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Part 547: The New Auditorium at the Immaculate Conception Academy, 1906

In 1906, Thomas G. Moses recorded that Sosman & Landis provided scenery for “a big contract for Davenport, Iowa.” He was referring to the new auditorium at the Immaculate Conception Academy. This was the Catholic girls’ high school established by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1859. In 1906, a new building joined the main building on the north, replacing the old frame conservatory building. Located at Eighth and Main streets, the new three-story brick building included an auditorium, conservatory of music and gymnasium.

The Quad-City Times,” reported, “The superbly appointed hall, with its stage equaling in width that of the Burtis Opera house and beautiful scenery, painted by the firm Sosman & Landis, of Chicago, delighted the eyes of the patrons of the institution” (Davenport, Iowa, 17 May 1906, page 9). For the opening, the seating hall of the new hall was “taxed to the utmost” with a crowd of 600 or more.

On May 13, the “Quad City Times” noted, “There will be a very fine entertainment given at the Immaculate Conception, on Main Street, Wednesday evening, May 16, for the benefit of the furnishing of the new auditorium. The pupils of the academy and the sisters have gone to much trouble to make this one of the best entertainments ever given, and all who attend will be amply repaid. The staging for the classical drama, ‘Margaret of Anjou,’ which will be given, is very fine, the scenic painting having been done by Sosman & Landis Scenic company of Chicago, and the chief artist put his best efforts in the work, feeling a personal interest in its success, as his wife is a graduate of the Immaculate Conception academy” (13 May 1906, page 12). “The sisters in their choice of scenery for the stage, have secured the best that is available, and the effects in stage setting in the production last evening were beautiful. Sosman & Landis of Chicago painted the scenes” (The Daily Times, 17 May 1906, page 7). There new scenery installation included a garden scene, a fancy interior, two parlors, and other scenes that were installed after the opening. The fancy interior was used as a royal house in France for their first production.

Of the auditorium, the newspaper reported, “The whole top story is given over to the spacious entertainment hall which for nicety of arrangements in regard to acoustics and scenic equipment and for seating an audience, except for the professional play houses, stands unexcelled in the tri-cities and will compare favorably with the auditoriums of an institution of its size. The body of the house is an inclined plane, thus permitting and unobstructed view of the stage, no mater where one is seated” (Quad City Times, 22 May 1906, page 7). The “Daily Times,” provided additional information about the auditorium, reporting, “From the rear of the room to the foot of the stage there is a pitch of some five feet, and the stage floor is four feet above the lowest point in the auditorium (17 May 1906, page 7).

There were 535 opera seats “of the latest pattern, complimenting” the walls that were painted in dark green with gold and white accents. The newspaper noted that “The stage is a model of its kind. Equal to that of the Burtis opera house in width, 58 feet, with a corresponding depth, with electric footlights and are lights, it presents fitting conditions for the presentation of any amateur theatricals or the conducting of any school exercises. The main curtain and other scenery, which equipment is complete in every respect is hard to be surpassed in artistic workmanship, as their chief artist requested that the entire work be entrusted to him as his wife is a former graduate of the academy.”

The same year that Immaculate Conception Academy’s Hall was built, the Burtis Opera House was remodeled, also by involving Sosman & Landis. Local newspapers reported that F. W. Chamberlin & Charles T. Kindt were to purchase the theater originally constructed by J. J. Burtis (1811-1883) in 1867. Burtis built the 1600-seat opera house in Detroit 1867. “The Daily Times” reported , “Theater will be completely remodeled from stage to foyer” (Davenport, Iowa, 16 March 1906, page 6). Manager Kindt, was quoted saying, “The Burtis will be completely remodeled. In fact, when it is improved, it will be practically a new theatre. Everything that is in it will be removed, and it will be fitted up in modern shape throughout.”

Changes included altering the size of the proscenium, although the boxes were to remain (The Daily Times, 24 March 1906, page 12).

Clamberlin, Kindt & Co, formed in 1894, and began managing the Burtis Opera House (Quad City Times, 10 Dec. 1906, page 10). The firm continued to expand, controlling over 25 theatres on the Illinois-Iowa circuit. Their theatres were located in Marshalltown, Rock Island, Ft. Madison, Burlington, Oskaloosa, Davenport, Galesburg, Monmouth, Muscatine, Rockford, Grinnell, Keokuk, Kewanee, Creston, Sedalia, Quincy, Peoria, Boone, Joliet, Elgine, Waterloo. Chamberlain passed away by the end of the 1906, a severe blow to Kindt and the company. That same month J. R. Lane, C.T. Kindt and Isaac Deutsch purchased the Burtis property, consisting of the Burtis Opera House and Kimball House for $55,000 (The Dispatch, Moline, Illinois, 13 Dec 1906, page 4).

To be continued…

Part 546: The Majestic Theatre in Grand Rapids, Michigan

In 1906, Thomas G. Moses and his family traveled to Colorado for a month-long sketching trip. After the trip, Moses wrote, “On my return I did a lot of work for Grand Rapids, Michigan, Majestic. I closed the contract for the society stunt.”

In 1906, Grand Rapids, Michigan, had a population of 110,000 people. The Majestic Theatre had been opened since November 23, 1903. The venue was listed in Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide (1907-1908) and managed Orin Stair. Orin and E. D. Stair were the proprietors for this first-floor theater. Illuminated by electricity (110 volt, Edison system), the seating capacity was 1,754. The width of the proscenium measured 42 feet wide by 31 feet high. The depth of the stage from the footlights to the back wall was 40’-6”, with the distance from the curtain line to the footlights measuring 6 feet. The distance between the side walls was 72 feet, and the height from the stage to the rigging loft was 65 feet. A fly gallery was positioned at 26 feet above the stage and the depth under the stage was 9 feet. The stage had 4 traps and an adjacent scene room.

By 1915 the theater became a movie house; it was operated by the Butterfield Theaters chain from 1929 until July 1974. Fortunately for the Majestic, live theater returned in 1979 when the Civic Theatre Company took over the space. Www.cinematreasures.org reports, “It is one of the oldest community theaters in the country. With more than 6,000 season ticket holders, it is the largest community theater in the state of Michigan and the second largest in the United States. During a single season the theater reaches almost 100,000 people. Each season there are a mix of main stage productions, two productions for children, and various other special events around the community. The theater is currently under the leadership of twelve professional staffers and more than thirty guest artists, and numerous local volunteers.”

