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Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 574 – Mathias Armbruster of M. Armbruster & Sons Studio in Columbus, Ohio

Part 574: Mathias Armbruster of M. Armbruster & Sons Studio in Columbus, Ohio

Yesterday’s post concerned the suicide of a close friend to Thomas G. Moses– Otto Armbruster. Otto was the son of a well-known scenic artist and founder of Armbruster Scenic Studio of Columbus, Ohio – Mathias Armbruster.

Mathias Armbruster was born on February 24, 1839, in Ebingen, Württenberg, Germany. His early artistic studies focused on portraiture as he trained in Stuttgart and Paris. Armbruster also lived and worked briefly in Stockholm and London. At the age of twenty, he traveled to the United States of America and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. His early years in Cincinnati included working as an art-glass painter and scenic artist.

When the Civil War broke our, Armbruster enlisted in the 28th Ohio Volunteer Infantry for three years, participating in the battles of Bull Run and Antietam as a first lieutenant. While stationed in West Virginia, he continued sketching, completing several sketches of soldiers on duty and military camps. One of his oil paintings depicting the battle of Antietam is part of the Ohioans in the Civil War display at the Ohio Historical Society. In his final year with the infantry, he functioned as a recruiting officer for the army in Columbus, Ohio. While stationed in Columbus, he met and fell in love with another German immigrant, Katherine Wahlenmaier. Katherine, her mother and sister arrived to the United States in 1848.

The couple was married by Rev. F. Lehman in Columbus, but initially made their home in Cincinnati. They had seven children: Otto H (b. 1865), Albert E. (b. 1867), Emil “Amiel” Gustav (b. 1869), Rose O. (1871), Flora (b. 1876), and Pauline (b. 1878).

The Armbruster Family, with Mathias seated on right. This image was posted by Leanne Faust, an Armbruster descendent.

Once living in Columbus, Mathias founded Armbruster Scenic Studio in 1875. His first studio was a large brick building, located where a barn once stood behind the family house. From 1875-1888, much of his studio work included creating stock scenery for opera houses and specialty scenery for lesser-known traveling groups. Some of the firm’s larger projects during this time were Lewis Morrison’s “Faust,” and the mammoth minstrel shows for Al G. Field.

In 1889, Mathias purchased a twenty-nine acre parcel of land at the far north end of Columbus. Naming his home Walhalla, the wooded ravine reminded him of Germany. He also purchased the Clinton Methodist Church Chapel that had been built in 1838 and was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. Armbruster converted the Clinton Chapel, into his private residence. In a lovely paper about Mathias Armbruster written by his descendent Leann Faust, she comments that the final decade of Mathias’ life was spent working in his garden. Emil’s little daughter Alice was often by his side. Faust wrote, “She fondly remembered the peppermints that he carried in his pocket to share with her. He was proud of his hollyhocks and rose-of-sharon. He enjoyed reading and spoke four languages. He loved music and played six instruments. He was a member of the Masonic and Elks Lodges.” M. Armbruster & Sons provided scenery for the Masonic Temple in Columbus, Ohio.

Drop curtain design by M. Armbruster & Sons Studio. This image is part of the online collection of the Ohio Memory Project. Here is the link: http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/search/searchterm/Ohio%20State%20University%20Theatre%20Research%20Institute/field/contri/mode/all/conn/and/page/1

As with most scenic studios, the founder was a scenic artist who completed the majority of painting in the early years with an assistant. Soon, Mathias’ sons joined him in the studio as each came of age; Albert started cleaning brushes at the age of ten years old. The three sons who followed their father into the scenic art trade included Albert, Emil and Otto. Each started in the studio cleaning brushes, gradually becoming a scenic artist in their own right. Albert was known for his exteriors, landscapes, and drapery work for front curtains, while Emil specialized in interiors. Otto left the family business at the age of twenty to strike out on his own in New York. He was well respected by Moses, who hired him in 1900; that meant he was likely both talented and fast. Otto established himself at the Broadway theatre and worked on a variety of projects, such as those for Moses & Hamilton during the first decade of the twentieth century. Armbruster and Ed Loitz were working under the direction of Al Roberts at the 125th Street Theatre when employed by Moses & Hamilton.

