Thomas G. Moses excelled in New York from 1901 until 1904. He was succeeding in business with his partner Will Hamilton as they operated Moses & Hamilton. In fact, they had more work than they could handle, while even expanding into the amusement park business at Luna Park. Moses & Hamilton produced scenery for Broadway and amusement park attractions ranging from “A Trip to the Moon” to “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” Moses was at the top of his game and soaring in the world of fine art, having finally been accepted into membership at New York’s famed Salmagundi Club. He hoped to someday leave the hard grind of the studio for receptions at a fine art gallery.
What Moses didn’t plan on was his wife’s desire to return to their home in Illinois. Tom and Ella Moses were raised in Sterling and moved to Chicago early in their marriage. Their family and network of support remained in the Chicago area. Regardless of artistic opportunities for Moses, he felt his wife’s “pull” to return to the Midwest. There were only a few things that could cause his return from a successful life in New York – family and loyalty. His former employer played the loyalty card in the high stakes game of studio poker while his wife asserted her hopes to return to their Midwest relatives.
During 1904, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Previous to this spring, I had heard from Mr. Sosman several times, wanting me to return to Chicago. Finally he and Mr. Hunt called on me, and agreed to give me $5,000.00 per year and $5,000.00 in stock and to give me full charge of the studio work, painting, designing and the construction.” What is significant about this statement in Moses’ memoirs is that he would have “full charge of the studio work, painting, designing and the construction.” This means that the design, painting and construction of work produced by Sosman & Landis after 1904 is being guided by Moses. There may be other artists in charge of the actual painting, by Moses now takes responsibility for the work that leaves the studio destined for a variety of performance venues.
Moses continued, “I was really in hopes that [Sosman] would not accept my proposition as Hamilton and I had a good business established, and didn’t want to give that up. But Ella and the children were keen on going back, and after my terms were accepted, I got in the humor myself.” Be careful what you wish for. Moses had to talk himself into all of the positive aspects of his return to Chicago. It would be a step down, no matter how he sized up the future. In New York, he was in command, in Chicago, he would remain at the whims of the company; never having complete control again. He was settling for a secure income, and this greatly unsettled him; it was the beginning of the end for Moses. He would die a slow death until for the next three decades.
Masonic business was booming, but Landis was ill and Sosman needed his “ace painter” back in the shops. Moses was known for his tremendous speed and ability to crank out work, but could he continue to do this amount of work while supervising all aspects of construction?
Portraits of Joseph S. Sosman (left) and Perry Landis (right) on company stationary in 1894. From the collection of Gary Musante, posted to FB group Archiving Technical Theater History
Part 478: Thomas G. Moses and “The Red Café” and “Mazeppa”
In 1903 Moses & Hamilton produced the scenery for “The Red Café” and “Mazeppa.” Little is known of the specific shows with which they were associated, but they are worth mention as they are just two examples of over two-dozen projects that they worked on during that season The plots of each featured the trials and tribulations of foreign characters; one set in Russia and one set in Poland.
Advertisement for “The Red Café” from “The Philadelphia Inquirer,” 16 Oct. 1904, page 34.
“The Red Café” was advertised as a melodramatic spectacle in five acts. The play was an adaptation of Matthew Brennan’s novel “Zetka,” telling the story of a soldier to the Czar and his efforts to marry the woman he loves. “The Boston Globe” reported, “The play, telling the story of Russian life, has many thrilling scenes which keep the audience at a high pitch. The scene in the czar’s palace at St. Petersburg, where the sentence of exile to Siberia is read, is excellently staged and very interesting. The uprising of the serfs and the quelling mob with the arrival of the czar in the second act is another highly picturesque scene” (The Boston Globe 29 Sept 1903, page 8). Little else is known of this production other than that it traveled with two carloads of special scenery and effects produced by Moses & Hamilton.
The same year, Moses & Hamilton produced scenery for another foreign story – “Mazeppa.” The well-known tale had been performed for decades by 1903 and is often cited the first equestrian dramatic spectacle. “Mazeppa; or, the Wild Horse of Tartary,” was a play adapted from Byron’s 1819 poem. It is based on a popular legend about the early life of Ivan Mazepa (1639–1709), who later became Hetman (military leader) of Ukraine. In the poem Mazeppa has an affair with a young Polish Countess while serving as a page at the Court of King John II Casimir Vasa. The count punishes Mazeppa by tying him naked to a horse and letting the horse run wild. Much of the poem described the traumatic ride of the young man strapped to the horse.
“Mazeppa” was first adapted for the stage by H. H. Milner and performed at Astley’s during 1831. It remained a popular show for the next thirty years, but in 1863 Adah Isaacs Mencken (1835-1868) became the first woman to portray the Tartar Prince. Menken caused a sensation when she wore a nude-colored outfit on stage; it created the illusion of nudity as she rode the horse. In previous productions performers used a “dummy steed,” but Menken allowed herself to be bound to a real horse for the thrilling ride.
Photograph of Adah Isaacs Mencken (1835-1868) in her nude suit for “Mazeppa.”Photograph of Adah Isaacs Mencken (1835-1868) in her nude suit for “Mazeppa.”
The production that Moses & Hamilton likely created settings for was the 1903 tableaux version. “The Philadelphia Inquirer” reported, “the Mazeppa Tableaux is being exhibited at one of the popular theaters,” after a local reader inquired about the history of Ivan Mazeppa (7 Oct. 1903, page 8). I have not been able to locate any information pertained to the painted settings for the tableaux.
When I think to the process to design and paint scenes for dozens of productions over the course of one year, my mind whirls a bot. Many of the settings that I have located depict elaborate compositions, such as a Russian Czar’s palace or the palatial home of a Polish Count. Moses & Hamilton were creating complex painted compositions that also needed to travel; it was a daunting task to be sure.