The Majestic Theatre is just one of the thousands that Moses created painted settings for during his sixty-year career. Multiply his productivity by the thousands of scenic artists that came both before and after him. Only a very small percentage of an historical scenic art remains hanging in historic theaters. Often the only remaining drop from an original collection is the fire curtain. This is what makes Masonic scenery collections so important. Scottish Rite theaters are like time capsules, housing numerous examples of scenic art. Sadly, these collections are often in jeopardy as membership perceives them as solely “old and worn out backings,” and not “large-scale artworks created by nationally recognized artists.”

If you know of a historic theater, please do not hesitate to plan a visit with your camera and document whatever you can – especially before it is renovated. You may be the last person to document the backstage area, stage machinery and scenery for that venue. Share your images with the local community and your colleagues. It is only an awareness and understanding of this cultural treasure that may help its future preservation for subsequent generations. That is my main reason for posting two things every day: an installment about the life and times of Thomas G. Moses and a painted setting from a historic theater. It is all disappearing so quickly.

To be continued…

Part 545: Thomas G. Moses’ Annual Colorado Sketching Trip, 1906

In 1906, “The Oak Park Leaves” reported, “Thomas G. Moses, the artist, with his wife and daughter Lillian starts next week for Colorado, where he will do a month’s sketching. He will make colored sketches in the Garden of the Gods, Ute Pass, Ruxton’s creek, Cripple Creek, Silver Plume and Georgetown, and expects to get some brilliant studies, as the color in Colorado is said to be as strong as Arizona and New Mexico” (7 July 1906, page 20).

For those unfamiliar with this region of the United States, Garden of the Gods is located in Colorado at the foot of Pike’s Peak, west of Colorado Springs. The area is known for its massive rock formations; they appear to be bursting through the earth’s surface. It is magical to see brilliant orange-red rock against a bright blue sky. My husband and I first drove through the area with our infant daughter Isabelle during the spring of 1998. We even celebrated her first birthday in Colorado Springs. While returning from our trip to USITT in Long Beach, California, we dawdled to Colorado Springs, veering off on unpaved roads to sightsee at every opportunity. Clouds of red dust rise up when the wind sweeps through an area, enhancing the foreign appearance of the rocky outcrops. Garden of the Gods is a sacred place for many people, and has inspired artists for generations. It is the color, the light and the contrast that people want to capture. Driving along the dusty roads, we had to replace the air filter in our car by the time we reached the town with an automotive store, as the small red particles clog everything.

After Moses sketched Garden of the Gods, he continued along Ute Pass, Ruxton’s creek near Manitou, Cripple Creek, Silver Plume and Georgetown. The Ute’s name for the pass was “El Puerto del Sierra Almagre,” which means “Doorway to the Red Earth Mountains.” The buffalo trail along through the pass was initially used to transport salt from Bayou Salade, the salt valley of South Park, to trade in Santa Fe and Taos. By the 1860s, Ute trail became a wagon road to transport people and goods to mining towns, such as Leadville.

The pass skirts along the north side of Pikes Peak through Fountain Creek canyon. West of Manitou Springs, the pass climbs 3,000 feet to its summit in Divide, reaching 9,165 feet. Starting in 1888, the Colorado Midland Railway ran tracks through Ute Pass to reach the mining communities in Leadville, Aspen, and Cripple Creek.  As Moses and his family toured the area, they stopped at Ruxon’s Creek, Cripple Creek, Silver Plume and Georgetown.

Of the trip, Moses wrote, “I got my annual sketching trip to Colorado with my big sketching trunk, made especially for this work, and it is very successful. Ella, Lillian and Miss Adair went with me. All details will be found in “Colorado Trip of 1906” which proved to be a fine trip.” I have been unable to locate any of Moses’ travelogues, only those published in Palete & Chisel club newsletters and Oak Park newspapers.

Moses’s first sketching trip to Colorado was in 1884 (see past installments #192-197). He published his adventure in the Palette & Chisel newsletter during 1928. His articles were called “Tom Moses’ Trips” with the first one about his trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, in 1884. That year, Moses accepted quite a bit of “night work” to fund the trip. He wrote, “John H. Young, Edward Morange, Hardesty Maratta and myself talked and planned for over a year regarding a trip to the mountains of Colorado. In our every day work of Scenic Painting we were called upon to paint all kinds of mountain scenes, and, as we had never seen a real mountain, we had to rely upon photographs or magazine cuts for our ideas. So we were, naturally, anxious to see the wonderful piles of rock and earth.”

At the time he was twenty-eight years old and had never visited the mountains before. The ages of his traveling companions were Young (26 yrs.), Morange (19 yrs.), and Maratta (20 yrs.).

Moses wrote of their first glimpse of the Rockies, “We were all up and dressed before six o’clock. We discovered a bright golden and pink object on the horizon away to the northwest. The porter informed us with a hearty laugh at our ignorance, that that was the snowcapped Pike’s Peak, one hundred and twenty-five miles away. We thought he was joking; it was simply wonderful and resembled a dish of strawberry ice-cream. The day was bright and hot, but we kept our eyes on that ice-cream… As we drew nearer to the foothills the outlook became more interesting; the ice-cream cone was becoming more blue, and the richer blues and purples were creeping in between the great opalescent distance and the golden brown of our foreground, framing a picture that was far beyond our wildest dreams of what was in store for us. We sat at the window or stood on the platform every moment we could, afraid that we would miss some of it.” As the group headed to Royal Gorge, Moses recorded, “The wonderful rock formation was beyond our wildest imagination. While we had seen many photos and magazine cuts of this exact spot, we were very much surprised by the color.” For the remainder of his life, the mountains would beckon to Moses and he would continue to paint them whenever he could.

To be continued…

 

 

 

 

Part 544: Alphonse Mucha Receives Tribute of Chicago Artists, 1906

In 1906, Thomas G. Moses recorded joining the Palette and Chisel Club in Chicago. Of his decision, Moses wrote, “I don’t know why, as I had so little time to give to pictures, but I live in hopes of doing something some day, that is what I have lived on for years, Hope, and how little we realize from our dreams of hope.” The year that he joined, the Palette & Chisel Club, the group sponsored “Bohemian Night” in honor of Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939). Mucha was in town teaching at the Art Institute of Chicago that Fall.