From 1890 to 1905, the Armbruster studio in Columbus began to attract a series of well-known clients, including Alexander Salvini, Sarah Bernhardt, Helena Modjeska, Charles Hanford, R. B. Mantell, R. D. Maclean, and James O’Neil. They began to create an increasingly amount of classical interiors for a Shakespearean Repertoire. After 1905, business shifted to primarily producing scenery for vaudeville and traveling minstrel shows.

Sadly, within twelve years, four of the three scenic artists in the Armbruster family would pass away. Otto committed suicide in 1908. That same year, Mathias would sell 25 acres of his 29-acre parcel to a real estate developer. I have to wonder if this sale signaled the financial struggles that the family was encountering, a contributing factor cited for the cause of Otto’s suicide in 1908. This was also the beginning of a transitional time as Mathias began planning for his retirement. He was 69 years old and the firm’s only professionally trained painter and draftsman, having attended art schools in Europe. Although his sons apprenticed to him, they received no formal artistic instruction beyond that of their father. Although the studio would continue to do well, the absence of Mathias was notable in the overall aesthetic.

Mathias would retire finally from the firm only two years later in 1910. This would leave Emil and Albert in charge of M. Armbruster & Sons Studio. Emil passed away only six years after that in 1916, leaving Albert in charge of the firm. The founder’s death in 1920, left only Albert left. Albert would remain actively engaged in the studio until his retirement in 1958. During this period the studio transitioned to become a primarily a scenic supply house. This was not unusual for the time. Studio activities during the final decades of the company were dominated by the rental of stock equipment and scenery to amateur producers; the industry was shifting once again and the Armbruster Studio was adapting to each trend.

By 1917, M. Armbruster & Sons Studio was renting scenery to high schools, such as the one in Mt. Sterling High School for their production of “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Advertisement for the production noting scenery rental from M. Armbruster & Sons from “Mt. Sterling Advocate,” 14 April 1917

Albert would live another seven years, passing away in 1965 at the age of 98 years old. Forty-five years after his father passed away from cancer on November 27, 1920. One of Mathias Armbruster’s final comments on his deathbed was. “This is a beautiful world but there is still much to be done by man.”

In her family paper, Leanne Faust described her grandfather Mathias: “He was short in stature but was always a stylish dresser, usually wearing a hat. He had deep blue eyes, brown hair and wore a mustache and beard all of his adult life. In later years he was delighted when youngsters called him Santa Claus. He had a warm, winning personality and adored children.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 573 – Otto Armbruster, 1908

Part 573: Otto Armbruster, 1908

In 1908, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “August 16^th, heard of Otto Armbruster’s death by suicide. It was an awful shock as we were such close friends. The German way of getting out of trouble, but he had no trouble, plenty of money and a good business. No one seems to know just what the cause of the rash act was.” Newspapers suggested various causes for Armbruster’s suicide, including a lack of studio work and the intense summer heat.

Armbruster was a colleague and friend of Moses during his time in New York when he worked for Moses & Hamilton. During the spring of 1900, Thomas G. Moses and William F. Hamilton opened the scenic studio of Moses & Hamilton at Proctor’s 125^th Street Theater. That year, Moses’ wrote, “Otto Armbruster was with us and he was a very valuable man. He and [Ed] Loitz worked at 125^th Street most of the time.”

Otto Herman Armbruster came from a well-known scene painting family in Columbus, Ohio, a son born to Mathias Armbruster (1839-1920), the founder of Armbruster Scenic Studios (est. 1875).

The Armbruster family with Otto pictured in the back row, standing next to his mother.

