Copyright © 2023 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
There were two newspaper articles published about Perry Landis on Jan. 27, 1881.
Perry Landis, pictured in 1889 Sosman & Landis catalogue.
The first article appeared in Joseph S. Sosman’s hometown newspaper, in Macomb, Illinois. It announced Landis’ recent marriage. At the time, Landis was living with Sosman at 177 S. Peoria St. in Chicago. Sosman remained at the address after the marriage, with Mr. and Mrs. Landis renting a few doors down, at 173 S. Peoria. In 1883, they all moved one block west, living at 155 S. Sangamon. Understandably, this situation did not last for long. By 1885, Sosman returned to his previous home at 177 S. Peoria, with the Landis’ living a few blocks to the west, at 104 Centre av.
On Jan. 27, 1881, Sosman’s hometown newspaper, The Macomb Journal, announced:
“LANDIS-FESSLER. At Shelbyville, Indiana., Jan. 13th, 1881, by Rev. J. G. Chaffee, Perry Landis, of Sosman & Landis, Chicago, and Miss Nora Fessler, of Shelbyville.
When we opened the letter containing the above announcement, saw the well known handwriting of J. S. Sosman, and the word married, we thought sure enough ‘Joe’s married as certain as a gun.’ But further investigation showed it only came near enough to be his partner. Never mind, Joe, it don’t always simply ‘graze’ a fellow. At present, however, content yourself in the felicity of Mr. and Mrs. Landis” (page 5).
Also on Jan. 27, 1881, the Clinton Republican of Wilmington, Ohio, reported, “Perry Landis, of the firm Sosman & Landis, the gentlemen who furnished the scenery for our City Hall, has been in town for the past few days. He proposes, provided the Council are willing, to place an extra curtain in front of the stage at the hall free of charge. The pay to come from advertizers who have their cards inserted on the margin” (Jan. 13, 1881, page 3).
Over the span of less than two weeks, he married, moved his wife to Illinois, and was back to selling scenery in Ohio. During this same period, the firm not only ran a series of nationwide advertisements, but sent salesmen on the road from one town to the next. The idea was to sell advertising spaces on a drop curtain and gift the finished product to a local theater. A drop curtain, paid for by local businesses, was one way to “get your foot in the door.” It often resulted in much larger orders for stock scenery and touring productions. Brilliant marketing strategy. The community and theater owners just needed to see your work and how it compared with existing scenery. In all cases, their work was leaps and bounds above existing stock created by local sign painters. Advertising curtains were guaranteed income as the money was collected before the product was installed.
Here are two examples from early in 1881:
On Feb. 21, the Portsmouth Daily Times in Ohio published, “Sosman & Landis, scenic artists of Chicago, Ill., are soliciting advertisements for a new drop curtain to be painted for Wilhelm’s Opera House.”
On March 17, 1881, Fayette County Herald in Washington, Ohio, reported, “Messrs. Sosman & Landis, of Chicago, hung the new drop curtain in Music Hall last Monday. It is a very pretty piece of work. A beautiful Venetian scene occupies the center, and across the top, bottom and sides are arranged the business cards of prominent firms, painted in attractive and artistic style. The whole presents a very fine appearance and is an improvement over the old curtain” (p. 5).
Orders poured in at such a rate that Sosman & Landis rapidly increased their staff. Keep in mind that Moses was the first scenic artist hired at Sosman in 1880. Nine years later, the firm employed a staff of twenty-five artists, in addition to managing regional branches all across the country.
Of the scenic art staff in 1881 Moses wrote, “The others were able to draw more, because they were better in the artistic end, but I had it over them all when it came to speed.” And because of this speed, Moses became the best candidate to send on the road. After all, you want someone who is fast, as it keeps the expenses down, the profit margins up, and the clients happy.
