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Part 566: Nicholas J. Pausback

In 1907, Thomas G. Moses split his time between Sosman & Landis’ 20^th Street studio and the main studio He wrote, “Did a great many scenes and drop curtains and we kept a good force at 20^th Street. I depended a great deal on Pausback to look after the work while I was away. Everyone seemed to work hard.”

Moses was referring to the scenic artist Nicholas John Pausback Jr. (5 May 1881-13 May 1953), His obituary referred credited him as a “scenic artist de luxe”(Chicago Tribune 14 May 1953, page 36).

Pausback stayed in the theatrical scenery business for 45 years, not retiring until 1947. He became the founder of Pausback studios, a company that lasted for exactly twenty years, from 1927-1947.

Prior to his work for Sosman & Landis in Chicago, Pausback worked in St. Louis, Missouri. Records show that his two eldest children were born there during 1905 and 1906. By 1907, Pausback is working with Moses in Chicago. In 1908, Pausback is noted as a shop manager at Sosman & Landis, taking charge of their 20^th Street studio studio by 1911. In 1916, Pausback installed New York shows with Harry Nailer, stage carpenter. Pausback founded Pausback Scenery Co. Living at 6606 Woodlawn Ave., in Chicago Illinois during the late 1920s His scenery company was located at 3727 Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago (Chicago Tribune 2 Dec. 1928, page 2).

In 1928, Pausback also wrote a book on Stage Craft (Dec. 17, 1928). Trying to track down a copy now! The following year, Pausback Scenery Co was credited with a modern idea to meet the requirements of gigantic Christmas trees – spangles in various shapes and sizes, some that measured 10 inches in diameter! (Chicago Tribune 9 Dec. 1929, page 3).

His company pops up again in several internet searched during the 1930s. In 1934, the management of the Century of Progress world fair in Chicago thanked Pausback Scenery Co. for providing properties for Wings of a Century. I have included the entire program as it is quite interesting in itself. Toward the end of his career, Pausback was also working with Art W. Oberbeck (Blue Island Sun Standard Archives, 15 June 1944, Page 6). Oberbeck and Pausback has worked at Sosman & Landis during the same time. Oberbeck started as a paint boy at the studio in 1904.

Pausback was also an amateur magician. As a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the American Society of Magicians, he was known as “Nicodemus, the Magician” (Chicago Tribune 14 May 1953, page 36).

Pausback passed away in 1953 and was buried in St. Mary Catholic Cemetery. He was survived by his wife Ottlia Groebl Pausback; daughters Elvira Pausback Howard, Mrs. Mary Crescentia Pausback Welsh and Mrs. Therese Pausback Curtis; sons the Very Reverend Nicholas Albert Pausback/Father Gabriel of the Carmelite Order, Raymond Joseph and Lawrence; and nine grandchildren.

 

By 1959 there would be advertisements for ACME CARSEN PAUSBACK scenic studios (“Back Matter.” Educational Theatre Journal 11, no. 1 (1959): I-Xxxviii. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3204606.). The three names caught my attention. In regard to ACME studio, several disgruntled Sosman & Landis employees for Service Studios in 1920. Service Studios soon became ACME studios in Chicago. I have an ACMR studios sales book and they simply replicated existing Sosman & Landis Scottish Rite designs.

The Carsen of Acme Carsen Pausback Studio was Robert W. Carsen. He a scenic artist and stage mechanic, working as over hire at J. C. Becker & Bros. Carsen also ran his own studio, Robt. W. Carsen, advertising as “constructors and painters of theatrical scenery.” His studios were located at 1507 North Clark Street, and he was hired to build some Masonic scenery for the Moline Scottish Rite during 1930.

By the 1950s, Acme Carsen Pausback, were delivering stage curtains for Chicago area schools, including an elementary school in district 7 of Chicago.

To be continued…

Part 565: 1907 Sketching Trip to Kitzmiller

After visiting the Jamestown Exposition in 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We finished the trip by going to West Virginia on a sketching trip.” His first sketching trip to West Virginia was in 1885 with fellow scenic artists Henry C. Tryon and John H. Young. The three men had drifted from place to place, capturing picturesque scenes of the region. Finding lodging for three itinerant artists was far easier than a middle-aged married couple.

In 1907, Tom and Ella encountered a problem securing lodging in the area. Moses wrote that they visited “first Schell, no hotel, then to Blaire, W. Virginia, no hotel, then Kitzmillerville, Md. Across the river from Blaine, no hotel. Only a coal miner’s boarding house. Finally got the landlady to keep us overnight. Some come-down after our fine hotel at Norfolk.”

