The scenic art world was small in 1920. Then, just as now, personalities circled around one another as if dancers at a ball, occasionally changing partners along the way. Today’s post is about P. Dodd Ackerman, a friend and colleague of Thomas G. Moses who made the papers in 1920. The next few posts will explore the life and career of P. D. Ackerman and his brother E. A. Ackerman.
On Feb. 29, 1920, Ackerman was featured in a “New York Tribune” the newspaper article. The headline for the article announced, “Work of the Scenic Artist Has Advanced Materially Says P. Dodd Ackerman” (New York Tribune, 29 Feb 1920, page 34). The most interesting section of the article for me was the section: “Theatrical managers are now accepting designs from men who do not make the scenery. Ackerman does not believe in this and has come to be one of the pioneers in coming out against the practice. He believes that the man who is the artist, who is practical, who understands stagecraft and has education can do the type of work now required in the theater, although he has been a member of the old school of stage design.” Times were changing and the scenic world was turning upside down with the appearance of designers without a full understanding of stagecraft.”Here is the article in its entirety, as it provides an interesting perspective of the scenic art world in 1920, viewed from a member of the “old school”:
“J. E. Dodson, the English character actor in the late Charles Frohman’s companies, liked stage interiors to match the socks he wore. When P. Dodd Ackerman and Ed Unitt, the scenic artists with the producer, were at work on scenery for a new play he would come up, show them his socks and say:‘Boys, be sure to get the right shade for these.’“Now Ackerman has a very different problem. He is trying to design a room which will be the setting for the three acts of Max Marcin’s new play, ‘Three Live Ghosts.” It must not be ornate, it must not be highly furnished and yet it must hold the interest of the audience throughout the play.‘Sounds very simple, doesn’t it?’ he asked in the office of his studio opposite of the Metropolitan Opera House. ‘Yet I have been going about for ten days trying to dream of just the right room.’In these two instances there is summed up the advance in scenic art, an advance which has come in the last six or eight years, starting in Europe. When Dodson was acting and even years after his retirement, stage decorations were supposed to be reproductions of nature or of a locality or room. They were copied line for line, and the element of imagination, although present, did not enter into the designing of the scenery. Simplicity and suggestion are the keynotes of modern stage designing. Imagination is called upon, both the imagination of the artist and the imagination of the audience, and much is only hinted at, sometimes very faintly. Big, blank wall spaces are being used and are believed to be more decorative than the highly ornate hangings of a few years ago.Scene painters until four or five years ago, designed, created and made the scenery themselves Theatrical managers are now accepting designs from men who do not make the scenery. Ackerman does not believe in this and has come to be one of the pioneers in coming out against the practice. He believes that the man who is the artist, who is practical, who understands stagecraft and has education can do the type of work now required in the theater, although he has been a member of the old school of stage design.‘Many studios have allowed managers to hand them so-called designs and have made them possible through their efforts,’ he said. ‘The man who did only the very primitive part of the work got all the credit and the studios were never heard of. But it meant an income to them and they were satisfied. I have consistently refused work with any except of my own designs, and I have had a hard battle to convince managers that a man with an established reputation in the old school can change the order of things and do the new. How many theatergoers who laugh at the situations and admire the acting give even a moment’s consideration to the thought, the time and the expense of the stage decorations which often help make or ruins a production? It is doubtful of the ratio is more than one in ten.Briefly Mr. Ackerman, who has designed and built scenery for many Winter Garden productions, for ‘The Magic Melody’ and ‘The Passions Flower,’ now current on Broadway; for ‘Le Coq d’Or,’ at the Metropolitan and many other plays, described the steps leading from the manuscript to the completion of the scenery and its erection of the stage.The manuscript is turned over to the scenic artist, and frequently the playwright confers with him and suggests what he desires to bring out in various scenes. After reading the manuscript and noting the locale or setting, the artist designs the scenes in colored studies. These are submitted to a manager and at a conference at which the author, the stage director and the artist are present, they are discussed and either accepted or rejected.‘Sometimes it is necessary to make a great many studies before one is accepted. It is just like writing a play or a story. You might hit it at the first attempt, or you might have to wrote and rewrite until you are successful,’Models, drawn to scale and planned as carefully as houses, are made from the sketches and are also submitted. When they are passed, working drawings for the builders are made, and they are charged with determining the mechanical details of the work. For example, every piece of scenery must be no more than five feet ten inches in width in order to make railway transportation of the sets possible. The scenes are usually all fitted up before the painters start on them, and when completed are set up in the theater by the mechanic who built them from the plans, usually not until the day of the dress rehearsal.‘Lighting is a very important element,’ Mr. Ackerman said, ‘and I stipulate in every contract that I make that it must be under my supervision. I know the play, and working with the stage director it is possible to bring out the desired effects. Stage lighting, I find, is largely a matter of patience and experiment. In costume plays, it is necessary to have the actors on the stage during the experiments to see the effect of the lights on their costumes.The average time necessary to design and build the scenery for a play is from six to eight weeks, but seldom is enough time given.‘It is necessary then to think quickly and have a great source of knowledge at the tips of one’s fingers,’ Mr. Ackerman continued.To prepare for his work, Mr. Ackerman studied at the Art Students League, at Cooper Union, and Beaux Arts in Paris. He has also traveled and read extensively. Ed Unitt and he were the artists for the late Charles Frohman, and this, he says, was the best job he ever had.Through the lofty-ceilinged studio he led the way. Huge canvases, many colored, were stretched out on frames, waiting for the artist’s brush. Yet no scaffolds or ladders were visible. Simply by pulling a rope, which adjusts a system of weights, it is possible for one man to place the gigantic easel in any position he desires.‘Scenery,’ he concluded, ‘must be a background. When it gets beyond a background, then it is stage scenery. It should never intrude so much that the audience overlooks the play, the costumes or the people on the stage.”