Moses & Hamilton produced scenery for the touring show of “The Scout’s Revenge” in 1903.
In 1903 Moses & Hamilton created the scenery for “Scout’s Revenge,” a four-act melodrama written by Hal Reid. Reid also wrote “The Night Before Christmas,” another 1903 show with scenery by Moses & Hamilton. James Halleck “Hal” Reid (1863-1920) was a playwright and stage actor who eventually transitioned to film, becoming a screen actor, director and writer in Hollywood. He worked with his teenage son, Wallace Reid who was a screen actor and starred in many of Hollywood’s silent film era.
The story of “Scout’s Revenge” portrayed life on the western plains. A homeless boy is murdered and Buck Henshawe, the U. S. government marshal and scout, is notified to investigate the case. The scout sets out to find the guilty party and those responsible for the many robberies that have recently terrorized Sherman. During his investigation, Henshaw meets Olive Benton. Benton is the daughter of Col. Benton, a millionaire ranch owner. The two fall in love. The villain of this melodrama is Wilfred Castro who is also on love with Olive. Castro is related to the Benton family, but leads a double life, as he is also the leader of the outlaws – ‘Captain Wildfire.’ Castro to force Olive to marry him, but she knows he is a villain and repeatedly refuses his matrimonial offers. In the end, the villain is killed and the hero gets the girl.
The story was described in many local newspapers as an attempt to draw in a large audience, such as the Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York, 29 Dec. 1903, page 6). The article reported, “The Scout’s Revenge, which is not quite so full of blood and thunder as might be imagined from its name, is altogether better than the average run of western shows. There is, however, ample opportunity for lots of shooting, but possible objection to this offset in a measure by a good plot and a wealth of pretty scenery. Then, too, there are certain distinct parts of the piece which are characteristic of the quiet, wholesome home life of a Texas ranch. It is a pretty play, depicting life in Southern Texas with a strain of comedy and love running through it. The story of the play deals with the double life led by Wilfred Castro, who poses as a prospector, but in serious business is Captain Wildfire, leader of the band of outlaws. This band of renegades murder a little friend of Buck Hanshaw, a government scout, who has determined to bring Wildfire to justice. Hanshaw swears revenge. From that point to the end the story tells how he got it and the situations and climaxes are thrilling and full of excitement.”
“The Chicago Tribune” commented about the author’s formulaic approach in “Scout’s Revenge.” He wrote, “Villains always plot in the first act. They plot out loud so that the comic friend can hear them and tell the hero, thereby enabling him to get to the spot where the crime is to be committed at the right moment to be blowed up, or shot, or thrown in real water, or something like that just as the curtain goes down in the second act. Wilfred is plotting in the first act of ‘Scout’s Revenge.’ He is the confidential friend of Col Adial Benton, whose bewitching daughter, Olive, the villain is going to marry ‘Cu-urse her, she loves Buck Henshaw.’ Of course, Col. Benton, as the rich and fond parent, is determined to marry his daughter off to the villain, and insists that Buck Henshaw is a low down horsetheif. That’s the way fond parents always do in the first act. Some day some stage parent is going to turn on the villain in the first act and drive him from the house instead of his daughter” (20 Sept. 1903, page 52).
The article describes the scene of Olive’s departure when she says, “Nev-air; I shall not become the wife of yon villain.” Her father responds, “Well, me proud be-u-ty, where will you go?” At this point Buck Henshaw clasps the heroine in his arms and says, “She shall go with me as my wife,” and the act curtain falls. Although this may sound a little bit much, it harkens back to the wild tales of Thomas Moses running away to the big city and his secret correspondence with his future wife Ella, before “rescuing” her from Sterling, Illinois!
In the final act of “Scout’s Revenge,” the “Chicago Tribune” explains, “the villain, disguised as a Mexican, appears at the colonel’s house, for what purpose nobody seems to know except that it is the fourth and last act and the poor villain had to come around and get killed. The funeral is postponed, while the comic friend makes love to the soubrette. Then Buck appears and jerks off the villain’s false mustache and wig and the execution takes place. There is a small battle and as the smoke drifts away and the frantic gallery quiets down Wilfred rolls over two or three times and says that he is dying and that he deserved to be killed, as he was really a bad sort. He then rolls over and over again, and sticking his head in the footlights, dies, and the curtain comes down, just missing the villain, who is dragged back by the heels. Thus do virtue and true love again win their way over conspiracy and dark deeds”
“Scout’s Revenge” was still touring four years later in 1907 (The Morning Journal Courier, 16 Dec. 1907).
After a brief exploration of Masonic activities during the first decade of the twentieth century, I return to the life and times of Thomas G. Moses in 1903. As Scottish Rite scenery production was on the rise in the Midwest, Moses continued designing and painting scenery in the East. In addition to providing the 1903 stage setting for “Old Sleuth,” “The Ramblers,” Lost in the Desert,” “Reaping the Whirlwind,” “As you like it,” “Lost in the Desert,” “That’s All,” Scout’s Revenge,” “Mazeppa,” “The Night Before Christmas,” “The Red Café,” and “Peg Woffington,” Moses & Hamilton designed and painted the scenery for “Wayward Son.”
Advertisement for “The Wayward Son,” from “The Scranton Republican,” 2 Nov 1903, page 2
The “Buffalo Evening Enquirer reported that there was a “wealth of scenic splendor” in “Wayward Son.” The article continued, “The play is presented with scenic accessories, rarely equaled in variety and magnificence. The great locomotive scene, is an especially fine example of stagecraft” (22 Dec. 1903, page 9). Another article commented, “while many organizations are provided with a full scenic equipment, few companies, even in these days of managerial extravagance, carry such an elaborate scenic outfit” (17 Dec. 1903, page 20).