The river that Moses referred to is the North Branch of the Potomac River. Located on the wide and winding river was the Kitzmillerville. In 1907, the town derived its economic livelihood from the mining and transport of coal; it was the single most important industry in the town for 75 years. The town now has a Coal Mining Museum, celebrating its heritage and a designated historic district. The historic district is composed of approximately 175 buildings within the town of Kitzmillerville, a coal and lumber town. The town is now known as Kitzmiller.

The area supported a variety of industries. In 1853 Ebeneezer Kitzmiller established a woolen mill and shirt factory. The first trains of the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railroad arrived in the early 1880s, ushering in a new era of cutting and shipping lumber. By the late 1890s, coal companies made an appearance in the area. Among these were the Blaine Coal Co., the Garrett County Coal Co., the Potomac Valley Coal Co. and the Hamill Coal and Coke Company. Unlike may mining towns, Kitzmillerville was not a company town, the majority of houses owned by residents instead of coal or railway companies. The town prospered during the early twentieth century, reaching a peak population of 1500 during the late 1920s and supporting a range of business and entertainment, including an opera house. A series of unfortunate events contributed to Kitzmillerville’s decline, including repeated floods, the first significant one in 1924. In terms of economic devastation, strikes, the Depression, and a decrease in coal demand added to the shrinking of the town. Today, many of Kitzmillerville’s homes stand empty. The bustling town once visited by Tom and Ella Moses has been reduced to a population of 321. There are now only 126 households at the time.

Across the river form Kitzmillerville is the small settlement of Blaine. Blaine remains a small unincorporated community in Mineral County, West Virginia. It is located near the intersection of West Virginia Route 42 and the North Branch of the Potomac River. Like Kitzmillerville, the community was named after businessman, James G. Blaine. Kitzmillerville.

Of their stay in the area during 1907, Moses wrote, “Got some good sketches and had a fine time. We remained at the boarding house. I have written this trip in detail.” Unfortunately, I have not located Moses’ travelogues about any of his sketching trips beyond what was published in the Palette & Chisel Club newsletter.

To be continued…

Part 564: Thomas G. Moses at the Jamestown Exposition, 1907

1907 was a busy year for Thomas G. Moses at Sosman & Landis studio. However, he managed to get away for short trip with his wife Ella. They traveled east to visit the word fair in Norfolk and stayed for a few while so that Moses to do some sketching in West Virginia. Their travels included New York, Trenton, Philadelphia, Washington and Norfolk. They visited the Jamestown Exposition on September 27; it ran from April 26 to November 30 that year.

The Jamestown Exposition commemorated the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown in the Virginia Colony on May 13, 1607.  It was held at Sewell’s Point on Hampton Roads in Norfolk, Virginia, and celebrated the first permanent English settlement in America. The 367-acre site featured a port that hosted the rendezvous of more than 50 warships from around the world. Fourteen Nations were represented at the International Military & Naval Celebration. Sixteen warships from President Theodore Roosevelt’s newly modernized fleet were also in the harbor. On June 28, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson bought 474 acres for the base, including 367 acres of the exposition grounds. The site of the Jamestown exposition became part of the Hampton Roads Navy Base after World War I.

Final attendance numbers were recorded as 2,758,692 for total attendance, with 1,401,409 paying for entry. Admission prices were fifty cents for adults and twenty-five cents for children. Newspapers reported that actual attendance numbers did not meet anticipated projections. There were both logistical and financial problems, as with many world fairs in America; the fair did not generate the expected revenue and a government loan was required to finish the preparations. Toward the end, there was a bustle of activity, and as the opening deadline approached construction materials became scarce. This necessitated the erection of a sawmill on site. Unlike previous world fair delays where the opening was pushed back a few days, the arrival of the ships in the harbor meant there was no option for any postponement.

On the fairgrounds there was an amusement area was known as the “Warpath,” with the tag line “Meet us on the warpath!” Attractions included a wild west show, cycloramas of Gettysburg and Manassas, the “Temple of Mirth,” the “Beautiful Orient,” “Streets of Cairo,” Ferrari’s Wild Animal Show, “Destruction of San Francisco,” Baby Incubator, Deep Sea Diving, the “Klondike Gold Mine,” Princess Trixie and Paul Revere’s Ride, the Old Mill, “Fair Japan,” Colonial Virginia, the Ostrich Farm, American Monorail Exhibit, plus an Intra-Mural and Miniature railway concession. In 1975, twenty of the remaining exposition buildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places as an entire historic district.