Sadly, this also meant that Moses spent long periods away from his family. He was starting to realize that he was in a losing position; making less money than before and spending less time with his family. This became apparent by the onset of 1881, with Moses writing, “1881 opened with a restless feeling for me. I wanted to do something to get more money.” When Moses was in Chicago, he also painted for Lemuel L. Graham at the Academy of Music in Chicago, writing, “I enjoyed the work, even if I had to do it evenings and Sundays. I received good pay for this, which all helped. The plays were mostly of the melodramatic order and required a lot of scenery. Sosman and Landis knew I was helping Graham and seemed to be pleased that I was forging ahead.” By the summer of that year, Graham was also working for Sosman & Landis.
Graham and Moses painted scenery for the Academy of Music in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As with all projects for Sosman & Landis, a stage carpenter was sent on site, ahead of the artists, to prepare the space, install stage machinery and superintend the final installation. In Minneapolis, it was Charles S. King.
King was an extremely gifted, well-respected, and nationally-renowned stage carpenter when he stared working at Sosman & Landis. He installed scenery at the Minneapolis Grand Opera House earlier that year. On Jan. 27, 1881, Minneapolis Star Tribune explained that Mr. King “is regarded as one of the best stage-carpenters in the country, having had a wide experience and possessing perfect knowledge of his profession. He says our opera house will have the finest stage, the easiest worked, and will be the best appointed of any theater west of Chicago, or of many large eastern cities (Jan 27, 1881, p. 5).
Grand Opera House, Minneapolis, MN, 1885. Minnesota Historical Society.
It was likely the success of this project that landed the Academy of Music work.
Academy of Music, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo by William Henry Illingsworth, 1874. Minnesota Historical Society.
On August 20, 1881, The Minneapolis Journal reported:
“THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC.
Beautiful New Scenery Ready for the Public Gaze – General Renovation of the Auditorium.
Manager Herrick last evening invited the members of the press, lit up the Academy of Music and exhibited the new scenery painted under Sosman & Landis, of Chicago by Graham & Moses. Everything is new from the drop curtain to the smallest bit of stage illusion. The drop curtain in the center shows a framer of the same size as that which formerly contained the group of dyspeptic cadavers who so long exposed to the public gaze that their consumptive frames in the midst of a mad revel incited by one consecutive glass of beer and a bunch of grapes. The new painting represents a scene in Normandy with a cotter’s home in the foreground and grand old mountains in the rear, one of the hill-tops crowned with an ancient ruin. The coloring and lights and shadows in this picture, as in all the scenery, is soft and pleasing. The large frame surrounding the picture is draped with a representation of a lace curtain drooping in graceful folds and parting on either side to show a large vase of flowers. The drop which is revealed as the curtain is rolled up, represents heavy white silk drapery trimmed with rich fringe, while on each side are looped curtains of cardinal velvet, edged with ermine. The proscenium arch pillars are new and handsome. There have been added some fifteen new scenes among them; the street scene, representing the times of ’76; the ‘center door fancy;’ ‘the plain chamber;’ ‘the oak interior.’ The ‘palace arch’ with its beautiful effect; ‘the dungeon scene,’ grim with skulls, rusty chains, and heavily barred windows; ‘the cottage flat;’ ‘the drawing room;’ ‘the rocky pass,’ etc., etc. The painters have been especially happy in their out-door scenery; the trees and shrubbery standing out in bold relief, so that one is led to wonder why the timid maiden, coy and fair, does not seek shelter behind their friendly trunks when ‘the villain still pursues her.’ The scenery is all new, every piece of it, and the Academy is to-day as fully equipped as any similar theater in the country and certainly none can boast of more artistic worth in their scenic effects” (page 1).
For more information about this venue, visit: https://twincitiesmusichighlights.net/venues/academy-of-music/
Moses became very canny about getting his name in print, in addition to the name of the firm. He must have realized that this was key to securing his own future career as a scenic artist. Many studio artists remained nameless throughout the duration of their life, sole credit going to the firm where they worked.
This was an incredibly exciting time at the firm as they rapidly became the largest scenic firm in the country. Between the summers of 1881 and 1882, the firm delivered scenery to seventy-four venues in nineteen states and three territories. This number did not reflect other projects for touring shows or local productions. We only know of this number as a list of scenery installations was published in Sosman’s home town of Macomb, Illinois.