Mucha is one of my favorite artists and a well-known representative of the Art Nouveau style. A Czech painter, sculptor and illustrator, prints of his work have always adorned the walls of either my home or studio. To place Mucha in context with Thomas G. Moses (1856-1943); he was just four years younger than Moses. The two artists’ paths crossed in Chicago during 1906 at the abovementioned Palette and Chisel Club event. At the age of 19, Mucha worked as a scenic art apprentice for Kautsky-Brioschi-Burghardt, a Viennese theatre design company. This employment was short-lived, however, as his position was eliminated by 1881. He and several staff members were all dismissed after Kautsky-Brioschi-Berghardt suffered a financial loss; a major fire destroyed the theater of a significant client – Vienna’s Ring Theatre. Years later, Mucha would paint the front curtain for the newly renovated German Theatre in New York.

To place Mucha’s time in Chicago within the context of his career, he had previously worked in the United States from 1904 to 1905. During 1906, he returned to Prague to marry Marie Chytilová, “Maruška,” on June 10.

The couple honeymooned in the small village of Pec in the highlands of South Bohemia, before traveling to America. Their time spent in Chicago was at the beginning of the couple’s four-year visit in the United States; Mucha accepted a one-term teaching position at the Art Institute. After completing this job in Chicago, the couple lived in New York City and Mucha completed a variety of artistic commissions, including decorating the newly renovated interior of the German Theater in New York. He painted five decorative panels, the stage curtain and painted ornamentation throughout the building. His central panel was known as “Quest for Beauty” and was flanked by to vertical compositions – Tragedy and Comedy. Unfortunately, the theatre was demolished in 1929 and the only surviving works are Mucha’s prelimary drawings for the theatre. In 1909, Mucha was working with the well-known actress Maude Adams and depiction of her in the of Joan of Arc; her portrait was used for the theatre poster.

Mucha became a father in America too, when their daughter Jaroslava was born in New York City during 1909.

While in Chicago during 1906 there were two receptions held in Mucha’s honor. The first was a reception was sponsored by the Art Institute of Chicago to honor their visiting instructor. “The Inter Ocean” reported, “Five hundred students and invited guests of the Art Institute assembled in the upper galleries of that building at 8 o’clock last evening, and for three hours paid social tribute to Alphonse Mucha, admittedly the greatest living exponent of the poster school of art. The artist came to the city from Paris three weeks ago to give a brief course of instruction to the most advanced class in the institute. He leaves next week for New York, where he expects to make his home. Mr. Mucha is widely known both in this country and abroad as an illustrator and poster artist. Several of his works, the most noted of which are La Plume calendar posters, and those representing Sarah Bernhardt in her various roles, have won places at the exhibition in the Salon, at Paris. The walls of the room in which he received his admirers last night were hung with more that a hundred of the best posters and sketches. Owing to an unexpected delay in his arrival in Chicago last month, Mr. Mucha missed the reception which the art students annually hold in honor of all the exhibitors in the institute. His regret in having missed that function resulted in the planning of last night’s reception, which was held solely in his honor” (4 Nov. 1906, page 5).

On November 17, the Palette and Chisel Club sent out invitations for another event honoring Mucha – “The Bohemian Night.” It was held in the Athenaeum Building at 26 Van Buren Street.

On November 21, a social column in the “Inter Ocean” described Mucha’s adventures in Chicago (Inter Ocean, 21 Nov. 1906, page 6): “What does Alphonse Mucha think of Bohemian Chicago. The students over at the Art institute, who are getting the curve theory of composition into their “block” filled systems from Monsieur Mucha’s daily lectures, have had a mad revel or two, under the fatherly eye of Charles Francis Brown or Lorado Taft or some other of the “grads” among the artists; and last Saturday night Monsieur Mucha witnessed a really wild carouse at the Palette and Chisel clubrooms, where members decked themselves out as ladies – the members are men- and simply tore up the earth with burlesque and beer. According to all reports things were just too bohemian for anything – but a Parisian schooled artist. Therefore Monsieur Mucha was able to attend to his Monday afternoon lecture, with only thirty-six hours in which to recover.

It is rumored strongly that Monsieur Mucha is here on his honeymoon trip. And if that is the case we must all pray that the artist and his bride may not leave Chicago for the Mucha studio in New York, which is all ready and waiting on West Twenty-Second street, until after Thanksgiving day. For what would it mean to a real bohemian like Monsieur Mucha to miss the annual orgy of Little Roomers – our real bohemian club – who hold their frantic feasts on the tenth floor of the Fine Arts building, and serve the seductive baked bean canned, which is not a baked bean but a boiled bean; the alluring sardine in his little lake of oil; the stuffed mango pickle, which biteth like an adder, and very sour lemonade, which stingeth like the deuce. At the revels of the Little Roomers, lest Monsieur Mucha throw up his beautiful hands in horror at the thought of Mme. Mucha witnessing such bacchanalian sights, let us hasten to say wives freely take their own husbands, and husbands their own wives. In fact, the idea of a gentleman genius taking his friend’s wife, without written permit, or a lady genius her friend’s husband, without equally definite permission, would be frowned down and out. Wherefore the lemonade. But of the Thanksgiving feast more anon.”

The Muchas returned to Prague in 1910 where Mucha continued to work on a variety of projects. Their second child, Jirí was born in 1915. By 1939, Mucha was one of the first people arrested by the Gestapo when German troops marched into Czecholslavakia that spring. During the lengthy period that he was interrogated, Mucha fell ill with pneumonia. Although he was later released, the illness took its toll on the artist and he died from a lung infection later that year.

To be continued…

Part 543: Bestor G. Brown and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, continued

The San Francisco earthquake struck in the early morning hours on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. Bestor G. Brown provided an eyewitness account for the “Topeka Daily Capital” (April 25, 1906, page 7). Here is the second half of the article.

“Thursday is the day when the real horror of the situation came. The boats which came across the bay from San Francisco were packed with people who looked like they had fought to get on the boats. I left Oakland on the Southern Pacific on Thursday and all the tracks could be seen the effects of the earthquake. Every water tank along the line had been thrown down. I suppose that the vibration from the earthquakes set the water to slopping from side to side in the tanks and as the affairs are ordinarily top heavy they went over.

