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Moses wrote extensively about the Columbian Exposition in his typed manuscript. He commented that the “Great Fair” opened with bad weather, but soon changed, and there wasn’t rain for 106 days. Moses recalled, “We continued to get work at the Fair, away up into July.”

On June 1, 1893, work was still plentiful and Moses hired Fred McGreer at the annex theatre on the West Side. Moses recorded that McGreer “proved to be a good man.” It was McGreer’s speed that was the key for Moses’ approval. Moses was also known for his speed, having written in 1881, “The others were able to draw more, because they were better in the artistic end, but I had it over them when it came to speed.” McGreer was also fast and built his reputation on the rapidity of his painting.

Very little is known of McGreer beyond a few articles that mention his artistic speed and skill as a scenic artist. The first time Fred McGreer appears in print is in 1887. He was reported as providing “an hour’s divertissement” in rapid oil painting at the Continental Council No. 55 under National Union section of the Inter Ocean (10 April 1887, page 20).

A year later, there is an advertisement in the Chicago Tribune about a free art exhibition by Fred McGreer at the store James Wilde Jr. & Co. on the corner of State and Madison Streets. (28 Nov 1888, page 8). It reported that McGreer was “the most Wonderful Artist in the World – the rapidity of his work is marvelous. Hundreds of thousands of people visited him at the New Orleans Exposition.” Every afternoon between 1 and 5pm, McGreer was exhibiting his great talent in the James Wilde Jr. & Co. Boys’ and Children’s Department. He was advertised as completing an 8×12 oil painting in ten minutes while customers waited. If customers spent more than $10 in the store, they could select any painting free of charge as a Christmas Gift.

By August 1888, McGreer partnered with his cousin Ernest Cooke to exhibit their rapid painting skills. They were featured at E. W. Viall’s store on Main Street in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The two artists showed how fast paintings could be created and also gave lessons. Their art classes numbered 20 students and were offered in Elgin and Janesville, Illinois. I chuckled as the advertisement noted “Ladies are specially invited to the Entertainment; seats will be kept for them.”

Four years later, McGreer is still exhibiting art in Chicago at A. H. Abbott & Co.’s with several other local artists, including Norwegian artist Svend Svendson and Adele Ross. McGreer exhibited two landscapes: “The Grove” and “A Scene Near Allegheny, Pa.” (Chicago Tribune, 22 May 1892, page 40). It is around this time that Moses hires McGreer. He remains with Moses until 1897. That year, Moses writes, “Early fall found Mr. Landis and Mr. Hunt camped on my trail; offering me the Pyke Theatre Stock Company work at Cincinnati for the season. They agreed to send down enough drops from the studio to complete my contract. I accepted $75.00 per week and went, taking McGreer and Loitz from Chicago.” It appears as if McGreer never left Cincinnati and soon became the scenic artist for the Pike Theatre.” By 1900, the Cincinnati Enquirer did an entire article on Fred McGreer, the scenic artist. He was still successfully employed at the Pike.

To be continued…

There were many parades held in conjunction with the Columbian Exposition. One of the first parades accompanied the dedication ceremonies for the Columbian Exposition World’s Fair in Chicago on October 20-21, 1892. Even though the fairgrounds would not be open to the public until May 1, 1893, approximately 75,000 people participated in the event, representing a variety of groups and organizations. Some of the participants included the Independent Order of Foresters (10,000 men), Italian Democratic Club (500 men), Grecian Brotherhood Association (300 men), Patriotic Order of Sons of America (8,000 men), Chicago Turners Society (2,500 men), Croatian Benevolent Society and Polish Societies (5,000 men), Swedish and Scandinavian Societies (10,000 men), Ancient Order of Hibernians (2,000 men), Catholic Knights of America (1,000 men), and many others.

But there was anther event with a parade that surpassed this – Chicago Day.

Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld asked the state’s citizens to observe Chicago Day on October 9, 1893. The day marked the twenty-second anniversary Chicago’s great fire. Newspapers published Altgeld’s proclamation in its entirety. He wrote, “In the short time which has elapsed since that day the people of the city have not only rebuilt it on a scale of magnificence and grandeur which astonishes the world, but they have carried most of the burden and been moving and directing force in creating that great White City by the lake is attracting the nations of the earth to our gates. It has been decided to make October 9 Chicago day at the World’s Columbian Exposition and to hold the anniversary celebration there” (Chicago Tribune 22 Sept., 1893, page 5).

The Chicago Tribune further reported there would also be a “brilliant pageant” with elaborate floats showing the “ history of a great city from obscurity and ruin to celebrity and affluence” in the article “As Victor Over Fire, Proud Chicago Burns Living Tableaux into the Night” (10 Oct 1893, page 3).

Thomas G. Moses recorded his working on the wagons for the Night Pageant, including the Thomas Edison float. He wrote, “I had a number of floats to do for Chicago day. I shall never forget it. We had everything ready to go when the dragon on the Edison float broke and we had to fix it, and by the time we got in line again, the crowd had got in between the floats. A howling mob of 750,000 people – everyone happy and tired, and what a time the trains had to get the mob home.” The parade was interrupted half way through, causing great chaos as the second half frantically attempted to catch up with the first half.

Moses was referring to the wagon designed for General Electric Company that contained over 3,500 electric lights. During February of 1892 the Edison Company had merged with General Electric. Sosman & Landis were very aware of ample opportunities provided by the ever-advancing field of lighting technology.  This was highlighted by the fact that the Western Electric Manufacturing Company was across the street from their scenic studio on Clinton Street.

They developed the electric scenic theatre at the fair and later created two electric scenic theatres for the roof top garden on top of the Masonic Temple. In 1893, Abraham “Perry” Landis was one of the three incorporators for the American Reflector & Lighting Company. His scenic studio partner Joseph S. Sosman was an investor. Sosman and Landis were deeply involved in the use of electric light for applications beyond the mere illumination of theaters. It was natural that their scenic studio would embrace the new technology and create an illuminated pageant wagon for Chicago Day. The Edison Float was a perfect opportunity.

Chicago Day was a massive event, one that the newspapers covered weeks in advance. The committees, participants and designs were presented in detail. Various groups and organizations met and presented their intended floats to the public. They were generating excitement for the big day. When evening rolled around on Chicago Day, buildings along the parade route tuned on their light, illuminated pageant wagons rolled down the streets, and fireworks completed the evening.

Newspapers reported in detail how various companies would show their support on Chicago Day as part of the build up to the event. The Chicago Tribune reported on “cordial expressions of support,” such as that from the Chicago Opera House. David Henderson, manager of the Chicago Opera-House, placed the theater’s wardrobe that was not in use at the disposal of the Chicago Day Committee. Other businesses expressed their support by decorating buildings, giving the employees a holiday, or offering employees free tickets to attend the fair if their doors remained open on October 9.

The admission numbers for the Columbian Exposition reported for Chicago Day reached 713,646 with total attendance for the day at 751,026. Chicago Day was one of four days during the duration of the World’s Fair when attendance exceeded 300,000. In 1893, Benjamin Cummins Truman wrote about the event, reporting “there were parades by military and other organizations during the day and a procession of floats and fire-works at night – the latter surpassing anything ever before attempted in the way of pyrotechnic effects” (History of the World’s Fair Being a Complete and Authentic Description of the Columbian Exposition, 1893, page 597). What an amazing event to not only attend, but also work as a scenic studio employee.

To be continued…

Thomas G. Moses’ recorded painting for a variety of venues during the 1893 Columbian Exposition. One of his projects included scenery for Dr. F. Ziegfeld’s Trocadero. That would be Flo Ziegfeld’s father! Ziegfeld Sr. advertised the Trocadero as the “International Temple of Music” and featured a variety of musicians. However, it soon became a “high-class vaudeville theatre” under the management of his son. Ziegfeld Sr. was the first president of the Torocadero and also the General Manager. Thos. W. Prior was his assistant manager. Prior later managed the Schiller Theatre and then the Garrick Theatre.