On July 14, 1882, The Macomb Journal reported:
“SOSMAN & LANDIS – A Leading Firm in Their Line in Chicago – The Senior a Macomb-Raised and Educated Boy.
“Nearly all the county readers of the Journal know ‘Joe’ Sosman, and that he is in Chicago in the scenery-painting business, but few, if any, are aware of the prominence of the firm of which he is the senior partner. ‘The News Letter,’ a paper devoted to the theatrical interest, in an article not long since, gave some account of the prominence and business of the firm, which article we append below. We know it will be perused with interest by hundreds of the ‘Journal’ readers, who have a lively solicitude not only for Mr. Sosman, but for every McDonough county boy who goes out in this great world to carve his fortune, his head and hand being his only capital. Here is the article:
One of the surest indications that Chicago is fast becoming one of the most important dramatic centers in America is the evidence before us, that in all matters pertaining to the theatrical profession Chicago has become, so to speak, a manufacturing center. Theatrical printing, etc., have long been staple industries, but of late years, matters which hitherto might have been considered as peculiarly belonging to the great metropolis of the East, have taken prosperous root in Chicago. Among the industries we refer to is that of fitting up opera houses and out of town theatres.
Some five years ago, Messrs. Sosman & Landis, a firm composed of a couple of enterprising young fellows established in this city what they termed a scenic studio. The beginning gave them a good deal of hard work, but in the period we have mentioned above, their business has grown from comparatively nothing to being one of the most important of its description in the United States. This all speaks volumes for Chicago as a theatrical center, and say what we may, there is no disavowing the fact that next to New York city, Chicago is without a question the most important locality in America in all matters pertaining to general amusement affairs.
Perhaps no better recommendation could be given to the firm we have referred to above than the information which is contained in their circulars to managers, and which tells the actual number of houses they have fitted-up since the first of June, 1881. We give the list as a matter of curiosity as much as anything else:
New Opera House, Rockford, Illinois
Academy of Music, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Grand Opera House, Richmond, Indiana
Hill’s Opera House, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Humblin’s Opera House, Battle Creek, Michigan
Union Opera House, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Russell’s Opera House, Bonham, Texas
Brownsville Opera House, Brownsville, Texas
My Theatre, Fort Worth, Texas
Leach’s Opera House, Somerville, Tennessee
Kahn’s Opera House Boliver, Tennessee
King’s Opera House, Jackson, Tennessee
Stummer’s Hall, Washington, Georgia
Vicksburg Opera House, Vicksburg, Mississippi
McWhinney’s Opera House, Greenville, Ohio
Yengling Opera House, Minerva, Ohio
City Hall, Athens, Ohio
Freeman’s Opera Hall, Geneseo, Illinois
Odd Fellows Hall, Peshtigo, Wisconsin
Hyde’s Opera House, Lancaster, Wisconsin
Klaus’ Opera House, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Storie’s Opera House, Menominee, Wisconsin
Holt’s Opera House, Anamosa, Iowa
King’s Opera House, Hazleton, Iowa
Opera House Nanticoke, Pennsylvania
Opera House Athens, Georgia
Opera House Gainesville, Texas
Opera House Reidsville, North Carolina
Edsell Opera House, Otsego, Michigan
New Opera House, Howell, Michigan
Stouch Opera House, Garnett, Kansas
Germania Hall, Blair, Nebraska
Bennett’s Opera House, Urbana, Ohio
Klaus’ Opera House, Jamestown, Dakota
Opera House, Westville, Indiana
City Hall, Mineral Point, Wisconsin
City Hall, Lewisburg, West Virginia
Opera House, Denison, Iowa
Opera House, Nevada, Ohio
Opera House, Hoopeston, Illinois
Opera House, Cambridge, Illinois
Turner Hall, LaSalle, Illinois
Kolter’s Opera House, Wausau, Wisconsin
Opera House Moberlv, Missouri
Krotz’s Grand Opera House Defiance, Ohio
Opera House, Montague, Michigan