Newspapers published that the show gained the indisputable right to use the subtitle “A Whirlwind Success” for its mechanical and electrical effects. The technical feature that made “Wayward Son” the “talk of the town” was the scenic illusion in the third act. There was a great locomotive rescue scene that took place in the midst of a driving snowstorm. “The Buffalo Courier” reported, “In this thrilling stage picture the highest art of the scenic artist, the stage mechanician and the electrical expert is represented, the cast of this one scene alone reaching a larger figure than that expended for the entire scenic equipment of many pretentious productions” (13 Dec 1903, page 46). Another article also commented, “Besides its dramatic value, this scene is acknowledged to be one of the most beautiful and lifelike ever presented on the stage” (17 Dec. 1903, page 20).
This comedy drama written by Neil Twomey told the “fascinating story of home life, in which the hero, Tom Hanford, suffers almost every hardship possible to conceive” Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York, 31 Dec. 1903, page 6). The locomotive scene was described in the Star-Gazette article as “the sensational rescue of the hero, Tom Hanford, who is imprisoned in a baggage car by his brother and a confederate, who is no less a person than the chief of police himself. At the moment when the conspirators feel that they have their victim at their mercy the heroine of the play, Martha Barnard, a young secret service detective, dashes onto the stage in a locomotive, which her faithful colored ally, ‘Sleepy Bill,’ quickly couples to the hero’s temporary prison, and, with throttle thrown wide open, the engine dashes forward, to the great discomfiture of the conspirators, bearing the helpless hero to a place of safety” (26 Dec. 1903, page 6).
The “happy-go-lucky” Tom Hanford was played by the author Neil Twomey and the show opened at the Grand Opera House on October 12, 1903. The production enjoyed a long run at the Grand Opera House before touring across the country during 1904 to 1905.
Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
M. C. Lilley’s western sales representative, Bestor G. Brown, subcontracted Sosman & Landis for the painted scenery, props, and stage machinery for their large Scottish Rite Theatre contracts. By 1912, many of the counterweight rigging systems installed in Scottish Rite theaters by Sosman & Landis were referred to as “Brown’s Special Counterweighted,” such as the one at the Santa Fe Scottish Rite.
Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1912.
So what do we know of the system referred to as “Brown’s Special Counterweighted” style of installation and how many are left? There are still examples of Brown’s Special Counterweighted System, however, some are slowly being removed and replaced with other rigging system. I first came across the designation in a series of letters between Bestor G. Brown, and the Austin Scottish Rite representative of Austin William G. Bell. Brown used the Dallas Scottish Rite as one example.
Wooden arbor cage with counterweights. Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Pasadena, California. This system was originally manufactured for the Scottish Rite Little Rock, Arkansas, during 1901.
Let me provide a little context for why the counterweight system came up in their discussion. Brown was trying to explain the intricacies of the installation process to a client who was completely unfamiliar with theatre. The Austin Scottish Rite was in the process of purchasing some of the Guthrie Scottish Rite’s old drops. Guthrie had been returned the old drops for credit on the purchase of new scenery when their stage was enlarged in the first building. M. C. Lilley had approximately 70 used Guthrie drops on hand to sell to another venue; they measured 15 feet high by 30 feet wide. A $1400.00 credit was given for the return of their 1901 scenery. The scenery collection was originally purchased for $8,000; today’s monetary equivalent is approximately $250,000, a significant purchase at the time.
Looking up into the flies. Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Pasadena, California.
On January 23, 1913, Brown also reported, “The [used] scenery is in very good shape – infinitely better that the average theatrical scenery used on the road. The writer personally went over the scenery at the studio last week. While our contract does not contemplate it, we are touching up some of the scenery and if it be properly lighted, you will have a handsome set of scenery that we would not undertake to paint and install for less than, at least, $8,000.00.”
View from under the fly rail. Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Pasadena, California.
The Austin Scottish Rite was initially interested in purchasing fourteen of the used drops, but wanted a definitive price for installation before determining the final number. Reading several letters of correspondence between Brown and Bell, it is obvious that Brown’s patience was wearing very thin as he had to repeatedly explain the final installation cost was based on the number of drops purchased. The continued correspondence, however, provides a wealth of information pertaining to the manufacture and installation of Scottish Rite scenery.
Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Austin, Texas, 1914.Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Austin, Texas, 1914.
As Brown negotiated, the Valley of Austin was purchasing and renovating the old 1821 Turner Hall. Brown mailed a scene plat to the Austin Scottish Rite. This was to reference while determining the final arrangement of scenes. Of this process, Brown wrote, “The arrangement of drops is one of the most difficult things.” Brown further explained that they would arrange the used scenery so that it could be “properly adapted to the different Degrees and the sequence of Degrees.” However, he warned that even after careful preparation, some modifications would still need to occur once the scenery was hanging. This was all an art of the haggling between the Austin Scottish Rite and M. C. Lilley. Bell, representing Austin wanted to pay as little as possible for the used scenery. The process was taking longer than expected and Brown was trying to get the Austin Scottish Rite to contractually commit so that the project could be scheduled. Finally, the Austin Scottish Rite committed to the purchase, but wanted an unrealistic timeframe. At this time, a much larger project was driving M. C. Lilley’s installation schedule – the Santa Fe Scottish Rite. Santa Fe’s new building, stage and scenery were delaying all other installations, such as the Austin Scottish Rite
Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Austin, Texas, 1914.