The first few months in the history of the Trocadero were fraught with disaster. Their sophisticated music policy provided many artistic successes, yet consistently lost money to the tune of $3,000 each week. Furthermore, their first performance venue burned to the ground. Located in the armory of the First Regiment, Illinois National Guard on Sixteenth Street and Michigan Avenue, the Trocadero was entirely destroyed by fire on April 29, 1893.

In this disastrous turn of events, all of the Trocadero Amusement Company’s scenery and costumes went up in flames (Green Bay Weekly Gazette, May 3, 1893, page 7).

Their next venue was located a short distance to the north in the Battery “D” armory on the lakefront at Michigan Avenue and Monrose Street. In the second armory they continued to feature international musicians, such as Voros Miska’s Hungarian Band, Hans von Bülow’s Orchestra and Military Band, and Iwanoff’s Russian troupe of singers and dancers (Detroit Free Press, 27 April, 1893, page 5). All the while, the Ziegfeld Corporation continued to lose money at Trocadero.

After the fire and on the verge of bankruptcy, the company’s board of directors decided to make a radical change in their performance policy. Ziegfeld Jr. became the sole manager and vaudeville acts entered the picture.

Newspapers reported that “High class music, which was finely presented, but found too few patrons, gave place to vaudeville. This change produced an instant difference in results, and the handsome profits on the business week by week made it possible not only to avert the threatened intervention of a receiver, but to recover all the losses and place a balance to the credit of the enterprise” (The Inter Ocean, Dec. 3, 1893, page 29). By December of 1893, the substantial profits facilitated the Trocadero to reopen in a new home on Jackson Street. It was another remodeled armory on Jackson Street between Wabash and Michigan Avenues. The seating capacity was 1,600 with two balconies, twenty-five boxes, a parquet and orchestra circle. A large restaurant was located in the basement with smoking and retiring rooms on each floor. The stage was to be “roomy and built with special reference to vaudeville performance” (Chicago Tribune 19 November 1893, page 25).

Dr. F. Ziegfeld Sr. was born in northern Germany. A talented pianist, he studied at the Leipzig Conservatory under the direction of Moscheles, Richter, Plaidy, David, Wenzel, Paperitz and others. Graduating in 1863, he not only declined an offer from a leading Russian conservatory, but also left Europe entirely and moved to the United States. By 1867 he had founded the Chicago Musical College for the purpose of “furnishing a symmetrical and thorough musical education” (Chicago Board of Trade, page 291).

The institution was a school of music, acting, elocution of modern languages, and opera. After the great fire of 1871 destroyed many of the college rooms, property, and library, Ziegfeld reopened the school in another location. So the fire that destroyed the first Trocadero’s performance space was only a stumbling block for Dr. Ziegfeld in 1893.

Ziegfeld Jr. entered the musical scene in 1885 when he worked as the assistant treasurer for the Chicago College of Music. At the time, he was noted as a “very popular and talented young businessman,” later rising to celebrity status as the Broadway impresario and creator of the Ziegfeld Follies. The Follies ran from 1907 to 1931.

In Chicago during 1893, the elder Ziegfeld opened a nightclub to obtain business during the Columbian Exposition. His venue promised “the comforts of European Music Halls.” To help his father’s nightclub succeed after fire and near bankruptcy, Ziegfeld Jr. hired and managed strongman Eugen Sandow.

Ziegfeld Jr. convinced Sandow to terminate his previous contract with Abbey, Schoeffel and Grau. The Chicago’s Sunday Inter Ocean featured Sandow as “The Strongest Man” and “a Prussian of Perfect Physique” (June 25, 1893, page 25). It was rumored that wealthy ladies paid extra money to sneak backstage after the show and feel his muscles. After a two-month engagement at the Trocadero in 1893, Sandow left for New York and European engagements, touring throughout the U.S. in Ziegfelda show called, “Sandow’s Trocadero Vaudevilles.”