Opera House Eutaw, Alabama
Opera House, Greyville, Illinois
Opera House, Carthage, Illinois
Masonic Hall, Macomb, Illinois
New Hall, Good Hope Illinois
Music Hall, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Temperance Hall, Seneca, Illinois
Opera House, Jefferson, Iowa
Opera House, Waupaca, Wisconsin
Soldiers’ Memorial Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Opera House, Mexia, Texas
Opera House, Wilson, North Carolina
Opera House, Newbern, North Carolina
Opera House, Goldsboro, North Carolina
Grand Opera House, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cosmopolitan Theatre, Miles City, Montana Territory
Arbeiter Hall, Ludington, Michigan
Opera House, West Bay City, Michigan
Opera House, Detroit, Minnesota
Opera House, Lockport, Illinois
Opera House, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
Opera House, Grass Lake, Michigan
Opera House Demopolis, Alabama
Opera House, Unionville, Missouri
Opera House, Harrodsville, Kentucky
Opera House, Hancock, Michigan
City Hall, New London, Ohio
Opera House, Stevens’ Point, Wisconsin
A visit to the studio of Messrs. Sosman & Landis, in this city, reveals the fact that these gentlemen, at this time, give employment to five of the best scenic artists in the United States, and that their facilities for turning out first-class work with promptitude and at reasonable figures is unequaled by any establishment in America. At this very moment these gentlemen are actively employed in fitting-up the interior of one or two of the best theatres in the West, and their large corps of artists and stage carpenters are constantly kept busily at work.
We take some little pride in the success of these gentlemen. It has always been, and still is, our ambition to see Chicago ahead in all matters pertaining to western dramatic affairs, and the unusual success which has attended the venture of Messrs. Sosman & Landis is a feather in the cap of our wishes.
It is true that much of the success attended these gentlemen has been due to the fact that they have proved entirely reliable in all their transactions, and that their work has always been of the very best. They take contracts to fit up the entire stage of any new house in course of erection, and we venture to say from undoubted information that no contract that they have ever undertaken has proved aught but most highly satisfactory. With their success the success of Chicago as a dramatic center is blended, and we are more than glad to see that to-day, in nearly every opera house in the West, which is under erection, the contract for fitting up the stage has been let to Sosman & Landis.’
The article mentions “five of the best scenic artists in the United States” and “their large corps of artists and stage carpenters.” Studio staff at this time included Thomas G. Moses, Lemuel L. Graham, William P. Davis, Harry Barrow C. Barrow, Charles S. King, and Cyrus M. Crouse, and C. W. Corey. There were certainly more individuals on staff, but I have yet to identify them.
In 1881, the firm placed numerous advertisement in newspapers across the country. No other scenic artist or studio placed advertisements at this scale. They certainly reaped the benefits of a successful marketing campaign. Here are two examples that appeared in Ohio and Texas newspapers.
On April 15, 1882, The Cincinnati Enquirer published the following advertisement:
This same advertisement was placed two weeks earlier in The Galveston Daily News on April 1, 1882 (page 3).
Sosman & Landis also began to refurbish and sell old scenery. Clients seldom had use for old scenery, especially after a stage was enlarged. The firm listing used scenery for sale.
On Feb. 11, 1882, The Cincinnati Enquirer announced, “FOR SALE – SCENERY FOR HALLS – Elegant drop curtain, 15 scenes, necessary wings, borders, &c., 23 pieces in all; new and artistic; a bargain. SOSMAN & LANDIS, 277 S. Clark st., Chicago, Ill.
A similar advertisement was published on May 6, 1882, again in The Cincinnati Enquirer:
“FOR SALE – DROP CURTAIN- Elegant drop curtain and set of scenery. 18 pieces in all; only $125. SOSMAN 7 LANDIS. 277 and 279 S. Clark st., Chicago” (page 3).