Of their visit to the Jamestown Exposition, Moses wrote, “Took the boat from Washington to Norfolk and had a delightful trip immensely, excepting that we found no art gallery in the exposition.” By this time, Moses was a member of both the Salmagundi Club in New York and the Palette & Chisel Club in Chicago, continuing with his fine art work. Previously on the trip, Tom and Ella visited the Carnegie Art Gallery, This was Moses’ first time to the Carnegie Art Gallery and he was delighted with the various artworks.

To be continued…

Part 563: Thomas G. Moses’ Oak Park Studio

At the beginning of 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I started right by painting all of New Years day on several oil paintings. My new studio on the third floor is certainly the right thing. I have more than made the cost from work done in the studio.”

Moses’ third-floor studio was in the same house that he and Ella purchased on May 1, 1893. This coincided with the opening of the Columbian Exposition; projects leading up to the world fair funded the Moses’ ability to look for a home in the Oak Park area. In 1892, Moses’ work turned a $5,000 profit, today’s equivalent of $130,000. The couple eventually selected a one-year-old house in Oak Park, Illinois. Moses recorded that their new home had “very fine wood-work, a large stable, driveway, and a 60 x 178 foot lot.” They bought the house for $8,575.00, today’s equivalent of $222,238.22. Moses also had a perfect spot for a home studio with plenty of light and away tucked away on the third floor.

Moses had always kept a studio in their previous homes, justified by the income he brought in from any extra work. In 1885 he wrote, “I had the front room nicely decorated by Mitchell and Halbach and I more than enjoyed the little studio. With the extra work from the outside, it paid me to keep the room for a studio.” Similarly in 1907 he wrote, “My new studio on he third floor is certainly the right thing. I have more than made the cost from work done in the studio.” By 1913, he commented, “I had over three hundred pictures in the studio.”

The third floor studio in his Oak Park home was his escape. It was located high above the bustle of daily household activities, offering a peaceful space to work hone his artistic skills, remember past sketching trips and plan for the future. The house was always full of people; first there were the children, and then later grandchildren. Their youngest Thomas “Rupert” Moses followed his father into the theatrical trade, with his family lodging with them in both Chicago and California. While Rupert, his wife, and their three daughters lived with Tom and Ella, there was the rule to not disturb grandfather while he was painting in his studio.

Granddaughter Marilyn fondly remembered her grandfather’s studio in a an article “My Grandfather: Artist Thomas G. Moses.” Her reminisces were shared with me by a great-grandson in 2017. Marilyn wrote, “Grandfather had a studio on the third floor of his house. He spent most of his time up there painting…Grandmother tried to ‘protect’ Grandfather from his grandchildren or maybe it was his working time which was important. I didn’t realize the reasons behind the rules. I would go up to the studio to watch. It was quite exciting to see the sets develop. Grandfather taught me how to make furniture out of cardboard and put me to work. I made tables, chairs and lounges.”

To be continued…

Part 562: Thomas G. Moses and “The Reward” by Otis Colburn, 1906

Here is one project that Thomas G. Moses did not record in his memoirs during 1906. He designed and painted scenery for a new play called “The Reward,” written by Otis Colburn and produced by Mr. and Mrs. Arling Alcine. This is an example of the projects completed after hours at Sosman & Landis. One of the ways that the studio retained Moses was by offering him supplies and a space for freelance projects. As I have previously mentioned, this was a fine line to walk as you gave valued staff members freedom and the opportunity for additional income, but you didn’t want to foster a competitive firm that would late steal business. In 1906, work was plentiful and the competition jovial, without the cut throat dealings that began to emerge in the 1902s.

There was an article about the “The Reward” and Moses’ scenic contributions, published in the “Inter Ocean” during July 1906. Here is the article in its entirety:

“Colburn Breaks In.

A new American play in one act entitled “The Reward,” by Otis Colburn, a Chicago newspaper man, was produced in the Coliseum theater last week as a curtain raiser. The playet gives a glimpse of life in Colorado. The scene is in a cabin in the Rocky Mountains. An Eastern man, dying of consumption, his patient young wife, and a hearty young man driven in by a storm are the characters, and a secret concerning all three comes out. Leon McReynolds played the sick man with realism, dying across a couch with a newspaper clutched across his face. His wife tears the paper away, revealing the dead face with a little blood oozing form the corner of his mouth. Arling Alcine played the visitor in a manly, hearty manner, and Grace Hamilton brought out the sweetness and devotion of the wife. The little play was staged with a cabin interior prepared and painted especially for the production by Thomas Moses” (Chicago, 1 July 1906, page 27).