Other vaudeville acts at the Trocadero included Marlo and Dunham (horizontal bar performers), Abachi & Masuad (acrobats), the Great American Amann (protean artist, facial artist and mimic), Papinta (the serpentine dancer), George Adams (the clown), Harry La Rosa (the Equilibrist), John Le Claire (the Comedian), Iwanoff and his Royal Russians,Effie Stewart, Carmencita, Eunice Vance, Lottie Gibson, and the Great Santini Brothers. Later, Sandow continued performed on a vaudeville bill with the musical comedy star Billy B. Van, the French clown Mon. O’Gust, and the aerial acrobats called the Five Jordans.

There are no details about the scenery that Moses painted for the Trocadero. As he was a well-known landscape artist, it is possible that he created the beautiful pastoral backings for the various international performances during the first half of 1893. The lovely scenery behind Hans von Bülow’s orchestra and military band could possibly be the work of Moses.

And from Gene Meier…voila! It was across from the Chicago Fire Panorama.  It’s great to have smart and inquisitive friends.

To be continued…

Dry pigment has four categories: earth colors, organic colors, manufactured colors, and mineral colors. Earth colors are those such as ochre, umber, and sienna. Organic colors are often plant-based like the indigos and Indian yellows or the red that is made from insects (cochineal). The manufactured colors are produced with a chemical process and are often the most toxic, but stunning. Mineral colors, such ultramarine (ground lapis lazuli), often have chemically-manufactured versions. In the end, some colors are considered “fugitive,” meaning they and are prone to change. Other colors may be labeled “poisonous” as they not only change, but also attack their neighbors.

Dry pigment painting is incredibly complex if you are unfamiliar with the medium. There are surprises that will occur with certain color combinations. Old books, manuscripts, and other publications may briefly mention historical painting techniques with dry pigment, but you have to look for them. The Chicago Sunday Tribune article “Paint Mimic Scenes, Men Who Have Found Fame in the Wing and Drop Curtains” described the challenges of certain colors for the nineteenth century scenic artist (Dec, 18, 1892, page 41). For the article in its entirety, see installments #246 to 251. The article reported that scenic artist “must avoid powerful greens which become coarse” and “strong blues which grow black.” Furthermore, they must “exaggerate yellows which are robbed of strength by excessive light.”

I love studying dry pigment and historical scenic art techniques. It is both exciting and extremely frustrating. Just like making bread, a few simple ingredients can produce drastically different end products. To explore the nuances and master the color combinations is more than a simple challenge. Producing a new painting with dry pigment is radically different than trying to match colors during restoration. A new painted composition becomes all about technique. Restoring an old composition is all about science. You need to identify identify the correct color combination while factoring in discoloration, color characteristics and other factors that will continue to affect a hue over time.

“In painting,” or retouching damaged areas of paint on any historical backdrop is appealing to many people. You need to get in the original artist’s head and take the whole composition into account. This is the big appeal for many individuals during a restoration project, especially if they are artists.

I have frequently had people say, “give me a call when you get to the painting part.” They simply don’t understand that most of my knowledge comes from handling the historic scenes well before picking up a brush to apply any paint. One must also be familiar with the history of scenic art techniques as well as the history of color. Unless there is severe water damage, applying paint to a historic backdrop makes up approximately 5%, or less, of any restoration project. Ideally, you don’t want to apply any paint at all if the damage is minimal.

During restoration it is imperative to create a color chart of the colors. Dry pigment colors vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Slight changes of color occur over time. Think of the current need to place batch numbers and manufacturing dates on cans of paint. There are always variables and if the paint fails, the manufacture needs to consider what happened to that entire batch, or whether something happened to the paint after it left the factory.

For dry pigment powders, you cannot always identify a manufacturer, or even the decade when it was made. Some colors are no longer available, and yet they are still needed when mixing the correct sky colors. There is also the consideration that not every drop used the correct color combinations in the beginning. Not every studio purchased a good batch of binder and not ever paint boy prepared the size water correctly. I am sure that some projects left the studio with the instructions “just get it out the door today.”