Part of the initial delay was caused by the Austin Scottish Rite, not M. C. Lilley; this concerned the ongoing negotiation pertaining to the estimated expenses of the final installation. The Austin Scottish Rite wanted M. C. Lilley to provide a firm number for the installation cost without specifying the number of drops that they were purchasing from M. C. Lilley. Brown explained that the final expense was directly tied to the number of drops purchased to be installed. The carpenter’s expense of transportation and maintenance were figured from the time he left home until he returned. So, if he were to install only fourteen drops, that part of the expense would be proportionately greater than if he were to install twice that number of drops. Brown also explained that there was a difference in transportation charges directly relating to number of drops purchased and installed, either a full carload of scenery or less than a carload lot. Brown also explained that M. C. Lilley could also furnish the hardware, such as pulley blocks and counterweight frames if the Scottish Rite wanted the installation done locally; this was the salesman trying to be accommodating.
Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Salina, Texas.
There was another complication; Brown noted that they had only one specific carpenter who was sent to direct a Scottish Rite installation which was why multiple installations could not simultaneously occur; this individual was actually a Sosman & Landis employee as they installed their scenery. Brown commented that the one who would be “superintending the installation” for the Austin project was currently occupied in Santa Fe at the Scottish Rite, installing an entirely new stage there. This necessitated that their expert stay on site for approximately three weeks. Shortly after Brown’s correspondence with Bell, Brown wrote that their superintendent and installation expert had died from an accident, causing another delay. Brown explained that this employee was the “only one thoroughly familiar with the special method of installing Scottish Rite scenery.” Brown wrote, “We do not mean that it is impossible to follow the same methods as heretofore, but it will take a longer time to do it because of a lack of familiarity with the work.” Thomas G. Moses also mentions the death of their head stage carpenter, writing, “Mr. Brown, our foreman carpenter” died very suddenly.
As Brown later explained, M.C. Lilley used only one employee who specialized in Scottish Rite scenery installation. I believe that this individual was the stage carpenter who Thomas G. Moses referred to in his memoirs – Brown. In 1892, the “Carlisle Weekly” reported that a “Stage Carpenter Brown” worked for the Metropolitan Opera House at the time it burned (Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1 Sept. 1892, page 4). This may have been the same individual before he became associated with Sosman & Landis, as this is the same time when additional staff was added to Sosman & Landis’ studio for Columbian Exposition and other large projects.
Stage carpenter Brown was likely the individual who developed the counterweight system, and that the salesman Brown was mistaken for the namesake of the design. Newspapers would therefore erroneously refer to Bestor G. Brown as a “Masonic stage Carpenter.” In 1903 one article noted that Brown “created and developed 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.” My findings suggest that “Brown’s Special Counterweighted” was credited to the salesman of the product and not the actual designer; this is understandable if they both shared the same last name.
In the end, the Austin Scottish Rite Bodies purchased 64 drops, not 14, on February 25, 1913, from M. C. Lilley. Thomas G. Moses would list the Austin scenery as one of the collections that he supervised while working at Sosman & Landis. The price for these used drops and their later installation was $1,650. The contract specified that a third of the amount was due upon installation (cash), a third due the following year, and the final third due in two years. Surprisingly, this financing was standard for Scottish Rite Theaters. Brown wrote, “In fact, if we had not been able to carry the Bodies in the Southern Jurisdiction as we have, we believe that fully one half of the development of the past ten years would not have been possible.” This is big as it presents how Scottish Rites were able to purchase state-of-the-art scenery, props, lighting and costumes – they were buying everything on credit and only had to pay a third upon receipt of goods. To pay off the rest meant increasing membership numbers that would generate even more income.
Bestor G. Brown
Brown died in 1917 at the Battle Creek Sanitorium after a relapse following an operation for kidney complications. At the time Brown was 56 years old and survived by his daughter, Mrs. Dana L. Davis of Topeka. It is sad to think, that a mere 14 years earlier he was a soaring star in both the Fraternity and fraternal supply business. Change can come so quickly.
Thomas G. Moses thought very highly of Bestor G. Brown and his contribution to the development of Scottish Rite Degree Productions. He commented in his 1931 memoirs that Brown was one of the three key individuals responsible for its rapid spread throughout the Southern Jurisdiction.
Photograph of Bestor G. Brown, Grand Master of Kansas, from the “Topeka Daily Capital,” 14 February 1904, page 6.
For the past two days, I have explored the life of Bestor G. Brown, his Masonic activities, and the promotion of theatrically staged degree work. While reading numerous newspaper articles published about Brown between 1903 and 1904, I came across a wonderful article in the “Topeka Daily Capital,” on 14 February 1904, page 6. As very little information is available about Brown, I am including this article in its entirety as it provides a wonderful summary of his life up to 1904:
“Bestor G. Brown, the present grand master, is one of the most prominent men in the Masonic order. He was born November 22, 1861, at Bluffton, the county seat of Wells county, Indiana, “on the banks of the Wabash.” On his father’s side he is of Scotch ancestry. They were Quakers, and came to this country with the William Penn colony. At the time of settlement at Philadelphia the head of the then generation of the Brown family was a personal friend of William Penn, and the secretary of the colony. His maternal ancestry is German, the immigration thereof having been to Maryland in the early part of the eighteenth century.
Bestor G. Brown was educated in the public schools of Topeka, and later attended Washburn college. In 1878, at the age of 16, he was given a position on the Topeka Daily Commonwealth as reporter, subsequently having charge of the city, or local department of that paper. In 1879 he decided to accept his father’s offer of a college education, and entered the University of Michigan; here he remained until 1882, when through the influence of Andrew D. White, then president of Cornell University, and other personal friends in Ithica, he was transferred to Cornell University. In both universities he was prominent in athletics, and held many positions of honor in the student world. He was an active and prominent member of the Psi Upsilon college fraternity, one of the oldest of these organizations.
In 1882 his father died, and his return to college was prevented. For a time he had charge of a special department of dramatic and literary matters on the Topeka Capital; later accepted a position with the First National bank of Topeka, with which institution he remained for seven years, progressing from the lowest to the highest clerical position in the bank. He left the bank to engage in a financial business for himself, which proved highly profitable, but met the fate of all such enterprises, in the depression of 1892, resulting in the loss of a comfortable fortune. He then became associated with a large manufacturing concern in Chicago, as its western representative, in which capacity he is now employed.