In regard to his newspaper career, in 1887, Otis Colburn was reported to be the editor of the South Minneapolis News. He was credited with giving a theatre party at the People’s Theatre for thirty of his closest friends. (The Saint Paul Globe, 16 Dec. 1887, page 3). In 1896, Colburn was part of the Milwaukee Press Club (The Buffalo Enquirer, 23 June 1896, page 1. That year, he was also associated with the daily paper, the Evening Penny Press, of Minneapolis, Minnesota (Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide 1896-1897). By 1911, Colburn was the correspondent for the Dramatic Mirror (Salina Daily Union, 15 Nov 1911, page 1).

As a playwright and poet, in 1890, Coburn published an entertaining soliloquy in “The Theatre” magazine (24 Jan. 1890, Vol. 7, No. 14,page 242). Here it is, enjoy:

“The Tragedian’s Soliloquy

He sits wit his face in his hands

And, close to him, wan Care,

With squalid shawl and hair;

Both basking in the Square.

He waiting for the wage which pride demands

 

He oft had trod the stage.

He knows each mighty mood

Of man, and shows with shrewd.

Keen revesimilitude

The grander passions, particularly rage.

 

Soft, he

Mutters mournfully’

“Once had I a diamond rare.

Perfect as Juno’s brow.

Beautiful as maiden’s tears!

Tell me, where is it now?

But stay, I do not care.

Bauble! Bauble!

“Once had I a gold-head staff,

Carved, the gold head bore

Words of fame inscribed with love;

These words I have no more.

The tinsel present’s baser half;

Stick and bauble!”

Otis Colburn

To be continued…

Part 561: Sosman & Landis and Jamestown Flood for the White City

I continue with the amusement park attractions described in White City Magazine. One article included information pertaining to the Johnstown Flood attraction with scenic contributions by Sosman & Landis studio.

The Johnstown Flood show initially appeared at the Pan-American Exposition in 1901. An article from “Snap Shots on the Midway” for the Buffalo Exposition advertised the Johnstown Flood attraction as “a scenograph, the logical evolution of the cyclorama, the diorama and the scenic theater, accomplishes the illusion, which is set on an ordinary stage and is in reality a performance in pantomime, where all the actors are what would be called in stage parlance, “properties.” It was transported to Luna Park at Coney Island where it was featured from 1902-1905. When White City was planned, key figures visited Coney Island during the planning phase to identify specific attractions that they would replicate for their own amusement park. One was the Jamestown flood, initially designed by Harley Merry. Other amusements parks also featured the Johnstown, such as White City in Louisville, Kentucky and Electric Park in Baltimore.

Many amusement park attractions were based on staged versions of disasters. On May 31, 1889, a dam near Jamestown, collapsed and flooded the valley with twenty million tons of water. There was virtually no escape as everything was destroyed in the water’s path. Prior to destruction, Jamestown was one of the most prosperous manufacturing towns in Pennsylvania. Including its suburbs, the city had a population of 35,000 persons. Situated at the convergence of the Conemaugh Rover and Stony Creek, the reservoir was approximately fifteen miles northeast from Johnstown. After many days of heavy rain, the dam burst, spilling the entire contents of the reservoir and annihilating the entire town; thousands of lived were lost.

For the White City Amusement Park, Sosman & Moses provided the scenery and effects for the simulated disaster. The White City Magazine included an article on the Johnstown Flood, advertised as “a special feature of the White City, “the most impressive and realistic of all scenic productions and constructed on a gigantic scale. A triumph of scenic art and startling realism.”

Here is the article in its entirety:

“Johnstown Flood. Grandest and Most Spectacular Scenic Production Ever Shown.

The Johnstown Flood, pronounced to be the greatest scenic production ever offered to the public, will be seen at White City.

It was first shown at the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, and it proved to the greatest success of many attractions of this great Fair. It is pronounced by experts to be far superior to the Galveston Flood shown at St. Louis.

The Johnstown Flood, which will be located in White City is a new one, with the scenic work by Sosman & Landis, and will be an improvement over the one at Buffalo. The entire city of Johnstown is shown, with the hills and great reservoir in the distance. This is not a painting, but each of the buildings of the city of Johnstown is truthfully reproduced in miniature. The production opens with the peaceful city of Johnstown with its citizens, commerce, and industry. Men and women are seen going about their pursuits, trains pass through the city, and teamsters are seen transferring freight, while pleasures vehicles drive through the streets. Then comes a storm, and the flood.