Some colors have high dye contents. This means that a particular color – like malachite green – will continue to permeate any other color placed on top of it. A pure white highlight painted over a malachite green base will become a lovely shade of pale green. No matter how thick that white paint is when applied, the base color will rise to the surface. You have to understand what colors must be used sparingly. There is a science to the paint mixing and application.

The preparation of the dry pigment paste is also very important in the painting process. If you rush the preparation and a few granules do not dissolve in the paste they will eventually reappear – even a century later. Pigment granules that did not dissolve at the time of initial application will blossom when water (or any liquid) is introduced at a later date. You can literally see the granules on the surface of historic drops and there is nothing that can be done. If they are scraped off, the powder will spread and the color reappear. If the painted surface becomes wet, a yellow background with small particles of magenta that was mixed into the base color to “warm it up,” with turn the area bright pink.

Then there is whiting. Whiting is the wild card when mixing paint. It was a product used by scenic artists to both prime the fabric surface and lighten some of the colors. When mixed with other colors it can cause a wet color to appear many shades lighter once dry.

Light colors are the most tricky to match during restoration as the wet color applied to the composition appears to be nothing like what you are matching. You just have faith that it will dry the same shade and that there wasn’t anything in the original base coat that will shift the final color. The variables are the type of whiting and the type of color. There is nothing like having a dark blue magically transition to sky blue in the last thirty seconds of drying a test sample.

Regardless of all the ups and downs, painting with dry pigment is extremely exciting. It is therapeutic, like the ceremony of making tea. Yes, some people can heat up a cup of water in the microwave and plop a tea bag in for their cup of earl grey. However, there is another process: the careful measuring of loose-leaf tea, the correct water temperature and straining the tealeaves that is almost like a ritual. Your first sip marks success. The preparation of dry pigment and hide glue mirrors that same ritual process for me. Anyone can pop open a can and scoop out color. I enjoy sharing a heritage with those who came before me.

To be continued…

A line from Simon and Garfunkel’s song “The Boxer” is very applicable for today’s post.

There are pros and cons to every paint system, especially when using dry pigment paint and diluted hide glue. Any introduction of water will reactivate the paint and binder instantaneously. Water damage to historical scenery is often extensive and unsightly. Prolonged water damage is a death sentence, especially if the dry pigment starts to dust off and surface mold appears in areas. Both of these happened at the Masonic Theatre in Winona, Minnesota, when a roof leak above the stage and was never fixed. Paul Sannerud and I were hired to remove and place the entire collection into on site temporary storage when the City decided to finally renovate the auditorium and stage area. Water damage was first noted in the 1990s and it continued until 2014 when the entire collection was placed in storage where it would supposedly await some form of preservation.

Extensive water damage in Winona decimated a lovely early-twentieth century scenery collection. The frustrating aspect of the story is that it was entirely preventable, unless you really didn’t want to have a historic drop collection.

I have frequently heard the phrase “People don’t know what they don’t know.” I also sincerely believe that with the correct information, most people can make informed and reasonable decisions. However, some people don’t want to be informed, or ignore the facts entirely. For almost two decades, I repeatedly explained to one City of Winona official the need for appropriate care and handling of their painted scenery. The problem was that I wasn’t telling them what they wanted to hear.

Now the City of Winona only owns a portion of this water-damaged collection. Much of it was auctioned off last month to another Scottish Rite who had no idea what they purchased site unseen. You see the pictures posted for the online auction were from 2010 and the scenery went into storage in 2014. For four years after my 2010 assessment, water continued to damage the historic scenery collection. Streams of water rushed down many of the drops. The roof leak was never repaired, so the collection continued to deteriorate until it was placed into storage.

The collection was in far worse shape than depicted in my 2010 scenery evaluation pictures. Yet these are still the pictures that were used for the online auction and the call for scenery preservation bids last month. I contacted the city to express my concern that a recent assessment had not been conducted prior to requesting bids for the work or the auction. Last spring, I had recommended that Curtains Without Borders complete a current assessment and establish the specifications for any restoration work, so that individuals or companies could all bid on the same thing.

While removing the scenery in 2014, I noticed active black mold. Not old mold, recent mold and pointed it out to City officials. Later on, there was a rainstorm and I both photographed and videotaped the water leaking down from the roof.