He was very prominently connected with social, dramatic and literary affairs of Topeka; was married in 1885 to Emma J. Kellam, a beautiful, accomplished and extremely popular young lady in Topeka Society. Three years later death severed the union, leaving one child, a girl. Probably no man has ever lived more devoted to Masonry, and had it not been for his untiring efforts, his great intellectual and physical strength, used so generously for the benefit of the cause, Kansas would not hold its present high position in the Masonic world. He is spoken of today as one of the best ritualists in the United States, and his opinion is sought by the most distinguished Masons of the country.”
Yesterday I began exploring the increased sales of Masonic regalia and paraphernalia across the country at the beginning of the twentieth century. Part of the development of theatrically staged Masonic degrees was establishing a need for elaborate stages, complete with painted settings, props, costumes and lighting systems. As the western sales representative for M. C. Lilley and Co., Brown increased the visibility of the fraternal supply company by not only joining numerous Masonic orders and fraternal organizations, but also by ascending to high offices in each order.
A key period becomes 1903 to 1904. By this time, M. C. Lilley had secured the theater contracts for several Southern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite stages, including Little Rock, Arkansas; Oakland, California; Wichita, Kansas; Salina, Kansas; McAlester, Oklahoma; Guthrie, Oklahoma; Portland, Oregon; Duluth, Minnesota and Fort Scott, Kansas. I am sure that there are more, but these are the ones that I have positively identified.
In 1903, Bestor G. Brown became Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kansas, placing him in a regional spotlight. He was provided with a unique opportunity to market his vision, especially pertaining to the staging of degree work. This included staging the first three degrees of Freemasonry (Blue Lodge). The Topeka Daily Capital reported, “Good Program is Arranged. Masons will have great meeting tomorrow” (14 February 1904, page 6). Masons from all over Kansas gathered in Topeka for “the forty-eight annual communication of the most worshipful grand lodge of the A.F. and A.M., the thirty-ninth annual convocation of the most exalted grand chapter of the Royal Arch Masons and the thirty-sixth annual assembly of the most illustrious grand council of the Royal and Select Masters.” What this means is that 600 to 700 of the top Masons in Kansas, as well as other visiting dignitaries, would be gathered both for both public and Private meetings; many would be exposed to the theatrical interpretation of degree work for the first time.
Envelope from Bestor G. Brown of M. C. Lilley & Co.
If one were to pitch a new idea, this is the time and place to promote it. Here is what Brown did, he promoted his company and staged the third degree of Masonry in full costume. The “Topeka Daily Capital” reported that the Grand Officers, together with a team selected from the local lodges, would stage the third degree of Masonry “in full costume” in the Representative Hall. This space was fitted up to function like the early stages in Masonic Halls. Masonic Halls were the precursor to a formal Scottish Rite stage. A rectangular room, similar to a banquet hall, was slightly altered to include an elevated stage on one end of the room; sometimes the stages were temporality constructed for a specific event. Some even included a proscenium arch, front curtain, and a few roll drops to establish the appropriate environment. In cases were roll drops were not rigged for the performance, wings, shutters, book flats, or profile pieces were temporarily positioned to provide the painted backings for early degree productions.
Interestingly, at the end of this event, the Scottish Rite Masons of Topeka hosted a banquet and musical program for all visiting Masons in the Masonic Hall. There is something to be said about the visual impact of a staged scene. During the same event, a special assembly was held in the Masonic Hall to confer the high degrees of Royal, Select, and Super-Excellent Master. The article reported, “This council has not only a state, but a national reputation, and will present the beautiful degrees of Cryptic Masonry with its complete equipment and paraphernalia.”
Winding staircase for the second degree.Winding staircase for theatrically staging the second degree.A profile piece for the staged version of the third degree. This depicts the slain assassins who murdered King Solomon’s the chief architect Hiram.Detail of profile piece for the staged version of the third degree depicting the slain assassins who murdered King Solomon’s the chief architect HiramDetail of profile piece for the staged version of the third degree depicting the slain assassins who murdered King Solomon’s the chief architect HiramDetail of profile piece for the staged version of the third degree depicting the slain assassins who murdered King Solomon’s the chief architect Hiram
In 1903 Thomas G. Moses was living in Mount Vernon, New York, and maintaining a studio in New York City. His firm, Moses & Hamilton, employed a small staff, using the paint frames at the American Theatre. While Moses was busy creating a variety of settings for Broadway, touring productions, and outdoors amusements, the Masonic scenery market started to surge.
This brings us to the point of the theatrical manufacturers and suppliers who were outfitting Masonic theaters. Business alliances start to form, including that between M. C. Lilley & Sosman & Landis in Chicago. At this same time that Masonic business increases, Landis retires from the company due to poor health. This leaves Sosman overwhelmed with the combined duties of running both the shops and completing all necessary administrative duties. Landis was in charge of sales and marketing, whereas Sosman controlled the manufacturing end of the business.
Bestor G. Brown from “The Portsmouth Herald” on June 12th 1893 (page 3).
Enter, Bestor G. Brown, Mason and salesman for M. C. Lilley. Bestor G. Brown (1861-1917) was a key individual in the development of Masonic stages during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries; an instrumental figure in the promotion of Scottish Rite degree productions across the country. Brown entered Masonic regalia and paraphernalia sales in 1892, working as a traveling salesman with his home residence in Chicago from 1892 to 1898. The potential for future sales offered during the Columbian Exposition was a major incentive for Brown to leave Kansas and head to Illinois. In 1899, Brown moved to Topeka, Kansas, and then Kansas City in 1904, relocating to this central hub as the western sales manager of M. C. Lilley Company. The need for a regional office in 1904 was a direct result of sales skyrocketing in the western region. Brown was in the right place at the right time. For more information about Brown, see past installments #351-353.