Small at first is the stream of water which trickles down the mountains in the distance; the alarm is given, and those who are fortunate enough to apprehend their danger are seen rushing for the hilltops. With a rumble that forebodes the death for hundreds of souls, the walls of the great reservoir give way and down into the valley rushes the tremendous volume of water which submerges the city and crushes great buildings like egg shells. Hundreds of persons are caught in the tremendous torrent and within a few minutes the city is devastated.

The production is correct in all details, the buildings being actual reproductions of those which crumbled beneath the great tidal wave.

The scenic effects are excellent and may be said to be a triumph of stage craft.”

To be continued…

Part 560: Ansel Cook and Venice for the White City

Ansel Cook was once an employee of Sosman & Landis who worked with Thomas G. Moses between 1904 and 1907. Cook managed the 20th street studio, also called the Annex, during Moses absences in 1906 and 1907. Around that same time Cook created scenery for a “special feature” attraction at Chicago’s White City Amusement Park. Cook’s “Venice” was advertised as “a romantic gondola ride through the moonlit water streets of Venice; viewing correct reproductions of her famous buildings and statuary groups.”

There is a promotional book, White City Magazine, for the amusement park published in 1905. It describes Cook’s project in an article titled, “Scenery for Beautiful Venice.”

“SCENERY FOR BEAUTIFUL VENICE.

AN ENORMOUS QUANTITY OF IMPORTED CANVAS REQUIRED FOR MAKING THE PERSPECTIVE VIEWS

Ansel Cook, one of the most famous scenic artists in the United States and whose work is to be found in every first-class theatre, states that more canvas was required for constructing the perspective views which adorn the interior of Beautiful Venice, than was ever before used for any scenic work under one roof. Almost 10,000 yards of Russia sheeting, about 90,000 square feet, was imported direct from Russia because no dealer in this country could supply this enormous quantity. The canvas was used for the reproducing of scenes in Venice through which appear at a distance from the passenger in the gondola. That part of Venice through which the half mile of canals pass is actually built so that real palaces, groups of statuary, etc., are brought to view at every turn of the winding waterways, but the interior walls are hung with enormous panoramic paintings which carry out the effect for a distance of several miles.

In painting these panoramic views, Ansel Cook required the services of six associate artists and a small army of assistants. Their work lasted for a period of four months, during which time the entire force was kept busy practically day and night. The utmost care was exercised in order to give a perfect reproduction of Venice architecturally and in the color scheme. During a recent visit to the city of Venice, Mr. Cook carefully studied the details of ornaments, cornices and mouldings used on the buildings which have been reproduced for White City and he has correctly carried out the original designs in his work.

The wonderful perspective view of the Grand Canal, one of the most magnificent paintings ever produced on canvas, is about 30 feet high by almost 200 feet long. The size of this for an individual painting has rarely been exceeded. Particular care was taken to reproduce the animation and spirit of the busy scene presented to the sight-seer along the Grand Canal, with its host of gondolas, fishing boats with their bright colored sails, fruit barges, etc. Visitors to White City who experience the delights of a gondola ride through Beautiful Venice, will marvel at the life-like reproductions of these historic scenes, while those who are familiar with artistic efforts, will not hesitate to make frank acknowledgment of the excellence of the reproduction.”

Ansel placed two ads in the same 1905 issue of the White City Magazine. The advertisement noted that Ansel Cook, “Scenic Artist, Designer, Originator and Constructor.” He was credited with Venice and the scenic railway projects in White City. The ad includes that Cook was, “now engaged in preparing the $60,000 reproduction of the CITY OF VENICE. Also the $50,000 scenery for the SCENIC RAILWAY at WHITE CITY, Chicago.” Other projects included Cooking being credited as “Designer and Constructor of the famous COAL MINE IN MINIATURE for the Fairmount Coal Co. of West Virginia (Highest Award), and the -wonderful exhibit of the Davis Colliery Co. of West Virginia (Gold Medal), at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition; the two principal features and most popular exhibits in the Mines and Metallurgy Building.” The article concludes that Cook was also the “Designer and Constructor of the Mural Decorations for the Dome of the State Capitol Building at Topeka, Kansas.” The White City Magazine advertisement notes, “Estimates Furnished on Entire Productions or Separate Scenes. When writing to advertisers please mention The White City Magazine.”