Again, I passed the information onto city officials. At the end of the project, my one assistant said, “Are you supposed to see the sky from the stage?” “No!” I responded, and immediately began looking up. However, without all of the drops, we could clearly see the waterlogged wood of the grid too. I contacted city officials and they came in to see the holes above the stage.

Most recently, I explained to the city that I could not bid on a project site unseen, or without some form of professional assessment by an independent entity. The City responded that any interested party could visit and unroll each of the thirteen drops to assess the current damage after scheduling an appointment. It was clear to me at that moment they still had no idea of what they owned, its historical significance, or the fragility of each drop. I was still explaining that the excessive handling – rolling, unrolling, rolling, unrolling – would cause irreparable damage to a collection that was perilously close to the end of it’s life. I could also no longer vouch for the condition of each piece as I last saw it, as before the auction, twenty-five drops were removed from the 2014 custom-built storage rack. People who were not trained in the handling of historic scenery moved, unrolled and rerolled many of the drops. It was a red flag to me.

I intimately knew the condition of each drop in 2014, but I didn’t know the condition of the drops after excessive handling by city employees. If the tubes were slid out of the storage rack, the painted surface would have been extensively damaged. No one would know the condition of each painted scene until that tube was unrolled on site. The scene could look like the Shroud of Turin.

Regardless, the drops could be the perfect pairing for a few Scottish Rite Valleys with similar collections, so I entered the bidding on behalf of a client in November. No matter how much I wanted the collection to go to a good home, I couldn’t recommend that my client spend more that $10,000 for the remaining scenes in any case. We withdrew from bidding at $10,000, and the auction ended at $10,010. And yes, the online auction also used the 2010 photos from my assessment, misrepresenting the condition of the collection to those who bought it.

The new owners contacted me and I simply felt bad for them as they had no idea what they had purchased, or the extensive work that would be required prior to hang it. And the Winona collection, the most complete set of Masonic scenery that I have ever encountered in the country was forever split. It is no longer is the perfect example of what theatrical manufacturers marketed to Freemasons. As it went out the doors and made its journey south, I just felt bad and wondered how many of the drops would end up in the dumpster at the end of the day. I cannot express the extent of the prolonged water damage and the care that it will take to repair.

To be continued…

Yesterday I mentioned the difference between the artistic medium used by panorama artists and theatre artists. It is now time to clarify how Thomas G. Moses painted scenery his whole career. The 1924 Fort Scott scenery collection was also created in this same way. He used an artistic medium that was known to nineteenth century scenic artists as distemper painting. Scenic artists combined dry pigment paste and diluted hide glue called “size” to paint theatre backdrops.

The Chicago Sunday Tribune article “Paint Mimic Scenes, Men Who Have Found Fame in the Wing and Drop Curtains” described distemper painting (Dec, 18, 1892, page 41). The article reported, “the color work is all done in distemper and dries rapidly…The artist must not only be active but certain in the performance of his task. In using distemper the artist must paint solidly, otherwise his work will take the dirty complexion of thin oil and be ruined.” The articles reference to “paint solidly” meant making sure there was enough color, or pigment in the paint and that it was thick enough to completely cover the fabric. The paint application needed to appear opaque and not look like a colored water stain.

Dry pigment is pure color. It can be transformed into a variety of products, like colored chalks (pastels) or paint. The pure pigment colors are created from a variety of sources that can include plants, minerals, insects, and chemical processes.

The dry pigment is ground into a fine powder and mixed with water, prior to adding any binder. The pigment paste could also be stored in a container for quite a while. The worst that would happen is that it would dry out and harden. It the pigment paste did dry out, it only needed to be crushed up again and reconstituted with water.

In 1916, Frank Atkinson wrote a book called “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art.” Some scholars believe that he described many of the practices commonly used at the Sosman & Landis Studios. In his book, Atkinson explained, “the medium for binding distemper is known as “size,” or sizing (page 154). He goes on to describe the purchase and preparation of the binder for scenic art. Any binder can be mixed with the pigment paste, but scenic artists commonly used diluted hide glue called “size.”