Brown’s involvement with Freemasonry extended to the Scottish Rite, York Rite, Midian Shrine, and Order of the Eastern Star. This brings us to 1903, when Brown became the Grand Master of Kansas. He was also the Past High Priest of the Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons of Kansas; Past Master (and one of the first members initiated) of Siloam lodge, No. 225, A.F. and A.M.; Past Grand Master of the Grand Council; Past Grand Commander of Knights Templar in Kansas; General Grand Scribe of the General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons; a Past Grand Sovereign of the Grand Imperial Council of the Red Cross of Constantine; and an officer in the national Grand Council. Brown also had the distinction of having sat at the Royal Lodge in London when King Edward presided (Fort Scott Daily Tribune, 12 July 1917, page 2). Other fraternities that Brown joined included the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and the Psi Upsillon Fraternity, of which he organized several chapters.
Here is the section titled “Masonic” that appeared in“The Portsmouth Herald” on June 12th 1893 (page 3). I am posting the section in its entirety, as it is a wonderful snapshot into Masonic activity and Brown’s level of fraternal involvement.
“Masonic.
The new grand master of Kansas, Bestor G. Brown, has been unusually active in lodge, chapter and council work since his admission to the fraternity in 1884 and is noted for his devotion to Masonry. Mr. Brown is called the only Masonic stage carpenter in the country. He created and developed 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 grand high priest of the grand chapter of Kansas in 1893, grand master of the grand council in 1891 and has held many other high offices. Mr. Brown was born in 1861 and is one of the best ritualists in the United States.
There are 110 lodges in Connecticut with a membership of 18,500, an increase of 784 for the past year.
At the recent session of the grand lodge of New York all of the officers of last year were unanimously re-elected.
Mecca temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of New York city now has a membership of 4,925.
At the last session of the grand lodge of New Mexico the grand secretary reported membership in that jurisdiction of 1,146.
A magnificent new Masonic temple will be erected in Phillipsburg, Kan.
There is talk of erecting a new Masonic temple in Schnectady, N.Y., to cost $100,000.
Membership reports read at the fiftieth annual conclave of the grand commandery of Pennsylvania showed good gains for the year. There are about 15,000 Knights Templar in the jurisdiction now, an increase of nearly 1,000 since the last conclave.
An application has been received from American Masons in Tientsin, China, for the establishment of a lodge there.
The Masonic home of Manchester, N. H., was recently dedicated by Grand Master Harry M. Cheney.”
Masonic activities abounded and Brown would be the perfect person to market the theatrical interpretation of degree work. He would subcontract Sosman & Landis for the scenery; Sosman would need help and this is where Moses would factor in again. Sosman needed Moses back in Chicago to supervise the shop.
Part 471: Stage Hands – “Theatre People You Don’t See”
“Stage Hands “The Chicago Tribune” (11 June 1902, Page 4)
Today’s installment is a little lengthy, but I have seldom encountered descriptions about the backstage process. It is easy to find information about the performers or artists, however, insight into the activities of a stagehand during a turn-of-the-twentieth century show is rare. Months ago I encountered an article about “Stage Hands” in “The Chicago Tribune” (11 June 1902, Page 4). It was republished across the country in 1902, including “The Boston Sunday Globe (22 June 1902, page 51).
Once again, I was astounded at the sheer number of individuals employed working in the backstage area; moving lines, lights and scenery, all at the stage manager’s cue. It’s the highly organized process from start to finish. I think that sometimes we forget that the complexity of the backstage activities over a century ago. Here is “The Chicago Tribune” article in its entirety:
“Stage Hands.
Behold now how many and what different results a little thing will accomplish. A fat man in soiled white shirt sleeves, standing just beyond the right edge of the curtain, presses three electric buttons, one after the other, with his pudgy forefinger.
Illustration from “The Chicago Tribune” (11 June 1902, Page 4)
One of the buttons rings a bell up above in the electrician’s gallery. The electrician, whose blue shirt is open at the neck — it is hot behind the scenes — throws three or four switches and all at once the auditorium lights flame out, the footlights blaze up, strip lights hanging in the scenery are lit, and bright spot lights, at each of which a man is stationed, begin to make circles of especial brilliancy in various places on the stage.
The second button pressed by the stage manager rings a bell down in the musicians’ room under the stage and a dozen hot and perspiring men stop their games of pinochle, put on their coats, and climb up the stairs which lead to the orchestra pit. For answer a red electric bulb glows on the little shelf before the stage manager and he knows that order has been obeyed.
The third signal summons all the stage carpenters to stand by the pieces of scenery to which they are assigned in readiness for the quick change at the end of the first scene.
Meanwhile, a tall youth in an evening coat that is far too long for him goes running down into the deep basements, where the supers dress, and up three or four or five flights of stairs by the dressing-rooms of the principals, wailing, “Overture! Overture!” He is the call-boy, and it is his duty to sound the warning to every actor half an hour and fifteen minutes before the performance begins and also when the orchestra begins to play the overture. Meanwhile the actors and actresses in fashionable clothes and lacy summer costumes begin to gather in a crowd on the stage. Mingled with them are property men, clearers, grips, and carpenters, giving the last touch to some detail of the stage setting. The stage manager gives a final glance at the big clock. He notes the exact time on the blank schedule hanging on the wall before him, claps his hands, calls, “Clear the stage” and all the people you don’t see vanish into the wings.