“This is not the first earthquake I have felt in San Francisco. I went through a small one there last August. I understand that they are comparatively common there. I am no scientist and do not claim to be able to tell why San Francisco is so frequently visited by earthquakes, but I am inclined to think that the peninsula on which the city s located has been thrown up by some volcanic forces. The Indians, so I was told some years ago, have a tradition that some monster of the ocean built it for a place to rest. The Indians never landed there from their canoes and never camped there. So I am inclined to think that they knew hundreds of years ago that this region was subject to earthquake shocks.

“What impressed me was the supreme confidence the people had in San Francisco. There was no excitement on the streets after the earthquake. Most of the people were in the streets but they were all cool. There was no panic in San Francisco on Wednesday, at least. The cars were not running. It never occurred to me to wonder why. I suppose it was on account of the power being cut off.

“I saw Market street shortly after the first shock. There seemed to be three distinct waves or swells in that part of Market street which I saw. The car tracks, asphalt pavements and sidewalks seemed to have been left in dips and swells. There was some debris in the street, broken glass, cornices, etc., but the damage would have been small if it had not been for the fire.

“The Monadnock building, west of the Palace Hotel, seemed to have had its pillars shoved out from the walls of he buildings but did not seem to be greatly damaged. The Palace hotel on the outside showed no effect form the shock except that a few bits of cornice had been shaken to the street below.

“The city hall was the worst wrecked building of any I saw. They say that political jobbery figured largely in its construction and the complete ruin of the building seemed to bear that out. The framework of the dome was still standing when I saw it and did not seem greatly damaged. But the rest of the building at the base of the dome was twisted and smashed and totally wrecked by the earthquake.

“The Palace hotel did not look like it had received a scratch while a saloon across the street had its entire front thrown out into the street. The sidewalks along the streets were covered with loose bricks, broken glass and cornices. I saw the Call Chronicle and Examiner buildings and they did not appear to be even damaged. It was the fire which destroyed them.

“From Market street I could see the flames starting on Montgomery and Mission streets and closing in towards the center of town. One fire seemed to me to start in, or near, the Grand opera house. The origin of those fires is something they have not satisfactorily explained. Many seem to think that they were started by crossed wires but from what I know of crossed wires I do not agree with that theory. I do not think that the fires could have started so quickly from crossed wires, if they could have started at all. I think that probably the power houses were wrecked as soon as any and that the current would have been shut off before the crossed wires could have started any fire. I am rather inclined to think that the fires were caused by the individual power and electrical light plants which some of the buildings are contained. Most of these places were operated by steam and the earthquake occurred at a time in the morning when the fires would have just been started under the boilers. The earthquake seemed to throw down anything built of brick and as most of these boilers were bricked in I think that their brick walls were thrown down and the destructive fires started from the debris thrown into the fires which had been lighted under the boilers.

“The brick buildings were the ones that suffered most from the earthquake. The earthquake seemed to throw the four walls of the brick buildings outward. I saw one man in Los Angeles Thursday night who had gone through the earthquake at Santa Rosa. He said that he was afraid to go to bed that night and I asked him why. He said that the night before he had gone to sleep in the third story of a hotel in Santa Rosa and had waked up in the street. I didn’t believe him and so he explained. He said that he had gone to bed in the third story of a three story hotel. He woke up all covered with plaster and rubbish and ran to the window of his room. He had said that he thought the building was on fire and that the roof had partly fallen in, so he called for someone to bring him a ladder so that he could get out. Someone in the street asked him what he wanted with a ladder and told him was in the street and to walk out of his window. He did and climbed over a pile of rubbish that had formerly been the first and second floors of the hotel into the street. He climbed back into the room again and found and put on most of his clothes. He told me that he did not know what happened to the people who were asleep on the lower floors of the hotel but that he supposed they must have been killed.

“The great damage in San Francisco was caused by fire. I suppose that it could have been successfully checked almost before it got started but the water supply gave out completely. I don’t know why it was but I know that it did and that I couldn’t get a drop of water to drink until I got to Oakland in the afternoon. I should judge that the failure of the water supply was due to the earthquake breaking the mains. I know that this was the cause of the water supply failing in Oakland. The big mains which carried the water from the pumping plant into Oakland were broken and disjointed by the shock so that Oakland was without water for a large part of the day and would have been completely at the mercy of fire as San Francisco of a fire had started. But 1,500 people of all classes turned out and mended the Oakland mains so that they had water again in the afternoon.

“The thing that impressed me the most as I waked through the streets of San Francisco after the earthquake was the absolute confidence the people seemed to have in their city. They were perfectly cool, probably on account of having gone through so many slighter shocks. The shock occurred at 5:30 o’clock. It wasn’t difficult to know the exact time as every clock in the city stopped on the minute that it happened. The people came down town at the usual tie and many of them entered their offices as though to do their usual work. Some of the merchants opened their stores.” The end.

To be continued…

Part 542: Bestor G. Brown and the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906

I discovered an interesting article about Bestor G. Brown and the San Francisco earthquake while researching Freemasonry in Kansas during 1906. It is a fascinating eyewitness account of the natural disaster and subsequent fire. Brown was in town attending a meeting at the San Francisco Masonic Temple. It was while lodging at the Union League Club that Brown experienced the first tremors during the early morning hours on April 18, 1906. The earthquake triggered several fires that burned the city for two days. This article really gives you a sense of Brown’s personality, story-telling ability and charisma, much more so than any published history. The article was first posted in the “Topeka Daily Capital” on April 25, 1906, page 7.

Here is the first half of the article:

“Bestor G. Brown who is in Topeka attending the Scottish Rite Masonic reunion, was in San Francisco at the time of the earthquake, and puts in the time at the Masonic hall, when he is not helping with degree work, in relating his experience. Most of yesterday afternoon he sat in a big armchair in the smoking room and lodge quarters and told the story of the disaster. His audience changed continuously and he would finish the story to one party, some fresh listeners would drop in, and he would have to tell the story over again for their benefit.

He stated that if it had not been for the fire, the damage to San Francisco would have been comparatively slight. Many of the buildings were destroyed by the earthquake, but the largest and finest structures stood through the successive shocks, only to be consumed by the flames which swept over the unfortunate city. He left San Francisco in the afternoon of the day on which the disaster occurred and remained in Oakland until the next days before he started for Kansas. He arrived in San Francisco late Tuesday evening and his baggage was left at Oakland to be brought across the bay the following morning. What personal baggage he had with him at the time of the earthquake he saved so he lost nothing on account of the earthquake except his breakfast and dinner which he did not get.