Detail of Otto Armbruster from family picture.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 28, 1865. He was trained as a scenic artist under the tutelage of his father, Mathias. Unlike his other brothers, Otto moved away from the family business at the age of twenty to strike off on his own as a freelance scenic artist in New York. He was soon associated with the Broadway Theatre and also became an illustrator for decorator magazines. Like Moses, Otto was also a member of the Salmagundi Club in New York, and joined the Kit-Kat Club.

The “Cincinnati Enquirer” reported on Armbruster’s suicide and suggested that lack of work was the cause (16 Aug. 1908, page 1). In a special dispatch to the Enquirer in Columbus, Ohio, on August 15, the article reported on the suicide of “a former resident of Columbus, and one of the best-known scenic artists in the country.” The article continued that one of Armbruster’s brothers received a letter from him a month ago, in which he complained of lack of work.”

The “New York Times,” provided a little more detail about the suicide and suggesteed another cause – “ARTIST A HEAT SUICIDE. Driven Insane by High Temperature, Otto H. Armbruster Shoots Himself.” The article noted, “Mamaronek, N. Y., Aug. 15 – Driven insane by the intense heat, Otto H. Armbruster, a New York scenic artist, committed suicide at his home in Mamaroneck early this morning by sending a bullet into his right temple. He was taken to the New Rochelle Hospital, where he died while the doctors were probing for the bullet. Mr. Armbruster, who was 43 years old, came home yesterday and told his wife he could not endure the intense heat. He had been working hard in New York on some scenery, and was greatly fatigued. This morning, Mrs. Armbruster left her husband in the bedroom while she went downstairs to have breakfast prepared. She had been on the lower floor only a few minutes when she heard the report of a revolver, and on going to her husband’s room found him of the bed with a bullet hole in his temple. Mr. Armbruster came from Columbus, Ohio. He had lived in Mamaroneck about eight months. Mrs. Armbruster told Coronoer Wiesendanger that last summer her husband’s mind was affected by the heat” (16 Aug. 1908, page 1).

Starting tomorrow, I will examine one of the major competitors to Sosman & Landis – Armbruster Studios of Columbus, Ohio.

Letterhead for M. Armbruster & Sons Studio, 1915.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 572: The Majestic Theatre in Indianapolis

Part 572: The Majestic Theatre in Indianapolis

Postcard of the Majestic Theatre, Indianapolis.

In 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We had more work for the Majestic Theatre also for Indianapolis.” The Majestic Theatre opened on September 2, 1907. It was located on South Illinois Street and West Maryland Streets. The “Indianapolis Star” advertised the venue as “Indiana’s Coziest Playhouse” (Indianapolis Star, 27 Oct. 1907, page 35).

Advertisement for the Majestic Theatre in 1907 from the Indianapolis Star, 27 Oct. 1907, page 35

Advertisement for the Majestic Theatre from the Indianapolis Star, 29 May 1911, page 69

Advertisement for burlesque at the Majestic Theatre from the Indianapolis Star, 7 Feb 1915, page 12

Advertisement for the Majestic Theatre from the Indianapolis Star, 8 May 1917, page 10

The seating capacity was 1675 (orchestra -675, first balcony – 500, second balcony – 500). Within the first decade of its existence, the Majestic Theatre became associated with burlesque. By December 25, 1919, the Majestic Theater became known as the Broadway, soon changing its names again to become the Mutual Theatre seven years later. Like many vaudeville theaters this one-time vaudeville house solely featured movies. The building was closed and then demolished during June 1955.

When the Majestic Theatre transitioned to a movie house. From the Indianapolis Star, 7 Sept 1919, page 55

In 1916, the “Indianapolis Star” included an interesting article about an upcoming burlesque performance at the Majestic Theatre (26 Nov. 1916, page 52). As the article’s 102^nd anniversary is very near, I thought that I would include it in today’s post.

Charles Robinson and his “Parisian Flirts” Company seemed to be ushering in the holiday season in Indianapolis that year. Here is the article in its entirety:

“Majestic – Burlesque

Charles Robinson and his ‘Parisian Flirts” Company, will be the attraction at the Majestic Theatre next week.