Illustration from “The Chicago Tribune” (11 June 1902, Page 4)
But they work behind quite as hard as the actors are working before the scenes. A property man sets down a bottle of beer and two glasses in the wings, just where it can be found by the stage waiter, who will need it in five minutes. Nine stage carpenters are standing, each with a firm grasp on a certain piece of scenery. Other property men are placing a lot of furniture and made pieces in an orderly row behind the last set at the back of the stage so that they may move it all forward when the time comes without an instant’s delay. High up in the fly gallery, fifty feet above the stage, nine husky men in overalls and shirt sleeves are pulling away at a long series of big ropes that run up as high as the rigging loft and down again over pulleys to the corners of various heavy pieces of scenery. Something like the ringing loft of a big church belfry is this fly loft, with its orderly rows of huge ropes and its men pulling and straining as they raise and lower heavy canvas ceilings, walls and flies into position.
Presently an actor speaks the last line of the first scene. At the cue the stage manager presses some more electric buttons. Every light in the house, back and front, goes out for a moment and a light auxiliary curtain drops down and cuts off the stage. Behind this curtain some dim lights are turned on. But even while it is still dark the fifty men who help to make the show a success, though they are never seen or heard, have jumped into their proper places and are hard at work. One gang pulls the old scenery out of the way and piles it up against the walls of the stage in certain defined places. Others rush forward, each man carrying a certain piece of new scenery to exactly its proper spot. The clearers carry away the old properties and the property men set in place everything that is needed for the second scene. The flymen have hauled up the old stuff out of sight and let down the new, and the electrician has rearranged his spot and strip lights.
The stage manager claps his hands again, cries, “Clear the stage!” presses the buttons that turn on the lights and raises the curtain, and the second scene is on.
“We’re a little slow today,” he says, as he writes down the exact minute on his schedule — which is like a railroad time table. “It took us a minute and a half to make that change.”
Now there are some fifteen minutes to pass before either property men or stage hands will have anything to do, and they scatter to spend the leisure time in different ways.
Altogether, for the handling of an elaborate product, like “The Suburban,” fifty-five stage hands and property men are required. The stage hands are under the direct command of the stage carpenter and his assistant. They are divided into carpenters and grips and flymen, there being eleven of the first class and nine of the second. There are two property men and ten clearers, the duty of the latter being to clear away in a hurry what the property men have placed with care. Then there are an even dozen electricians who have to look after all the many different electric and calcium lights, which are used in various scenes. Add the call boy, the stage door man, and half a dozen minor positions and it is easy to count up the company of fifty-five which the stage manager has under his command.
Illustration from “The Chicago Tribune” (11 June 1902, Page 4)Illustration from “The Chicago Tribune” (11 June 1902, Page 4)
When there comes a wait which gives stage hands a little leisure a crowd of them are likely to get together in the carpenter’s room under the stage, where a game of lotto, a first cousin of keno, or some other game is in operation. They pack the little room to suffocation and the excitement sometimes runs high, but the instant the stage manager’s warning bell sounds everything is dropped and each man gets into position without delay, for delay is the one thing which can never be forgiven in a stage hand.
On hot afternoons and nights others of the stage workmen go out into the alley about the stage door when they get a minute’s rest and get a breath of fresh air and other cooling refreshments. But always they are in sound of that warning bell.
Some rivalry exists between the property men and the stage carpenters, or at least the line between them is closely drawn.
Not for his life would a stage carpenter or grip lay his hand on any of the properties, even in an emergency, nor would a property man or clearer touch a piece of scenery, though it never were moved into place. The union rules and the pride of the profession both forbid such intermingling of functions.
Severe and unsparing critics of the speaking actors are these dumb and invisible “artists” of the stage. Let a new star go on for the first night and there will be enough biting and uncomplimentary things said about him and his work by the critics in dirty shirt sleeves who look down from the flies or stand in the entrances to make anything the newspaper may say the next morning sound like the sweetest flattery. They spare nobody. A great reputation will not cover faults to them. And as that many of them rarely if ever see a play from the front of the house. They look at bits of a thousand plays from between the wings and form their opinion from what they see.
Most of the responsibility for the stage effects rests upon the head carpenter and the property man. Every morning the stage carpenter has to make what is called a “pack” of all the different pieces of scenery. That is, he has to arrange it all in its regular order in a great pile leaning against the wall, so that the next piece wanted will always be next in the pile. On the outside of the pile stands the first piece needed in making the first change. On it in big letters are printed the words, “Keep alive,” which is stage talk for, “Don’t bury this piece under anything else.”
If there is a matinee the stage carpenter has to make a second “pack” between the afternoon and evening performances. The property man is charged with seeing that every little thing that is needed during the play is on hand and ready for instant use. Over them all reigns the stage manager. After each scene is set he casts a rapid and critical eye over it to see that everything is in exactly the right place and that carelessness has not marred any of the effects.
Mention of the scenic studio “Noxon, Halley & Toomey” in “the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,” 21 Nov. 1881, page 7.
Thomas C. Noxon established another scenic studio after Noxon & Strauss. He took on two other partners – the Englishman Richard H. Halley and Noxon’s apprentice Patrick C. Toomey during 1880. “The Chicago Tribune” mentioned that Noxon, Halley & Toomey of St. Louis painted nineteen sets of scenery for the Greene’s New Opera House in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, during 1880. The newspaper mentioned that the studio was well-known and had completed “considerable scenic work in the State” (The Chicago Tribune, 23 Dec. 1880, page 11). Noxon, Halley & Toomey lasted for approximately four years, ending in 1884.
