. They frequented the crossroads of Clark and Van Buren. This group was described at the 1879 YMCA convention. A. T. Henningway stated, “The Yoke Fellows seek to reach young men of each class by Christian young men of that class in their own band.” At the same convention, President D. L. Moody said, “I was among the “yoke fellows” in Chicago a few years ago, and spent with them some of the pleasantest hours of my life. They would pray together and then start out, every man to his post, upon the four corners of the great thoroughfares, before all the hotels, and in public places generally. And a man could not get within one mole of their head-quarters without receiving an invitation” (Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Convention, 1879, p. 50).
The Pacific Garden Mission was also situated at the corner of Van Buren & Clark. It was a homeless shelter founded in 1877 by Colonel George Clarke and Sarah Dunn Clarke, taking its name from the former tenant, a saloon known as Pacific Beer Garden. Instead of changing the sign, Clarke painted out the word “beer” and added “Mission.” Pretty clever and thrifty. 1880 advertisements for services at the Pacific Garden Mission announced, “all were welcome” (Chicago Tribune, 4 March 1880, page 8). The Mission still exists and is considered “the nation’s oldest rescue mission working to change lives through God’s transformative love.” Here is their website: https://www.pgm.org/who-we-are/our-history/#:~:text=The%20Mission%20began%20in%201877,speaking%20eloquently%20of%20God’s%20love.
In addition to religious outreach, there was also a significant amount of black activism. Pacific Hall, was host to a variety of groups, including Company A of the “Sixteenth Battalion, I. N. G. (colored).” This group started out as the “Hannibal Zouaves,” organized by Capt. Robert E. Moore as an independent black militia company, but was later designated as Company A, 16th Battalion Illinois National Guard. On March 30, 1879 the Chicago Tribune announced:
“Ward Meetings Monday. First Ward – The Hannibal Zouaves, Company ‘A’ will celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment at Pacific Hall, corner Van Buren and Clark-sts. Speakers are Gen. O. L. Mann, E. R. Bliss, M. F. Tarble” (p. 8).
In fact, their first annual entertainment at Pacific Hall included “Forty-five handsomely uniformed and well equipped colored men were in the ranks and they marched well and went through the manual of arms fairly. It is said that the company can muster seventy men in all, but there are not enough uniforms for the whole number” (Chicago Tribune, 1 April 1879, p. 8). Their events were often advertised as “a grand military bal masque” (Chicago Tribune 18 Jan 1880, p. 12).
In 1880, the Pacific Hall also hosted a meeting discussing “colored people desirous of holding a convention to elect delegates to a State Convention” (Chicago Daily Telegraph 30 June 1880 p. 1). The Chicago Tribune announced this “mass meeting of colored men” at the Pacific Hall reporting, “Judge William Bord of Cairo, reviewed the political situation from the standpoint of colored interests, and urged that there should be no division, but that the colored people should work as one that they might be a factor in State, city, and National politics. The elevation of the negro should be their aim, and to that end all their thoughts and actions should be directed” (12 Oct 1880, p.8).
Pacific Hall was also rented by the Monaco Club, a group described in the Chicago Tribune as “a colored organization” (27 Oct, 1880, page 8). Two of the other groups that used the hall included the Sabbath School Union and the Love and Charity Society.
The First Studio Staff
The same year that Sosman & Landis leased studio space on Clark, Perry’s younger brother, Frank Landis, was brought on as a salesman. He traveled throughout the region, securing scenery orders for the firm.
On August 16, 1879, the Atchison Daily Patriot announced, “Frank Landis, representing the firm of Sosman & Landis, is in Atchison” (page 4). As the firm’s project load increased, there was a need for additional staff. In the beginning, Sosman painted all of the scenery, with the hwlp of Landis when necessary. For larger projects, they used a few local hires. This is also how Sosman entered the scenic art profession; he assisted Tom Harrison painting scenery at Chandler’s Opera House in 1873. At that time, Sosman was a local hire. In Macomb, Illinois, Sosman primarily worked as a decorative artist and sign painter.
Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934)
Thomas G. Moses was hired by Sosman in 1880. Moses walked into the studio on Clark Street. He was in the right place at the right time. Landis was on the road and Sosman needed help. In his memoirs Moses wrote: “I had heard of Sosman and Landis, and they knew of me. I called on them, met Mr. Sosman, and settled to go to work for them for $18.00 per week.”Moses was only living a few blocks away from the studio, at 428 Van Buren.
A view from the intersection of Clark and Van Buren Streets.
Of his home on Van Buren, Moses wrote, “We had four rooms, second floor, in a brick building, $11.00 per month…We set our table on $3.00 per week and lived well.”
Sosman and Landis leased their own private residence on the west side, at 177 S. Peoria. However, the public transit line ran along Van Buren street, so their studio was only a short ride away.
Between In 1881, Landis married Nora Fessler and rented an apartment just a few doors down on the same street. Sosman remained at 177 South Peoria, with Landis and his wife living at 173 South Peoria. Want ads describe the house at 173 South Peoria as having ten rooms (Chicago Tribune 1 May 1872, p. 7).
Sosman & Landis did not remain on Peoria street for long. In 1882, the boarding and lodging section of the Chicago Tribune listed “177 South Peoria-St. – a south and east front room, well furnished with first-class board for gentleman and wife or two gents” (26 Feb 1882, p. 12). Both Sosman and Landis moved a block west, securing a residence at 155 S. Sangamon.
To be continued…