Manager Robinson claims to have one of the best attractions playing the circuit. The books are from the pen of Ed Hanford, the famous actor-playwright, and are considered his best efforts. The musical numbers are of the tuneful sort that make you whistle and go home in a happy frame of mind. In the cast are: Charles Robinson, the famous tramp comedian; the Harmonists Four, May Bernhardt and Mabel Lee, Harry S. LeVan, Charles E. Edwards, Al Turpee, William Mack, Gertrude Sommers, Freda Lehr and the Dancing Hawaiians.

The company is large, mostly girls, who have made burlesque famous. There are many novelties in the show, and the lyrics are full of smart witticisms.”

It was hard not to read this article without thinking of “You Gotta Have a Gimmick” from the musical Gypsy. Here is the link to one of my favorite versions (1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFRSawe33sA.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving – I am taking the next two days off to enjoy my family.

To be continued

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 571 – Streets of Paris in St. Paul, Minnesota

Part 571: Streets of Paris in St. Paul, Minnesota

“Streets of Paris” advertisement from the “Star Tribune,” 18 April 1907 page 7

In 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “In April I went to St. Paul to put up the show ‘Streets of Paris’ in the Auditorium. It fitted alright and looked well.”

The show was given by the Junior Pioneers and held in the St. Paul Auditorium. The Auditorium, built by popular subscription, had been recently completed and turned over to the city only a few weeks prior to the event. 50,000 people attended “Streets of Paris” that spring. One of the display booths was a reproduction of the Eiffel Tower by an electric company. It was located in the center of the hall as part of an area arranged to replicate the streets of Paris. This type of project continued to offer opportunities to scenic studios as themed booths required creative construction methods and scenic art.

The “Streets of Paris” Eiffel Tower exhibit by the St. Paul Gas Light Company from the St. Paul Pioneer Dispatch, 1907.

Events such as the “Streets of Paris” became increasingly popular during the first decade of the twentieth century. They offered local companies an indirect method of securing business throughout their area and region. Food fairs, electric shows, advertising shows, automobile exhibits and other popular public events drew thousands of people together in metropolitan areas every years, providing visibility for a variety of products.

The National Electric Light Association Convention even included the presentation of a paper about noting the benefits of the “Streets of Paris” and a previous show at the St. Paul armory in 1907. Prior to the Streets of Paris, the St. Paul Lodge of Elks held a pure-food show and home industrial carnival at the armory. The event provided St. Paul Gas Light Company with an opportunity to present the many sanitary and other reasons to use electricity for cooking, heating, lighting and ventilating, showing the possibilities of improved electric appliances. For the “Streets of Paris” there were demonstration with electric coffee percolators and electric cooking appliances.

The 1905 electric exhibit by the St. Paul Gas Light Company at the armory.

As with the armory, the St. Paul Auditorium was well adapted to reach a large number of people at the same time. It was an ideal advertising opportunity for many local businesses. These grand scale events subsequently provided work for scenic studios throughout the region to supplement their income. There was more work than any one studio could handle, so studios outside of the area were brought in to create a variety of display booths and exhibits.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 570 – Cleopatra at Kansas City’s Electric Park

Part 570: Cleopatra at Kansas City’s Electric Park

In 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote that he did one project “outside in the Electric Park.” He noted that it was a small Cleopatra production.

Main Entrance to Electric Park in Kansas City, Missouri

The Electric Park that Moses worked at was the second amusement park constructed by Joseph, Michael, and Ferdinand Jr. Heim, of Heim Brothers Brewery. It opened to the public May 19, 1907, and remained in operation until 1925 when it burned to the ground. The first Electric Park in Kansas City constructed by the Heim Brothers was built next to the Heim Brewery in 1899. At the time, Heim Brothers Brewery was the largest brewery in the world.

Heim Brewery with the first electric park in the distance.

The first Electric Park was open from 1899-1906. When the first park closed, some of the attractions were moved to the second Electric Park. Both parks were known for their illuminated buildings and considered trolley parks.