Part 559: Thomas G. Moses and Ansel Cook

In 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, ““We opened our annex studio at 19 W. 20^th Street in July, and Ansel Cook went there as a manager.” Moses commented on Cook as a scenic artist, “He did some very good work but was a long time doing it, which, of course, didn’t pay us.” Moses divided his time between Sosman & Landis’ main and annex studios that year, in addition to being on the road a lot. After one extended absence from the annex studio, he wrote, “Took charge of the 20^th Street Studio on my return weeks. Cook did $750.00 of work in three weeks. My first three amounted to $3,500.00, some difference. I hustled while he talked art and what the firm ought to do to get business.” This is a pretty interesting observation made by Moses about Cook, as Moses was known for his speed. Anyone that dawdled or didn’t pull his weight was criticized by Moses.

I have found no information about Ansel Cook beyond his scenic art. Moses records that he was primarily a drapery painter who began working at Sosman & Landis studio during 1904. Prior to his time at Sosman & Landis, Cook worked as a scenic artist with stage mechanic Ben W. Craig for the Castle Square Theatre Company. Together they designed and built many shows from 1896 to 1902. Some of their projects included “The Ensign,” “Captain Swift,” “Rosedale,” “The Heart of Maryland,” “The New South,” “The Prisoner of Zenda,” “Caste,” “Men and Women,” “Mignon,” “Tannhäuser,” “The Prodigal Daughter,” “Darkest Russia,” “A Social Highwayman,” Cumberland 61,” “Col George of Mt. Vernon,” “Nell Gwyn,” “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “The Little Minister,” “Jim the Penman,” and “Quo Vadis.”

By 1905, Cook was working in Chicago, establishing Ansel Cook studios. In addition to painting under his own name, he was also working in the Sosman & Landis studio. This is similar to what Moses did at Sosman & Landis, taking many projects after hours. It also explains his advertisement in White City Magazine where he includes, “All the scenery in beautiful Canals of Venice at White City painted my me.”

The Ansel Cook studio was mentioned in “Minneapolis Journal” as producing the accompanying painted backings for the first formal American production of Lorenzo Perosi’s La Risurrezione di Cristo, the Resurrection of Christ, at the Minneapolis Auditorium in 1905 (2 Sept. 1905, page 14). Perosi’s oratorio was part of the Banda Rossa program performed at the Auditorium during State Fair week, and included Gina Ciaparelli (soprano), Bessie Bonsall (contralto), Albert Quesnel (tenor) and Salvatore Nunziato (baritone) for the solo parts.

Cook’s compositions included “Mary at the Tomb, the meeting between the Savior and Mary Magdalene, the meeting of the Saviour and the Disciples on the Road to Emmaus, the Savior in the Multitude and the Ascension Scene” (Minneapolis Journal, 2 Sept. 1905, page 14). The “Minneapolis Journal” article described, “As the music progresses, these views, each 30×40 feet, with the wonderful electric lighting effects, are dissolved one into another. The effect is intensely interesting, and the mind, acted upon alike by the music and the pictures, is almost overwhelmed by the reality, the beauty and the solemnity of the scenes thus depicted by tone and brush.” The “Star Tribune” added, “These are exquisite works of art and when lighted by the different electrical devices used in their presentation are wonderful, beautiful, and fantastic, illuminating the music as it progresses” (Star Tribune, 3 Sept 1905, page 31). In 1905 Cook’s office was in room 60 of the Grand Opera House Building in Chicago. He was listed as a scenic artist, designer, originator and constructor in The White City Magazine. The Banda Rossa had also performed for four weeks at White City Amusement Park where Cook had painted the scenery for the attraction, “Venice.” The water ride included 90,000 square feet of painted panoramas depicting the sites of the city.

There is little mention of Cook again until 1908 when he is working in California. The “Los Angeles Times” reported, “Ansel Cook, late scenic artist for Henry Miller, has just been engaged for the same position at the Belasco Theatre here. ‘The Great Divide’ settings were made by Mr. Cook. He was for six years with the Castle Square company of Boston” (27 July 1908, page 7). Also that summer, Cook was mentioned as providing new scenery for the Weyerson & Clifford’s Southern Thorne and Orange Blossoms Company (Billboard, Vol. 20, 8 August 1908, page 25).