“‘I can’t describe an earthquake of the feelings one has who experiences one,’ said Mr. Brown. ‘The best description I have heard of the earthquake, I heard from a Los Angeles man. He said that it was like he was a nice red apple in the top of a tree with a crown of husky boys around the tree trying to shake him down.

“All I can say is that I felt frightened and couldn’t tell why. I felt eight shocks. They say that there were forty-eight. I don’t know what became of the other forty. Eight was more than a plenty for me. I suppose that the first shock was the most severe, but it was the later ones that frightened me. I suppose that was because I was not thoroughly awake when the first one was in progress, and did not realize how severe it was until I got downstairs. The real horror about an earthquake shock is the uncertainty of it. You never feel just sure about how it will end or what it will do. A cyclone you can see and can form some idea of what will happen next, but with an earthquake it is all mystery and uncertainty.

“I got into San Francisco late Tuesday night and went to the Union League club. I was sleeping soundly at the time of the most disastrous shock. I got up, dressed and went out with my overcoat and grip. The destruction in that part of town had not been extensive. The fire that came afterward was the horrible feature. [The Union League Club is located at 1000 California Street and along with the Fairmont Hotel across the street, the only structure to survive the 1906 earthquake and fire in the area].

“It was curious to note the different effects the earthquake had on the buildings in different sections. In some sections the buildings were twisted and out of shape or totally destroyed and in others they did not seem greatly affected.

“The terror of each severe shock is something that cannot be forgotten. The longest shock I felt probably continued five seconds, but it seemed much longer. The earth seemed to rise and fall and rock back and forth and then finally the shock ended with a sudden jar. It felt like the rising up of some huge animal in an effort to shake something off its back. That is as near as I can describe it.

“The Grand Chapter of Masons met in the forenoon at the Masonic temple and were holding their meeting when the military came in an said it was time to move as they were going to dynamite the Palace hotel.

I went out to the street and saw the fire creeping up from two sides. I saw it creep up to the back door off the meat market on Market Street and the minute it touched the rear of the building it seemed to sweep through and bulge out into the street in front. About the time I took to the woods, I started for the waterfront and got there in about an hour and a half.

“When I left the Masonic temple I saw the fire creeping into the center of town. I decided that the town was doomed and that I could do no good so I decided to get out. It was not so hard to get out if one used head and feet. It took me about an hour and a half to reach the waterfront, but I got there. I had to take a rather roundabout route, though, I would start down one street until I was stopped by fire. I would cross over the next street and maybe meet the military there being ordered to move on. And so dodging fires and military from street to street I finally reached the dock.

“My route took me down through the poorer part of town and it was almost ludicrous to see people trying to get out with their effects. They seemed to use anything that had casters on it and haul their things on. I saw one man shoving an old carpet lounge with some small articles on it down the streets. I wondered how long the cheap casters and legs of the lounge would last. I saw another man shoving a cheap piano stool ahead of him and all there was on it was a brass birdcage with a canary in it. It was funny, and still it was rather pathetic.

“At the ferry boat landing there was no confusion. I got there in time to catch the 2 o’clock boat to Oakland. The boat was greatly crowded. In fact it was not a larger load that can be frequently seen in the evenings at San Francisco. The crowd on the boat was not excited. The Southern Pacific was very nice about taking people out of San Francisco, but they would not take anybody into it. They ran their boats across the bay on schedule time and carried all who came to the dock without saying a thing about fares or trying to charge. At the Oakland docks the people were allowed to get into the suburban trains for Berkley, Alamdeda or Oakland, according as they chose to go, and they were carried free.

“When I got to Oakland I had not had breakfast or dinner so about the first thing I did was hunt up a restaurant. I ordered two poached eggs on toast. They were very fine. I had just eaten one of the eggs when I saw the chandeliers of the dining room begin to shake and I decided to eat another egg some other time. Everybody else left the dining room at the same time I did and without completing their meals so that I do not feel the least ashamed.

“From Oakland I saw the most magnificent spectacle I ever witnessed in my life. The papers stated that the flames at San Francisco were fanned by a high wind. That is a mistake. The great clouds of smoke and flame floated straight up into the sky. I saw the Palace hotel catch fire and burn. It made a beautiful blaze. Wednesday night I went down to the pier to see about my trunks which had not been sent over to San Francisco the night before and so were never taken over. I loitered about the pier talking to the baggage man as he looked for my trunks. I looked across the bay and the sight was wonderful. The boats were still bringing people from San Francisco and I managed to slip into one of them before it started back to San Francisco. I remained on the boat as it came back across the bay to Oakland it looked like great waves of flames were following the boat an account of the reflection from the fire in the waves which were caused by the boat. The fire lit up the bay so that it looked like it was afire. It looked like a sea of fire.”

To be continued…

Part 541: Fifty Years of Freemasonry in Kansas, 1906

There were a few significant events that occurred during 1906; the same year that Sosman & Landis delivered new scenery and stage machinery to the Scottish Rite in Topeka, Kansas. 1906 marked the fiftieth anniversary of Freemasonry in the state of Kansas.

The event was celebrated at the newly constructed Scottish Rite auditorium. The Scottish Rite bodies of Topeka spent over $20,000 furnishing their lodge room and stage. The stage measured thirty-five feet in depth and housed 110 new backdrops produced by Sosman & Landis (Topeka Daily Capital, 21 Feb. 1906, page 5).

“The Topeka Daily Capital” reported, “the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the Most Worshipful grand lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Kansas will be celebrated at the Auditorium February 22 during the session of the grand lodge in Topeka (The Topeka Daily Capital, 12 Feb. 1906, page 6). The article continued, “The semi-centennial celebration of the Masons will bring to the city the largest gathering of Masons that has been held and the Topeka bodies have prepared elaborate entertainment for the visitors. A. K. Wilson, grand secretary of the grand lodge, has secured the history of the first Masonic lodge in the state and relics of historical interest. The relics will be exhibited at the auditorium and will consist, among other things, the first Masonic seal used by the Kansas lodge. John W. Smith, who organized Smithton lodge No. 1 in Doniphan county and was the first master of the lodge in Kansas, made with his own hands the quaint seal, the square and compass and the candlestick, al made by Smith are now in the possession f Secretary Wilson and he also has three of the charters of the first five lodges organized in Kansas.