A scene from the first Electric Park in Kansas City, Missouri. The brewery in pictured in the distant right background.

Known as Kansas City’s Coney Island, the second Electric Park was served by the Troost Avenue, Woodland Avenue, and Rockhill lines of the Metropolitan Street Railway Company. The park featured band concerts, vaudeville theatre, a natatorium (outdoor swimming area), boat tours, soda fountains and ice cream shops. A variety of attractions included, an electric fountain, a ballroom, a German Village, and alligator farm, boat tours, and old mill ride, a scenic railway, a shooting gallery, ice cream shops, an air gun gallery, Chutes, Dips Coaster, Norton Slid, Hale’s Tour of the World, a Temple of Mirth, Flying Lady, Double Whirl, a carousel, pool room, penny parlors, Casino 5 Cent Theatre, fortune telling, palmistry, a covered promenade and horseless buggy garage.

A postcard of Electric Park in Kansas City, Missouri

The same scene at night. A postcard of Electric Park in Kansas City, Missouri

In 1911, one million people visited Electric park, averaging 8000 visitors a day during the season. It was the second Electric Park, however, that would prove inspirational to Walt Disney when he designed Disneyland.

When the park burned to the ground in 1925, a young Walter Cronkite witnessed the event. In his 1996 memoirs, “A Reporter’s Life” he wrote, “Our hill overlooked, a half dozen blocks away, Electric Park…One night after closing it burned in a spectacular fire. The Ferris wheel seemed to turn as the flames climbed up its sides. The grease caught fire on the two parallel tracks of the Greyhound Racer roller coaster, and twin blazes raced up and down with the speed of the cars that once toured the Disorderly conduct tumultuous circuit…”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 569 – Thomas G. Moses and “Lucky Jim”

Part 569: Thomas G. Moses and “Lucky Jim”

In 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I made a big mountain set for Charles Forrester for “Lucky Jim.” It was a very effective set. Stage settings produced by Moses for the production included “a picturesque mountain scenery with Jim’s lovely cabin on the side of a ravine” (The Winnipeg Tribune, 3 1907, page 7). The description reminded my of the Hermitage composition that he painted for Masonic degree work produced at Sosman & Landis. I have attached some images of this York Rite setting.

One of the hermitage settings for the second, and smaller theatre, in the Milwaukee Scottish Rite. This is a York Rite setting.

Painted detail from Sosman & Landis setting, ca. 1913.

“Lucky Jim” was a tabloid melodrama in two acts. Set in the Sierra Nevadas, Charles Forrester played the lead role of Jim Hamilton. Hamilton was featured in the production with his wife, Jane Courthope.

Of “Lucky Jim,” the “Winnipeg Tribune” described the show: “The locale is in the Sierra Nevadas and the opening scene shows Jim Hamilton and his dog Christmas Eve seated in his mountain cabin. Hamilton is about to put an end to his own and his dog’s existence, when a young boy comes in, starving and nearly frozen to death. Hamilton feeds the boy and in attempting to put him to bed, a neat line of comedy occurs. Finally the youngster tells of brutal treatment he received in a former camp, and they enter into a partnership to search for gold during the ensuing year.

“The second scene, a year later, shows a path leading to Jim’s camp, where Alice Staffard appears, telling a tale of her former marriage, of her husband stealing the child and leaving for parts unknown. Arriving at Hamilton’s camp, she discovers her boy, and during the talk between mother and son, Jim appears and in Jim she discovered an old lover whom she jilted years before. Old love is rekindled and a pretty comedy finish is made. Fifty pieces of special scenery are used in this act, and the electrical effects are said to be perfect” (30 Nov. 1907, page 14)