Hide glue is the gelatinous substance obtained from rendering animal hides and hooves. Think of the old threat about sending a horse to the glue factory. The hides are boiled to create a jelly that is dried. There are a variety of qualities and the strength of the final product can vary from batch to batch. This factor, as well as the actual preparation, directly contributes to the overall life expectancy of the backdrop. Once the hide glue is dried and solid, it is sold as a block, granules or fine powder. In this form it also has an extended shelf life and is easily stored for indefinite periods of time. Both dry pigment and dry hide glue could be easily stored and shipped to various locations.

Dry hide glue must be returned to a liquid state prior to mixing with pigment paste. There are various ways to prepare hide glue and much depends on personal preference. I like to soak the glue in water, ideally overnight, before slowly heating it up to thick syrup. It will eventually have the consistency of honey or molasses. You can purchase an expensive electric glue pots, use a double boiler on a stove top, or even a crockpot on the “low” or “warm” setting. Some people are very particular about this, but I am not. The big thing is to make sure that the glue doesn’t boil. Think of preparing hide glue like green tea, find the perfect temperature below boiling.

The quality and type of the glue will either make the syrup appear murky or clear. Reconstituted hide glue is further diluted with water – one part syrup to one part water to make “strong size.” Some artists used strong size alone to seal the fabric’s surface when painting with dye. Others mixed whiting into the strong size and create a primer for the fabric prior to painting a backdrop with dry pigment.

Strong size is further diluted with water to make working size, or size water. Due to the natural properties of the binder, once transformed into a liquid state, there is a very limited shelf life. It rots fairly quickly and smells of death. A way to prevent the quick failure of size water is to store it in a glass container and refrigerate it. You also never put size water in a plastic container, especially one that had been previously used to store another substance. Foreign properties will leach out of the plastic. You also never place the glue in an airtight container, otherwise you create your own little smelly science experiment. I plan accordingly and make fresh size each day as the age will also affect the efficacy of this binder.

My glue supplier is Bjorn Industries out of North Carolina.  I have discussed my need for animal glue during restoration projects with their chemist and he recommended the product HC351. It is fairly clear, strong, and remains slightly flexible when properly prepared. Rabbit skin glue is my second favorite to work with as an alternative, but it is extremely strong and can set up too quickly.

If binder were not mixed with the dry pigment paste, the color would could not stick to the fabric surface. It would simply dust off over time. Poor preparation, high humidity and other factors can cause the binder to fail, allowing the pigment to eventually release from the fabric. This is a common problem with historical scenery collections. It is also a health hazard. Many dry colors are quite toxic if they become airborne and or inhaled. However, this is not solely an issue with historic dry pigment. ALL paints are toxic if allowed to become airborne and are inhaled. Think of spray paint. Many people often don’t understand the health hazards related to our seemingly “safe” and current pre-mixed products, especially the water-based versions. You have to know what you’re doing, be aware of your surroundings, and stay safe.

To be continued…

Reed & Gross Panorama Company created large scale paintings for the California State Building with compositions that included: the harbor of San Francisco and the city, as viewed from Goat Island; Christmas in Pasadena; the Stanford Ranch in northern California; Leland Stanford’s Vineyard; Leland Stanford Jr. University in Palo Alto; New Years at Hotel del Monte in Monterey, Santa Barbara, and Fresno.

James D. Phelan was one of the California World’s Fair Commissioners in 1893. Later, he would become the mayor of San Francisco (1897-1902) and elected to the US Senate (1915-1921).

He purchased a 20’ x 30’ painting from the California State Building after the fair. He intended to use it as the new drop curtain at the Native Sons of the Golden West’s Hall. They were constructing a new building in San Francisco and Phelan was the association’s president.

Unfortunately, the “handsome new building on Mason street, between Post and Geary” would never receive his donation.