Smithton lodge No. 1 was organized in Doniphan county and met in six different places in the county and is now the lodge at Highland. When Mr. Smith organized Smithton lodge it met under a burr oak tree, east of Troy, on the Missouri river. A stump was used for the altar and the lodge was tiled by a man on horseback. A photograph of this tree has been secured and a complete history of the lodge from persons who knew about it. The veteran Kansas Mason who is to be present at the semi-centennial meeting is William Yates of Lawrence, the only living charter member of one of the first five lodges organized in Kansas. He belongs to the Lawrence lodge which was the fourth to be organized. The anniversary meeting at the Auditorium is open to the public. The main floor will be reserved for Masons and the gallery will be open to the public. The Art Music club, led by Prof. G. B. Penny, will furnish the music. Grand Master Samuel R. Peters of Newton will speak and Thomas E. Dewey will deliver the address of the evening. The week of February 19, will be devoted to the fiftieth communication of the grand lodge, the fifty-first convocation of the grand chapter and thirty-eighth assembly of the grand council.” The article included a schedule of events and officers for the semi-centennial celebration, school of instruction, chapter work, order of high priests, and council work.

Bestor G. Brown (1861-1917) led the special committee on history and museum. Brown was the western representative of M. C. Lilley. Brown worked for M. C. Lilley in Chicago from 1892 to 1898, and then in Topeka, Kansas, starting in 1899. Brown moved to Kansas City by 1904, continuing as the western sales manager of M. C. Lilley Company in their new offices. Brown was instrumental in promoting the staging of degree work and Scottish Rite theaters in Little Rock, Arkansas (1896), Wichita, Kansas (1898), Guthrie (1900), Salina, Kansas (1901), McAlester, Oklahoma (1901), Fort Scott, Kansas (1904), and many others.

By 1903 Brown was credited with the creation and development of “the application of modern scenic properties to the dramatic presentation of all Masonic degrees and in this work is almost invariably consulted everywhere throughout the United States.” He was also the Grand Master of Kansas in 1904, and had been extremely active since his admission to the Fraternity in 1884.

Brown was praised for his devotion of Masonry and the article reported, “Mr. Brown is called the only Masonic stage carpenter in the country” (Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 12 June 1903, page 3). Less than a decade later, the counterweight system installed in Scottish Rite theaters by M. C. Lilley subcontractors (Sosman & Landis) was referred to as “”Brown’s special system.”

The first year after Brown passed away, members of the Wichita Consistory organized an annual pilgrimage to Topeka, Kansas, to honor of his memory (The Kansas City Kansan, 11 July 1918, page 1). The paper reported that Brown was “one of the most scholarly and best loved Kansas Masons. All of the Scottish Rite bodies in the state were invited to join in the placing of a floral tribute on the grave of ‘their best loved brother.’” Brown remained incredibly close to all Masonic activities in Topeka, and in 1906 the Topeka Scottish Rite stage was the crown jewel of the Southern Jurisdiction.

There are two significant moments to consider when examining the construction of any early-twentieth century Scottish Rite stage, as the production of Masonic scenery escalates. The first is that Brown is a fabulous salesman and extremely active member of the Fraternity; many Masons help promote his vision work. The second is that SGIGs have a monetary incentive to help Brown with this vision; starting in 1905, SGIGs personally received a $2 payment per incoming 32^nd degree Scottish Rite Mason. This practice lasted until 1909 when plans for the House of the Temple were implemented. Those lost funds were needed elsewhere. Setting the aesthetics and entertainment, there was already a dual incentive to build massive auditoriums that would accommodate ever-increasing candidate classes at Scottish Rite reunions.

 

To be continued…

Part 540: Thomas G. Moses and the Topeka Scottish Rite

In 1906, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “The New Year found me at work on some new work for Topeka, Masonic Hall. Very nice work.”

The “Topeka Daily Capital” reported, “The Scottish Rite bodies of Topeka purchased the building now occupied by the local Masonic bodies three years ago, and they have spent over $20,000 in the last four months in furnishing a lodge room that will compare favorably with any in the United States. A new stage thirty-five feet in depth has been built, and it is said to have more scenery than any other in the country. There are 110 drops, over one hundred of which are the property of, and will be used by, the Scottish Rite in conferring their degrees, which are peculiarly adapted to stage work. The electrical effects that can be produced are almost without number, and are controlled by a marble switch-board eight feet long.” (21 Feb. 1906, page 5).

Sosman & Landis delivered the scenery to the Masonic building located on Jackson Street in Topeka, Kansas. $15,000 worth of scenery had been sold to the Valley of Topeka, allowing candidates to be conferred in full form during the spring reunion of 1906 (The Topeka Daily, 23 April 1906, page 2). For the event, there were 200 candidates, the largest class ever assembled in the state. The reunion took place over the course of three days (The Topeka Daily, 23 April 1906, page 7). Two of the candidates were Dr. F. O. Hetrick and A. Haggart from Ottawa, Kansas. Their local newspaper, “The Evening Herald” reported that the two men “went to Topeka this morning to attend the twenty-sixth semi-annual reunion of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Bodies of the Orient of Kansas, Valley of Topeka. Both gentlemen are going to take degree work” (24 April 1906, page 3). This notice is not unusual, and often newspapers would list all of the candidates in a Scottish Rite class. Articles would also describe which degrees were conferred and communicated; conferred often meant that the degree was theatrically staged. Although Freemasonry might be considered a “secret” society, the identity of incoming members was often published in the local newspaper. It says a lot about the size and prominence of the organization at the time. Scottish Rite membership was on the rise and it meant something to be associated with the Fraternity.

For the Fall Reunion in Topeka, Grand Commander James D. Richardson and his associates in the Grand Commandery were in attendance. They were attending various Scottish Rite Reunions. After Topeka, they would visit Reunions in Denver, Colorado, and Salina, Kansas. Richardson was a well-known national legislator; for twenty years he served in congress from Tennessee, concluding his service on March 4, 1905. The article reported, “He gave up a brilliant political career to devote his time and energies to the interests of Scottish Rite Masonry and is now one of the highest Masons in the land. He is sovereign grand commander of the supreme council for the southern jurisdiction of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.” By the end of the fall Reunion, the “Topeka State Journal” published a picture of Richardson and an article titled, “He Likes Topeka. James D. Richardson, ex-Democratic Leader, Visiting Here.” He was quoted saying, “You have a fine city here and there are evidences on every hand that it is in a most flourishing condition.” When questioned about things political, Richardson replied, “Politics and Masonry do not mix, and I will never mix them, so you will have to excuse me from discussing any phase of politics.”