The “Morning Oregonian” reported, “The scenic effects are particularly worthy of mention” (15 Sept. 1908, page 9). Until 1900, it was common for the production reviews to list an artist by name, or even a specific studio. About 1905, there is a distinct shift where the scenery might receive mention in the newspaper, but detailed descriptions and the artists who created the scenery begin to diminish. As with “Lucky Jim,” the scenery is mentioned, but not Thomas G. Moses or Sosman & Landis. My stance is that this is point in time where the perception of scenery begins to be identified as simply “backings.” Of course there are exceptions, but there is a notable shift in public perception of stage scenery. The appreciation for scenic illusion and the reverence the public held for the scenic artist starts to fade; scenic artists begin their gradual disappearance behind the scenes.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 568 – Chicago Industrial Exhibit at Brook’s Casino, 1907

Part 568: Chicago Industrial Exhibit at Brook’s Casino, 1907

In 1907, Thomas G. Moses recorded that one of his projects was “Brook’s Casino Exhibit of the sanitary and unsanitary workrooms in Chicago,” noting that it was “ some stunt.” He wrote, “I had to go among some awful places to get some sketches for the work and not far from the studio.” He was talking about the Chicago Industrial Exhibit held at Brooke’s Casino from March 11-17 in 1907.

In 1905, the Chicago Woman’s Club held a conference on Women in Modern Industry. Two years later they sponsored the Chicago Industrial Exhibit. This event was held to depict current industrial conditions, representing the labor that fed and clothed the “modern” world. There were many displays that contrasted sanitary shops with insanitary shops and unacceptable conditions. Moses helped create displays that revealed the hard and material side of life that occurred in factories and workshops. One of the objects of the overall exhibit was to influence legislation to investigate of the conditions of working women and children at the time.

There were “Process Exhibits in Modern Industry” that showed groups of young men and girls working in their trades, depicting shop conditions, the hours of work, how workers are paid by the piece and not the hour, the speed, the skill and the overall youth. There were booths that depicted, “A Night Scene in a Glass Factory in Pennsylvania,” “The Coal-breakers,” “Boy miners three miles from daylight,” “Stogie-making in Pittsburg,” “Rag-stripping,” “The Custom Tailor Shop,” and “Cash Girls and Delivery Boys.” Other areas depicted boot and shoe making, glove making, printing/bookbinding, candy wrapping, bakeshops, woodworking factories, laundry facilities, and much more.

Here is the handbook that accompanied the Chicago Industrial Exhibit in 1907. It included many photographs of the displays. Here is the link: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89058507294%3Bview%3D1up%3Bseq%3D9

There was a handbook that accompanied the Chicago Industrial Exhibit including many photographs of the displays. Here is the link: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89058507294;view=1up;seq=9 It is a very insightful publication that depicted the “sweated industries” of the time, women in industry, protected machinery and occupational diseases.

Photograph from the handbook that accompanied the Chicago Industrial Exhibit in 1907.

During the conference, presentations discussions “The Child in Industry,” “Risks in Industry,” “The Power of the Consumer Over Industrial Conditions,” “The Immigrant in Industry,” “Women’s Fitness For Industrial Life,” “Women in Industry – Special Problems,” “Industrial Education,” “Women in Industry – Remedies,” and “Demonstrations in the Evolution of Textile Processes.”

In the “Sweated Industries” area a group of typical Chicago tenement houses were constructed so that the contents of several rooms were clearly seen from without. The purpose of the exhibit was to promote remedial legislation covering sweating in food and clothes products, and to improve conditions tending to lower the health and morals of the workers in the sweated trades, by attracting the attention of the public to the conditions as they existed.

There was also an exhibit of an “Insanitary Tenement Sweatshop- old-fashioned foot-power shop.” The handbook noted, “In a room such as this a child with scarlet fever was recently found sleeping in a pile of sweatshop clothing. Several members of the family were finishing pants in this room when discovered. In this particular case the place was closed by a Factory Inspector, and the clothing disinfected by the Health Department. How largely the recent epidemic of scarlet fever in Chicago was due to the fact that the clothing is manufactured in tenement houses under such conditions as these is a matter of conjecture. This shop is shown in opposition to the sanitary clothing shop with mechanical power.”