By fall 1908, the “Los Angeles Times” announced, “Belasco Theatre has a new scene painter, Ansel Cook. He has the reputation of being one of the country. His “Exterior of the Black Snake Ranch,” in Acts II and III, is a Texas landscape, beautiful in color, and one of the most effective backgrounds ever seen on the Belasco stage” (Los Angeles Times, 30 Sept. 1908, page 17). By winter, Cook was also credited with also decorating the green room of Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles (Los Angeles Herald, 13 Dec. 1908, page 32).

I have been unable to locate any information of Ansel Cook beyond 1908, only brief mention of Mrs. Ansel Cook’s attendance at social gatherings. Interestingly, however, a Vaudeville palace drop sketch by Cook sketch was donated to the Morgan Library & Museum by Mr. and Mrs. Donald M. Oenslager in 1982. As with many designs, notes were scribbled all over the back of this painting the Scollay Square Theatre in Boston in 1900. There is a New York Studios stamp on the back: “THE NEW YORK STUDIOS / 1004 TIMES B’LDG, – NEW YORK.” New York Studios was the eastern affiliate of Sosman & Landis managed by David Hunt. This would have been the initial connection between Cook and Sosman & Landis. Moses was also working in New York from 1900-1904. The design also includes a note in pencil, along top edge: “Palace Drop Ansel Cook, Scollay Squ. Theater. Died aft 1915.”

This notation suggests that Cook passed away by 1915, however, I have been unsuccessful in locating any obituary for him during that year.

To be continued…

Here is the link to the Cook design at the Morgan Library & Museum: https://www.themorgan.org/drawings/item/187745

Part 558:Thomas G. Moses and Bert C. Whitney

In 1906, Thomas G. Moses wrote that he worked on “Knight for a Day at the Whitney.” Moses was referring to the new musical comedy produced by B. C. Whitney. The Act I setting depicted Fairview Villa at Mme. Woodbury’s Seminary for Ladies in Evanston, Illinois. The Act II depicted an old estate upon the Isle of Corsica. Robt. R. Smith wrote this two-act show with music by Raymond Hubbel.

Bert Cecil Whitney was a well-known producer in New York and Detroit. Known to his friends as “B.C.” He was a second-generation theatre producer, following in his father’s footsteps. It was the elder Whitney, a longtime leader in the merchandising of musical instruments, who erected the Whitney building in Detroit, Michigan. Bert’s childhood was spent around the Whitney Grand Opera House where his father Clark J. Whitney (1832-1903) was the proprietor, ushering, selling tickets, and learning the rudiments of the business.

In 1898, Bert took charge of his father’s affairs, becoming manager of the Detroit Opera House. Whitney operated theatres in Detroit, Chicago, Toronto, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Owosso and Battle Creek. He also produced musical comedies for the road. His 1929 obituary in the “Detroit Free Press” remembered that Whitney sent forth, “some of the most pretentious organizations of that time. Among them were ‘A Knight for a Day,’ ‘The Isle of Spice,’ ‘The Isle of Bong Bong,’ ‘Piff, Paff, Pouff,’ The Show Girl,’ ‘The Broken Idol,’ The Loved a Lassie,’ ‘Captain Careless,’ ‘The Head Waiters,’ and ‘The Convict’s Stripes,’”(27 Oct. 1929, page 2). The article continues and adds in some interesting side information, “Bert St. John, now manager of the Detroit Consistory [Scottish Rite], was manager for the Whitney during the most active years as a producer, and recalls that in “The Convict’s Stripes” there were four girls destined to win fame in the movies. They were Mary and Lottie Pickford and Lillian and Dorothy Gish. The play, under the title of ‘The Little Rd Schoolhouse,” had been produced in stock in Toronto, where Fred C. Whitney saw it, and purchased the road rights. Later he assigned these to his brother in Detroit. The Pickfords (they went under their true name of Smith at the time) and the Gish sisters had appeared in stock production. Instead of training new children for the parts, Whitney persuaded Mrs. Smith to take the four on tour. St. John was manager of the company, and relates that Jack Pickford, then a baby, slept in bureau drawers over most of the United States during the next two years.”

After a successful run at Wallack’s theatre in 1908,”A Knight for a Day “toured to Shaftsbury Theatre in London, the venue managed by his brother. Whitney’s little brother, Fred C. Whitney (1861-1930), was also a producer. In 1908, Fred became a lessee of the Shaftbury theatre. (Anaconda, Standard, Anaconda, Montana, 13 Jan. 1908).

In 1907, Moses again worked for Whitney in B. C. Detroit, writing, “A big five act show of “Captain Careless” for Bert Whitney. Was produced in Detroit. The first act was laid at the base of the great Rock of Gibraltar and made a very effective scene.”