The new NSGW Hall was a four-story structure. The main meeting room was on the main floor and meeting rooms were situated on the other stories; fifteen rooms were used by the Native Sons and five rooms used by the Native Daughters. The Marine Engineers, Knights of the Golden Eagle and letter carriers also met in the building. The hall was intended for large meetings, as well as balls and entertainments. The stage in the main assembly room included “a handsome new drop-curtain and scenery for the entertainments,” according to the San Francisco Call (Volume 79, No. 71, 9 February 1896). But the drop curtain was not the one that Phelan originally intended for the opening of the building.

The San Francisco Call from January 10, 1896, included the article “A Fine Painting Spoiled” (page 8). The original mural measured 20’ high by 30’ wide and was produced by Thaddeau Welch, a California artist, for the California State Building at the Columbian Exposition. The article reported that the subject was “Golden Gate as Viewed from Goat Island” and had “attracted much attention at the World’s Fair,” costing Phelan $3,000 to procure.

The article continued, “On Tuesday it was found that the painting had been ruined by the careless persons who packed and shipped it two years ago. Instead of winding the canvas around a roller these bunglers wrapped it around a 4 by 4 inch scantling and every four inches the canvas is cracked so that it is doubtful if it can be used.” A scantling is a piece of timber of relatively slight width and thickness, such as a stud or rafter in a house frame.

I chuckled as I read this. The end results from the actions of ignorant people who don’t understand the proper handling techniques for a large painting. I suspect that, like many wall murals, it was constructed of oil paint and heavy canvas. This would have also been the common medium for panorama studio artists anyway. I doubt that they would have used the lighter weight distemper paint that was commonly used for theatre drops, especially as the painting wasn’t intended as a theatre backdrop.

That would also explain the excessive cost of the mural – $3,000! A drop curtain created with dry pigment and diluted hide glue in 1893 would have cost a fraction of that amount. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a backdrop typically ranged between $150 to $300. This makes me think that Phelan was paying for the artistic provenance of the piece.

I also believe that Phelan simply not understand the physical demands of a drop curtain, or how they were constructed. He probably thought – “Hey! That painting is about the same size as a theatre drop! We will need a new drop in the NSGW Hall and it even depicts San Francisco!” This is where I need to stop and explain something, a common assumption that continues until this day. Many people believe that historical drops are created with oil paints. It is a common misperception that I encounter quite often. It is understandable as these individuals simply don’t have the knowledge to understand that oil paint is often too thick and shiny for stage applications.

Oil paint for panoramas was different as they were lit with a diffused lighting source and not stage lights. Therefore panoramas were not subject to the same rules as theatre drops. The same principle works for the use of oils in fine art and murals; they are not subject to the harsh glare of stage lights. For this reason alone, the painting form the California State building that was purchased by Phelan would have been a disappointment.

It is also possible that the painting as a drop curtain would have also failed due to the thickness of oil paint if used as a roll drop. There is nothing to suggest that the four-story NSGW Hall had a fly system to raise and lower drops. Like most halls, the stage would have used roll drops. Roll drops really necessitate the use of dry pigment and diluted hide glue as the binder. This distemper paint, unlike oil paint, allows the fabric to remain flexible. The oil painting would crack. This also brings us to the article reporting that the painting cracked. This would not have been a disaster if the composition were produced with water-based paints, as they are easily reconstituted. With historical backdrops, cracked paint can easily be repaired with artful blending. That is not the case with cracks in oil paintings.

Then the article further reveals, “The package has been at Mr. Phelan’s home since its arrival two years ago. It was intended to open the building on the 26^th inst. And the loss of the drop curtain is a sad blow to those interested. Efforts will be made to see if it can artistically be retouched and pressed out smooth again.” It is unlikely that the oil painting was successfully “pressed” or “retouched.” The years in storage in possibly less-than-ideal conditions took its toll. Oil paintings don’t easily recover from creases and stretching. When wrinkles and cracks appear in distemper painting, such as theatre scenery, they are easily repaired and touched up.

The public perception is often that “anyone” can handle and move a big painting, such as a theatre backdrop.  In reality, “anyone” can’t. You really have to know what you’re doing.

To be continued…