An article in the Topeka State Journal listed the activities at the Fall Reunion in detail,” Sessions yesterday were devoted to the registration of classes and preliminaries and the festivities will close Saturday evening with a reception and banquet in honor of James Daniel Richardson, of Washington. D. C., sovereign grand commander and his associates and the members of the consistory. Arrangements have been made to use the large room on the first floor of the Masonic building formerly occupied by the Topeka Athletic Association, as a banquet room during the reunion. Congressman Richardson of Tennessee is one of the orators. A condensed schedule of the work which will be accomplished during the four days of the reunion is as follows:

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24

Afternoon and evening, registration of class

 

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25

9:00 a.m., 4 deg. Secret Master, conferred

9:45 a.m., 5 deg. Perfect Master, conferred

11:00 a.m., 6 deg. Provost and Judge, communicated

1:30 p.m., 8 deg. Intendant of the Building, conferred

2:00 p.m., 9 deg. Elus of the Nine, conferred

3:15 p.m., 10 deg. 11 deg., 12 deg. And 13 deg., communicated

4:00 p.m., 14 deg. Perfect Elu, conferred

7:15 p.m., 15 deg. Knight of the East, conferred

8:30 p.m., 16 deg. Prince of Jerusalem, conferred

 

FRIDAY. OCTOBER 26

9:00 a.m., 17 deg. Knight of the East and West, conferred

10:00 a.m.,18 deg. Prince Rose Croix, conferred

1:00 p.m., 19 deg. communicated

1:15 p.m., 20 deg. Master of the Symbolic Lodge, conferred

2:00 p.m., 21 deg. Noachite, or Prussian Knight, conferred

3:15 p.m., 22 deg. Knight Royal Axe, Prince of Libanus, conferred

4:00 p.m., 23 deg. And 24 deg., communicated

4:15 p.m., 25 deg. Knight of the Brazen Serpent, conferred

4:45 p.m., 26 deg. 27 deg. And 28 deg., communicated

5:00 p.m., 29 deg. Scottish Knight of Saint Andrew, conferred

7:30 p.m., 30 deg. Knight Kadosh, conferred.

 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27

9:00 a.m., 31 deg. Inspector Inquisitor, conferred

2:00 p.m., 32 deg. Master of the Royal Secret, conferred

6:30 p.m., Reception and banquet

(The Topeka State Journal, 24 Oct. 1906, page 8).

The reunion either ran like a well-oiled machine, or it was one chaotic mess. With 100 drops and 17 of the 29 degrees staged, a lot occurred over the course of three action-packed days. The members and the money just kept rolling into Kansas. They were really the first state to soar in the southern jurisdiction.

During November of 1906, the Topeka Scottish Rite again broke ground again for a $100,000 addition to the building. The second floor that contained the stage and auditorium remained unaltered, but the Fraternity needed more space if the membership continued to increase at the same rapid rate (The Wichita Daily Eagle, 13 Nov. 1906, page 6).

To be continued…

Part 539: Origins of the Jolly Corks and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, B.P.O.E

Yesterday’s post explored the Sosman & Landis scenery and stage machinery at the Elks Opera House in Prescott, Arizona. In 1905, 54 Elks lodges were established and membership increased by 22,888 over the preceding year. I would be remiss to not include the origins of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, especially as it is celebrating its 150^th anniversary this year. Besides, it was an organization founded by theatre people.

The Elks were just one of many fraternal organizations that emerged during the nineteenth century. Clandestine meetings, secret grips, symbols, emblems and passwords characterized most of these groups. Elevated stages also appeared in many lodge rooms, complete with front curtain, stage machinery and scenery. Like the Scottish Rite Masons, the Elks constructed theaters with specific scenery to stage portions of their ritual work. I was able to identify one of their stage settings in a photograph of the Elks’ opera house in Prescott, Arizona.

This Elk’s began as a group named the Corks, who were soon called the Jolly Corks.

The cork part involved a game in regard to who was picking up the drinking tab. Here is the story:

On Friday, November 15, 1867, the English comic singer Charles A. Vivian (25 yrs. old), arrived in New York, after traveling from South Hampton.

On the night of his arrival he stopped at the Star Hotel. This was an establishment kept by John Ireland, located on Lispenard Street near Broadway. Richard “Dick” Steirly, was a piano player at the hotel. As Steirly was also from England, Vivian struck up a conversation and volunteered to sing a few songs that evening. His songs included “Jimmy Riddle who Played Upon the Fiddle” and “Who Stole the Donkey?”

Vivian’s baritone voice made such an impression on Ireland, that he sent a waiter to fetch his friend, Robert Butler. Butler was the manager of the American Theater on Broadway. Butler was so impressed that he engaged Vivian for $50 a week to perform at the American Theatre. The next day, Steirly invited Vivian to Mrs. Geisman’s boarding house where he lodged at 188 Elm Street; Vivian soon became a boarder there too. It was there that Vivian first met many of the gentlemen who would form the Jolly Corks.

On November 23, 1867, Steirly went to the American Theater to see Vivian. After the matinee, Vivian took Steirly over to Sandy Spencer’s place at Broadway and Fulton Street where they met Hughley Dougherty, Cool Burgess and Henry Vandemark. It was suggested that the party shake dice for the refreshments. Vivian replied that he never handled the cubes, but would show them a new game – a “cork trick.” It had long been in vogue with Vivian’s English associates at the tavern near the Westminster Bridge in London. Calling for three corks he gave one to Steirly, one to Vandemark and kept the remaining cork for himself. Vivian asked Burgess to be the judge and asked Dougherty to count to three. At the count of three, each dropped his cork on the bar, then picked it up as rapidly as possible. Some accounts suggest that the corks were just seized. The last man to lift his cork would buy the round. The game became very popular with the group and soon a “member” was charged with always carrying a cork in his pocket. Upon meeting another member, and if he was unable to produce a cork, the penalty was to by the challenger a drink.