To be continued…

Part 557: Home for the Holidays, 1906

Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Pitt, Stella and Baby Eleanor arrived home for Christmas.”

During the summer of 1906, “The Oak Park Leaves” reported, “Mr. and Mrs. W. Pitt Moses of Trenton, N.J., are the proud parents of a baby girl, who arrived Sunday, July 29. The father is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Moses of 233 South Euclid avenue” (4 August 1906, page 10).

Tom and Ella had four children: William “Pitt” Moses (1879), Mary “Mamie” Titcomb Moses (1881), Lillian Ella Moses (1886), Thomas “Rupert” Moses (1889). Moses recorded that Pitt and Mamie were the mischievous pair of the four when they were young, keeping his wife Ella on watch every minute.

As the first child to become an adult, Pitt followed in his uncle Frank Moses’ footsteps. In 1900, he moved to Trenton and worked at the gas plant in New Jersey. Three years later, he married Stella Martin of Trenton. Moses’ youngest son, Rupert, entered the theatre manufacturing business with his father. The girls were married and became homemakers. Lillian married George Salzman in 1910. Mamie married William Hanover in 1911. Last, but not least, Rupert married Ula McNeill of Ames, Iowa in 1914.

By 1917, Moses wrote, “Pitt came out for a short visit and for the first time in twenty years, we had only the four children at home for a dinner. They were not allowed to mention their families. We sat each in their accustomed place. We all enjoyed it immensely. It carried us back many years when we were all much younger. I wish we could do it every year.” That same year, Moses wrote, “Stella and the girls arrived on December 22^nd. Pitt came out on the 24^th. We certainly had some family this Christmas – 17 at the table and two in the kitchen, and we had a fine dinner. I had Eugene Hall come to the house and pose us and he got one good negative. Had to use a flash as the light was very poor. I have wanted this for a good many years, and I am pleased to get it, even if it is not as good as a gallery picture.” I would love to find this picture.

Because Rupert and his father worked together, the two families would occasionally share the same home, sharing everything from food to scarlet fever over the years. Although his eldest son Pitt lived far away in Trenton, New Jersey, Moses passed along fatherly advice across the miles in the form of letters.

In 1931, Moses wrote to his eldest son,

“My dear Pitt.

Many thanks for your letter of congratulations and expression of your love. I am very thankful to know and receive both of them. As the 75 years bear down on me I often wonder if my life has been worthwhile to myself and others. While I have been partly successful in many ways. I have failed to reach the goal I set for myself fifty odd years ago. But the domestic side of my life has been a very happy one in choosing a wonderful mate, and who has not only been a good mother to our four healthy children, but a good help in sifting out many financial difficulties that are bound to come in our lives.”

Fortunately for us, John H. Rothgeb (University of Texas) corresponded with many of Moses’ descendants, by gathering copies of letters written by Moses near the end of his life. At the time, Rothgeb was researching the life of Moses, as well as the history of the Sosman & Landis studio. This was during the 1970s and early 1980s. He left an enormous wealth of information in the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas. Rothgeb was the second generation to identify the significance of Masonic scenery. The first generation was James “Jim” Maronek, a Chicago scenic artist who collected many Sosman & Landis artifacts during the 1960s. He even held the first exhibit placing Masonic scenery within the context of theatre history; this was during the early 1960s.

The third generation of scenic artists to study Moses and Masonic scenery was Lance Brockman at the University of Minnesota, hence how I became the fourth generation. Early in my undergraduate career I created an index for Moses’ typed memoirs and scrapbook for Brockman as a class project. I was also the assistant to the curator (Brockman) for the Theatre of the Fraternity exhibit in 1996. This was when I wrote letters to all known descendants of Thomas G. Moses.

During this same time, I came in contact with another student and friend of Maronek, one who became the paint charge at Chicago’s Lyric Opera. Like me, Brian Traynor became fascinated with Moses and his contemporaries. He actively collected materials and other information pertaining to historical scenic art. I have remained in contact with Traynor over the years and we have become friends. He is an amazing source of information and artifacts relating to the Chicago scenic art scene, while remaining a professional scenic artist. Traynor was also the one who contacted me about the Scottish Rite collection in Peoria, Illinois, when the Valley was getting rid of it. We worked together in search of a new home, but when no university or museum was willing to receive the donation, I rented a truck and took it home.

Without my predecessors, Maronek, Rothgeb, Brockman and Traynor, I would not be able to successfully tell the story of Thomas G. Moses.

To be continued…