I have mentioned Halley in previous posts, but not examined this scenic artist in depth. By 1892, Halley was mentioned in the “Chicago Sunday Tribune” article titled “Paint Mimic Scenes, Men Who Have Found Fame in the Wing and Drop Curtains” (Dec, 18, 1892, page 41). The article noted, “Richard Halley, at present winning laurels as a painter in Europe, was the scenic artist for Kelly and Leon in the halcyon days of minstrelsy and painted marbles in distemper almost as well as Kilpatrick does them at present in oil” (see past installment 248). Halley was working as the scenic artist for the Princess and Adelphi Theatres during 1892. Prior to his departure he worked with Lou Malmsha at McVicker’s Theatre during 1889 in Chicago.
The earliest mention of Halley that I have located in print was from 1872. That year, R. H. Halley painted a grand allegorical picture of “Progress” for Charles Walters Minstrels (Chicago Tribune 28 April 1872, page 7). By 1875, Halley was still painting solo. One of his projects included the scene “Venice by Moonlight” for “The Crimson Scarf” at the Grand Opera House in Chicago (Chicago Tribune, 31 January 1875, page 16).
In 1876, “The Tennessean” reported that “Mr. R. H. Halley, of Drury Lane Theatre, London,” was “an artist of high merit.” The article continued “Halley will at once enter the work of painting full sets of new scenery for the Grand Opera House, now being remodeled on the most expensive scale” (27 July 1876, page 4). A few month later, “The Tennessean” noted, “The scenery appointments for the plays to be produced by this company have been designed and painted by the celebrated artist R. H. Halley, and are equal to those found in any theater in America” (The Tennessean, 4 Oct, 1876, page 4).
By 1877, “The Tennessean” noted Halley’s departure from Nashville for England, reporting, “Mr. R. H. Halley, the scenic artist of the Grand Opera-house, departs this morning for New York, whence he will sail in a few days for his native England. The high standard of work done by Mr. Halley in Nashville is fully recognized by an appreciative public. In all the details of his art he displays a taste and skill that make the stage decorations of the Grand Opera-house hardly inferior to those of the best metropolitan theatres – a fact admitted by the leading managers who has visited our city. During his stay here, Mr. Halley has won many friends to whom his future career will matter of deep interest” (The Tennessean, 20 March 1887, page 4).
The next we learn of Halley is that he was painting for the Queen’s Theatre in 1878. He was producing the painted setting and scenic effects for the “Robinson Crusoe” pantomime. “The Era” reported there were “spectacular effects, the chief of which must be considered the Transformation Scene” (6 Jan. 1878, page 5). His sojourn in England, however, was not meant to last. Halley returned to the United States by 1879 and was painting the drop curtain for Pope’s Theatre in St. Louis. “The St. Louis Post-Dispatch” noted that Halley had “acquired quite a reputation as a scenic artist” by that time (20 Sept. 1879, page 3). It was at this point that he would meet Thomas C. Noxon, of the same city, and form Noxon, Halley & Toomey.
By 1881, the scenic studio of Noxon, Halley & Toomey journeyed from St. Louis, Missouri, to Memphis, Tennessee, painting the scenery for “Der Freischutz.” Halley’s previous theatre connections in Tennessee could have secured this particular contract. “The Public Ledger” published, “Messrs. Noxon, Halley & Toomey are here from St. Louis to paint the scenery for the opera, which will be presented a few days hence”(Memphis, Tennessee, 20 April 1881, page 4). “The Memphis Daily Appeal” reported, “The incantation scene will be especially artistic and attractive” (20 April 1881, page 4).
Noxon, Halley & Toomey also created scenery for “Fresh, the American” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 21 Nov. 1881, page 7). This scenery was a combined effort, as many productions, with painted contribution also by P. W. Goatcher and H. E. Hoyt. At this same time, Noxon, Halley & Toomey painted the scenery for “The Danites” at the Grand Opera House in St. Louis (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2 April 1881, page 7).
By the next year, Noxon, Halley & Toomey were mentioned in regard to the opening of the new opera house in Lawrence, Kansas. The Fay Templeton Combination Co. opened the house with “The Lawrence Gazette” reporting, “The scenic painting elicited many compliments for Mr. Toomey, of the firm of Noxon, Halley & Toomey, of St. Louis, a most estimable gentleman, and in our humble opinion beyond criticism as regards to taste and ability as an artist” (Lawrence, Kansas, 21 Sept. 1882, page 3). That same year, the firm painted a roll drop for the opera house in St. Joseph, Missouri. “The Atchison Daily Patriot” commented that the opera house “unrolled a new drop painted by Noxon, Halley & Toomey of St. Louis” (3 Oct. 1882, page 1). The composition depicted a view of Castle Gleno in the Bay of Callao.” This was the toehold that the company needed in the region, as they would later paint the drop curtain and scenery for the new opera house in Springfield, Missouri (The Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 February 1883, page 12).
In 1883, we learn that R. H. Halley went by the more informal “Dick Halley.” The firm was engaged to provide the scenery for the Olympic Theatre and Grand Opera House in St. Louis. “The St. Louis Post-Dispatch” provided little more information about Halley: “Dick’s full name is Richard H. Halley. He came to St. Louis several years ago, going first to the Grand Opera-house, and then Pope’s Theater when it opened and he remained there until two years ago when he became a member of the scenic firm of Noxon, Halley & Toomey, engaged to do the work of the Olympic Theater and Grand Opera-house. His first introduction to our public was when a private view was given of the drop curtain of the new theater. This curtain was the first of a combination satin surface and medallion center effects St. Louis had then seen. Since that time the city abounds in them. The work was highly praised by the art critics and lavishly commented by the public. There was a suggestion of originality in the achievement, and the beauty of the conception and the vigor and art of its execution won instant attention to the young painter. His scenic work the same season was found to bear out promise the curtain gave, and throughout his whole engagement at Pope’s he continued to win great commendation for his skill with the brush. Since his attachment to the forces of the down-town theaters he has kept himself at the front, and goes away with laurels bright and fresh as the first ever accorded him here” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 13 April 1883, page 4).