About this same time, New York City’s Excise Law was being strictly enforced; Sunday was a very dry day. On Sunday, the group gathered at Mrs. Giesman’s to enjoy the stock of beer they purchased and stored the night before. Some accounts say that they also set aside sandwiches and a piano. The men who participated in this event, named themselves the Corks, with Vivian as the Imperial Cork. One member later referred to the group as the “Jolly Corks” after being so delighted with the Sunday game. Unfortunately, their activities began disturbing the other boarders and Mrs. Giesman finally asked the group forego their Sunday gatherings in her house. The Corks found new quarters at 17 Delancy Street, in a room over a saloon kept by Paul Sommers; their meetings continued. The main object of the Corks was convivial in nature, with a membership composed primarily of vaudeville artists -musical entertainers, minstrels, and song and dance men. In March or April of 1868, “Bob” Fraser, the old pantomimist clown and scenic artist designed and painted the original charter for the Grand Lodge of “Jolly Corks” of the United States.”

The group began to rapidly grow and some acknowledged that their profession needed a brotherhood with a greater purpose. Occasionally a member would be missing and others would explain they may be ill, not working or in hard luck. All would vote about sending financial aid to the member, often five or ten dollars. Keep in mind that the Theatrical Mechanics Association was formed in 1866 and TMA members were “initiated into some of the mysteries of stage mechanism.”

It was George F. McDonald who suggested that the Jolly Corks become a protective and benevolent society. During their meeting on February, 2, 1868, a new name and mission were proposed for the group. McDonald offered a motion to organize the Jolly Corks as a benevolent and fraternal order. A committee was appointed to formulate rules and regulations, select a new name and create a suitable ritual. Vivian, then presiding officer appointed McDonald as chairman with William Sheppard, Vivian, Edgar N. Platt and Thomas G. Riggs. Vivian suggested something along the lines of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffalos, an English organization. However, the majority wanted a distinctly American title for their new organization. The committee visited the Cooper Institute Library, where the members located a description for an Elk described in a Natural History book. The elk was described as being fleet of foot, timorous of doing wrong, and always ready to defend himself and his herd. This description appealed to the committee as it contained admirable qualities for emulation by members belonging to a benevolent fraternity, causing the title Elk to be incorporated in its report.

The order was officially founded on February 16, 1868, in New York City. It was George W. Thompson who helped develop the ritual with a second degree. Over the years, membership expanded to include many other professions and accepted those without any theatrical connections. There was also a “traveling herd” of Elks that would go out and establish lodges across the country.

The first Corks were Charles Vivian, Richard Steirly, John T. Kent, Frank C. Langhorne, William Lloyd Bowron, John H. Blume, Harry Bosworth, and and J.F. Norris (stage names Hilton or Wilton); many lived at Giesman’s. The fame of the Cork’s Sunday festivities drew others, including Tom Riggs, Matthew Ash, George McDonald, William Sheppard, Edgar Platt, Henry Vandemark, William Carlton, George Guy, Hugh Dougherty, Harry Stanwood and Hugh Egan. Membership in the Corks swelled to over 200 quasi-official members. before the group became the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

The Elks’ current mission stated on their website is “To inculcate the principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity; to recognize a belief in God; to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of its Members; to quicken the spirit of American patriotism; to cultivate good fellowship; to perpetuate itself as a fraternal organization, and to provide for its government. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America will serve the people and communities through benevolent programs, demonstrating that Elks Care and Elks Share.” The Elks’ current purpose is “To promote and practice the four cardinal virtues of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity; to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of its members; to quicken the spirit of American Patriotism and cultivate good fellowship.”

We could use a resurgence of the Elks right now.

To be continued…

Part 538: W. H. Clifton and the Elks Opera House

1905 there were two articles about the Sosman & Landis stage Carpenter, W. H. Clifton, in the “Weekly Journal-Miner” (Prescott, Arizona, 1 Feb. 1905, page 2). In February 1905, Clifton finished installing “the curtains and scenery” at the Elks Opera House in Prescott, Arizona. The theater was located in the Elks Building at 117 East Gurley Street. Clifton’s next Sosman & Landis installation was scheduled in North Carolina.

As a Sosman & Landis stage carpenter, Clifton quickly traveled from one location to another, installing the stage machinery and hanging painted scenery for each theater. In 1905, Clifton was on site to superintend the installation and arrangement of the scenery after it was shipped from Chicago to Prescott, Arizona.

Prior to Clifton’s departure for another theater, he exhibited the scenery for the Prescott clients. Here is the 1905 Weekly Journal-Miner article in its entirety:

“W. H. Clifton, stage carpenter for Sosman & Landis of Chicago gave a private matinee yesterday afternoon for the Elks’ theatre which was attended by about forty or fifty people. The entertainment consisted of an exhibition of all the curtains and scenery of the opera house and was given for the purpose of giving the building committee an opportunity to see what they have purchased and to check it up on the list in order to demonstrate that they have received all that they have paid for. The curtains, scenery and all the stage appointments are certainly up to date and quite handsome. Mr. Clifton is an expert also in the manipulating of them. The Elk’s seem to be well pleased with their purchase. The opera house, when completed, will without doubt be one of the finest in this territory, and a few, if any in the southwest will surpass it. There may be larger buildings of the kind but none more complete in its furnishings and all of its appointments” (Prescott, Arizona, 1 Feb. 1905, page 2).

The Elks Theatre initially hosted minstrel shows, balls, plays and theater performances. Silent films soon dominated the theater by 1915, transitioning to “talkies” by 1929. It remained a movie house until the 1980s. After the theatre changed hands multiple time, it was turned over to Arizona Community Foundation during the early 1980s. The City of Prescott purchased the theater in 2001. The Foundation in partnership with the City of Prescott began the restoration with the lobby, green room, dressing rooms and other parts of the building. Restoration of the Elks theater was completed in 2010. The stage now displays tri-layered vinyl backdrops, based on original black and white photographs. Yes, I re-read the sentence twice too – “tri-layered vinyl backdrops, based on original black and white photographs.”

As regard to Clifton, it appears that he left Sosman & Landis to take another stage carpenter position in Pennsylvania the after completing the 1905-1906 season. In Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide for the 1906-1907 and 1907-1908 W. H. Clifton is listed as the stage carpenter for the Lewis Opera House in Canton, Pennsylvania. Although there were many W. H. Clifton’s at the time, I believe that this particular one was born in 1853, passed away in 1926, and married to Eugenia Clifton (1855-1920). This information is not confirmed yet, just pieced together.

To be continued…