Moses was constantly on the road that year. On September 7, 1881, he celebrated the birth of their second child from afar, writing, “Ella was in Sterling with her mother…This baby girl was a reminder that I would have to earn more money, so the firm gave me $26.00 per week, as I did a great deal of extra work, all on the day rate, I never received more than straight time.”
Keep in mind that many of Moses’ scenic art colleagues were making $35 to $45 a week. This “extra work” for the firm kept Moses away from outside projects; projects that would pay much more. Studio work continued to be combination of in-studio and on-site work, with teams of artists working together. In 1881, Moses mentioned working on the road with both Graham and Davis.
Moses and Davis delivered a large stock scenery collection to the Richmond, Indiana. Davis was also a very skilled stage carpenter and mechanic.
On Sept. 19, 1881, The Evening Item described the newly refurbished Grand Opera House (p. 1). Of the Moses’ work, the article reported, “There has been added as scenery one fancy set chamber, four wings; one set plain chamber, four wings; one kitchen, and one prison, each four wings; one wood, six wings; one landscape, one perspective street, one rocky pass, one horizon, one ocean, one garden, one grand drapery border, one set tormentor wings and doors, three drapery borders, two kitchen borders, three foliage borders, one set cottage, one set bridge, four set rocks, one tree, two set waters, one foreground, one garden wall, one balustrade, two statues….the scenic work was done by Sosman & Landis, of Chicago. The drop curtain, by Thomas G. Moses is the finest piece in the entire work and really a work of art.” Moses’ assistant, William P. Davis, would later go on to establish the Twin City Scenic Co. in Minneapolis. Davis was likely one of the artists that dropped by as business increased. In 1880, Davis was listed as an artist, living at 193 W. Van Buren. The Sosman & Landis studio was located at the intersection of Clark and Van Buren Streets. Moses also lived at 744 W. Van Buren.
Over the course of the next few years, both Moses and Davis left Sosman & Landis to partner with Lemuel L. Graham; Moses in 1883, and Davis in 1885. Graham also worked for Sosman & Landis at this time. All three were working for the firm in Chicago during 1884.
On Sept. 28, 1882, the Unionville Republican in Missouri reported, “The grand opening of Roth’s New Opera House in this city will take place the middle of October, at which time George Kendall’s Grand Dramatic and Comedy Company will give three entertainments. The new scenery from the studio of Sosman & Landis, the celebrated Chicago artists will be used for the first time on opening night” (p. 3). The firm’s work was extremely popular with the community. On Oct. 12, 1882, the Unionville Republican reported, “Messrs. Sosman & Landis, of Chicago, at whose studio the work was done, have fitted out nearly all of the leading Opera House in the west, and their scenery both as to beauty and effectiveness ranks among the best in the country. The work they have done for Mr. Roth is no exception and will be a source of genuine surprise and pleasure to our citizens when the opportunity is offered them to inspect it. The outer drop curtain has a beautiful painting in. the center representing a scene on the Nile, with the ruins of an Egyptian temple in the background. In the foreground a group of dusky Arabs are standing near the waters edge near the ruins of a second temple. The inner curtain presents a charming illustration of one of the famous Swiss lake scenes, with an old Castle in the foreground. Beyond the broad waters of the lake the rugged mountains rise in the background giving the whole scene a beautiful winning aspect. The blending of colors in both scenes is exquisite. The scenery embraces eight distinct scenes as follows: Parlor, Kitchen, Street, Woods, Prison, Landscape, Ocean and Garden. Also, four interior wings, four exterior wings, one grand drapery, two sky borders, three set rocks, and one set cottage. Under the manipulation of a skillful stage manager many other combinations may be arranged out of the scenes. The opera House is in truth a little gem, both a credit to our city and its enterprising owner” (p. 3).