In this brochure there were some interesting statistics that provides a little peak into the history of working women:

-Of married women, 5.6% were gainfully employed

-Of gainfully employed women, 14.5% were married.

-There was a noted lack of occupation opportunity for women. In 1840, there were 140 employments open to women. By 1907, women were employed in 295 occupations, but over 86% were found in only 18 of these occupations.

The handbook stated, “Men seem to be crowding women out.”

Similarly, we remember why child labor laws were instituted. In 1907, the National Child Labor Committee called attention to the fact that there were no less than 450,000 children under 16 years of age at work in manufacturing and mechanical pursuits in the United States. This number did not include the thousands of children under ten years of age who sold newspapers and merchandise in the streets, nor the children classed as agricultural workers. The handbook included the statement, “The vast army of children, deprived of educational opportunities, stunted in growth, subjected too often to immoral influences, is a constantly increasing menace to our civilization.” In the history of the United States, that is really not that long ago.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 567 – Thomas G. Moses and the McAlester Masonic Job, 1907

Part 567: Thomas G. Moses and the McAlester Masonic Job, 1907

In 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “South McAlister Oklahoma was a good Masonic job.” He was referring to the second scenery installation delivered to the Scottish Rite in McAlester, Oklahoma by Sosman & Landis. Moses was also involved with the delivery of the first and third installation to the McAlester Scottish Rite. For me, everything gets exciting at this point in Moses’ diary as many of the Scottish Rite installations that he worked on are still hanging in theaters across the country.

The scenery created for the Scottish Rite in McAlester, Oklahoma, now hangs in Salina, Kansas.

Looking up into the flies above the Salina Scottish Rite stage. This is the original scenery and stage machinery created for the McAlester Scottish Rite in 1907, as recorded by Thomas G. Moses.

The used McAlester Scottish Rite scenery collection from 1907 is now used in Salina, Kansas. The drops are clearly marked with the original delivery location of “So. McAlister,” or sometimes, “McAllister;” the same misspelling that Moses used in his diary. Other charcoal notations on the scenery note the original size of 18 feet high by 36 feet wide.

The scenery in Salina, Kansas, will have the original shipping notes for McAlester, Oklahoma.

Here is the story of the three scenery installations for McAlester – 1901, 1907 and 1929. In 1901, Sosman & Landis delivered the first scenery installation to “South McAllister.” By 1907, there was the construction of a second theater that necessitated the purchase of a new scenery collection for McAlester, Oklahoma. As with many first-generation Scottish Rite scenery collections, it was returned to the studio for credit on a new purchase to be refurbished and sold to another venue.

The first Scottish Rite theater in McAlester, Oklahoma. Scenery for this stage was purchased by the Scottish Rite in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to practice with while building their own theatre.

The first 1901 collection was sold to the Scottish Rite in Santa Fe, New Mexico during the planning phase for their 1912 building. The purchase of the used scenery was requested by the SGIG (Sovereign Grand Inspector General) of New Mexico, Harper S. Cunningham. Cunningham was previously the SGIG to Oklahoma and instrumental in integrating theatrical productions as part of Scottish Rite degree work. He was known as the “Temple Builder.” When Cunningham requested that the Santa Fe Scottish Rite Bodies purchase the used McAlester scenery collection, he intended that the purchase old McAlester scenes would prepare the members for their new theatre; they would understand the logistics of theatrically staging degree productions.

At the time of the used scenery purchase, the Santa Fe Scottish Rite Masons met in a standard lodge room – the Masonic Hall on Water Street near the center of town. Like many Masonic meeting rooms, it was located in an upper-level space and was rectangular in format. In 1908, the hall was renovated to include a small stage for the McAlester, Scottish Rite scenery – this was also common practice at the time.

Scottish Rite drop curtain in McAlester, Oklahoma, that was purchased by the Scottish Rite in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Same drop curtain from McAlester, Oklahoma, pictured at the Masonic Hall in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I made this discovery while doing research for the book “The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre” (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018). I recognized the drop curtain in a few historic photographs that were being used in another chapter. The drop matched images that I took of a historic McAlester Scottish Rite photograph. I compared the two sets of historic photographs and realized that they matched! The first-generation scenery is no longer in existence, with the exception of a possible grand drape piece that was rolled up and stored in wardrobe.

Notice grand drape pictured in the first-generation Scottish Rite theatre in McAlester, Oklahoma.

Detail of the grand drape pictured in the first-generation Scottish Rite theatre in McAlester, Oklahoma.

Detail of the same grand drape in the Masonic Hall in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Masonic Hall in Santa Fe with stage that housed the used first-generation McAlester Scottish Rite scenery.

As with McAlester, both the first-generation and second-generation scenery collections for the Santa Fe Scottish Rite were produced by Sosman & Landis, a subcontracted project from M. C. Lilley & Co. Bestor G. Brown, western sales manager for M. C. Lilley, would contract all of the theatre work for a Scottish Rite theater and then subcontract portions of it, such as the scenery to Sosman & Landis and the lighting to Frank Adam electric.

When the third McAlester Scottish Rite stage was planned, their second scenery collection was sold to the Scottish Rite in Salina, Kansas, for their new building during 1927.

Painted detail of a scene created for the Scottish Rite in McAlester, Oklahoma, now hanging in Salina, Kansas.

In Moses’ scrapbook, he pasted a newspaper clipping about the used McAlester Scottish Rite scenery collection that was purchased by the Salina Scottish Rite in 1927. The article reported, ”The one hundred and seventeen drops of scenery that has been in use on the old stage for twenty-five years, has been sold to the Scottish Rite Bodies of Salina, Kansas, and it has been shipped to them. There was nearly a carload of it. Brother John T. Leibrand, 33°, Wise Master of South McAlester Chapter of Rose Croix, negotiated the sale to the Salina brethren who came to McAlester to inspect it. The scenery was painted by Brother Tom Moses under the direction of that great Scottish Rite Mason and student Bestor G. Brown, and was said to be the finest in the Southern Jurisdiction at the time. Brother Tom Moses is painting the scenery for our new stage settings. He is also building stage properties, and all will be the last thing in that line. The brother that does not see this great stage and these wonderful properties at our Fall Reunion will miss something. The Salina brethren are negotiating with Brother John G. Redpath, who had charge of the old stage for years, to superintend the hanging of the drops in their temple.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 566 – Nicholas J. Pausback

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.”

Nicholas J. Pausback (1881-1953) pictured in 1928 as representing Pausback Scenery Co.

Nicholas J. Pausback in the last row (second to left). From the Chicago Tribune, 2 Dec. 1928, page 12

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).

Nicholas J. Pausback’s grave marker at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery.

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).

“Wings of a Century” production for the Century of Progress in 1933. Credit was given to Pausback Scenery Company for providing props.

Props are provided by Pausback Scenery Co.

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.

Acme Carsen and Pausback advertisement in back matter of Educational Theatre Journal 11, no. 1 (1959)

From Educational Theatre Journal 11, no. 1 (1959)

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.

Invoice from Robt. P. Carsen to Becker & Bro., for the Moline Scottish Rite scenery installation, 1930. From the collection of Wendy Waszut-Barrett.

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…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 565 – 1907 Sketching Trip to Kitzmiller

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.”

Map of Kitzmiller and Blaine, the area where Thomas G. Moses stayed with Ella Moses on a sketching trip during 1907.

The North Branch of the Potomoc River near Kitzmiller, Maryland

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.

Picture of Kitzmiller home submitted with eligibility form for the Maryland Historical Trust. Here is the ink: https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/Garrett/G-IV-C-176.pdf

Picture of building in Kitzmiller submitted with eligibility form for the Maryland Historical Trust. Here is the ink: https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/Garrett/G-IV-C-176.pdf

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.

Map showing Kitzmiller and Blaine, the area visited by Thomas G. Moses in 1907

Where Kitzmiller is located in relation to other eastern cities

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…