The firm’s stage carpenters were critical for on-site work and frequently mentioned in local newspapers. On Oct. 12, 1882, the Unionville Republican reported, “During the past week, Mr. C. S. King, of Chicago, one of the most experienced stage carpenters in that city, has been busy arranging the stage fittings and mounting the scenery, and by the first of next week everything will be in readiness for the opening” (p. 3). To date, I have only located seven stages that credit King with the construction. They include the Grand Opera House and Academy of Music in Minneapolis Minnesota (1881), Roth’s Opera House in Unionville, Missouri (1882), Ragsdale Opera House in Newton, Kansas (1885), Myar’s Opera House in El Paso, Kansas (1886), Crawford Grand Opera House in Wichita, Kansas (1888), and the Crump Theatre in Columbus, Indiana (1889). Yet by 1889 he was credited with over 200 stages for the firm. This means that King was one of many stage carpenters employed by the firm in the 1880s. It would make sense as King was not only a skilled stage carpenter, but also a scenic artist. In 1882 the Chicago Directory listed King ‘s residence as 320 W. Van Buren. This is the same street that was home to Moses and Davis.
Another long-term Sosman & Landis employee working at the time was H. C. Barrow. On October 11, 1882, The Atlanta Constitution announced, “Mr. H. C. Barrows, representing Sosman & Landis, scenic artists of Chicago, put in Scheurman’s opera house a new and beautiful advertising drop curtain. The work on this curtain is nicely executed and presents a fine appearance. In the centre is a very handsome southern landscape scene, and around the border is decorated with 14 nicely arranged business cards representing different firms in the city. This curtain does not interfere with the regular drop curtain but can be used as a change at intervals during entertainment. Its cost is about one hundred and fifty or seventy-five dollars and may be classed strictly as both useful and ornamental” (p. 2). Scheurman’s Opera House was in Griffin, Georgia.
Other projects completed by Barrows over the years included: the Taylor Opera House in Jefferson, Texas; Ghio’s Opera Hall in Texarkana, Texas; the Capital Opera House in Little Rock, Arkansas; the Pine Bluff Opera House in Pine Bluff, Arkansas; the Academy of Music in Fort Smith, Arkansas; the Van Buren Theater in Van Buren, Arkansas; an academic hall in Salem, Illinois; the City Hall in Frederick, Maryland; the Springer Opera House in Columbus, Georgia; the Opera House in Vicksburg, Mississippi; and the Opera House in El Paso, Texas.
Cyrus M. Crouse (1837-1899) was also on staff near the beginning. In 1880, his residence was only a few doors down from the studio, at 253 Clark. Over the years, newspaper articles listed Corey as a stage architect, stage carpenter and master mechanic. On September 2, 1882, the “Montgomery Advertiser” listed Corey as the stage architect for a new theatre in Montgomery, Alabama. This was possibly his first project with the firm. On Dec. 1, 1882, the “Pensacola Commercial” reported, “Mr. C. W. Corey, stage carpenter, of Chicago, Ill., arrived in the city last Wednesday, and has gone to work with a good force on the stage of the new opera house, and will have it ready for Ford’s company, who have an engagement here beginning on the first of January” (page 3). Both Barrows and Corey were working together in Vicksburg, Mississippi, when Sosman & Landis delivered scenery and stage machinery to the opera house. For this project, Barrows was painting, with Corey installing the scenery.
The Sosman & Landis staff in 1881 and 1882 relied on several individuals who could work on projects as either scenic artists or stage carpenters. This was key in keeping overhead down as the firm tried to amass funds to build a studio.
Other Sosman and Landis projects not listed in the 1882 Macomb article, those completed early in 1881 and late in 1882, included opera houses in: Appleton, Wisconsin; Moberly, Missouri; Topeka, Kansas; and Strong City, Kansas. Of the stage in Appleton, Wisconsin, The Nennah Daily Times reported, “The new opera house in Appleton is first-class…There are twelve changes of scenery painted by Sosman & Landis, of Chicago” (9 Dec 1882, p. 4). On Dec. 21, 1882, the Emporia Republican in Kansas reported that the Strong City Opera House had “been fitted up by Sosman & Landis, scenic artists of Chicago, and it is a gem of an opera house” (page 1).
In the early 1880s, Sosman & Landis were taking the nation by storm. By 1882, Sosman & Landis also managed offices in Chicago, New York, and Kansas City.
To be continued…