To place Ackerman within the context of the Thomas G. Moses story, both Moses and Ackerman partnered with the same artist – L. L. Graham. In 1882, Thomas G. Moses left the Sosman & Landis Studio for the first time. He partnered with Lemuel L. Graham for just over a year. Graham later partnered with P. Dodd Ackerman in Brooklyn, New York. Their studio building was at 1576 to 1580 Bushwick Ave, New York. They purchased the Brooklyn lot in August 1902. By this time, Moses was also working in New York and had partnered with William F. Hamilton, forming Hamilton & Moses.I will continue to explore the life and career of Ackerman in tomorrow’s post.To be continued…
Sosman & Landis provided scenery for the show “Polly and Her Pals” in 1920. On Nov. 22, 1920, the “The Item” reported:
“Polly and Her Pals.
“Musical comedy has improved wonderfully in the past
few years, but ‘Polly and Her Pals,’ the George M. Gatts production is the
biggest step forward from an artistic musical standpoint, that musical comedy
has seen in many months. The book was written by John P. Mulgrew, the author of
many celebrated Broadway successes. The scenery is the work of Sosman & Landis,
Gowns by Madames Hickson and Orange. It was staged by Virgil Bennett. Musical
comedy depends on first a good book and then a good score, and in Hampton
Durand, George M. Gatts secured a composer internationally famous. In ‘Polly
and Her Pals’ will be found lilting airs from the pen of Mr. Harry Hume, and
include ‘Underneath a Southern Moon,’ ‘In that Quaint Old Town of Algiers,’
‘Little Miss Chatterbox,’ ‘A Wonder What Father saw at the Seashore,’
‘Different Eyes,’ ‘That Typical Topical Tune,’ ‘The Polar Bear Shiver,’ ‘An Old
Fashioned Bride,’ and ‘What a Wonderful Girl You Are.’” (Sumter, South
Carolina, 22 Nov. 1920, page 6).
Like Gatts’ “Katzenjammer Kids” production, “Polly and
Her Pals” was based on an American comic strip by cartoonish Cliff Sterett.
Debuting as “Positive Polly” on Dec. 4, 1912, the comic strip’s title was changed
to “Polly and Her Pals” by Jan. 17, 1913. “Polly and Her Pals” was the first
single feature with the same characters to run six days a week and as a Sunday
page (Hamilton Evening Journal, 21 Nov. 1925, page 24). The cartoon told the adventures
of Polly, Delicia, Aunt Maggie, Ashur, Ma, Pa, the valet Neewah and the family
Puss. Raleigh’s “News and Observer” reported, “The plot of Polly and Her Pals
is the same that has been featured in the conventional musical comedy since the
invention of that form of entertainment. The first act drags, as the first act
of most such comedies do, but toward the finish a lot of pep is injected into
the proceedings that leaves one with the impression that ‘Polly and Her Pals’
isn’t halfway bad. While it can’t be said that Polly and Her Pals ranks with
the best attractions of musical comedy of the season, there is no doubt about
the fact that the motto of the cast is ‘We strive to please,’ and that is at
least something in favor of the production” (9 Nov. 1920, page 7).
Jean Irwin played the title role of Polly, with Clyde
T. Kerr as the love interest, Francis Lieb, the ambassador from Hitchy Koo. Johnny
Philliber and Clara Coleman played Pa and Ma Perkins.
After a two-week break, I am back to the life and times of Thomas
G. Moses. To recap, in 1918 Moses resigned as the president of Sosman &
Landis. He initially worked for New York Studios and then left to join Chicago
Studios. However, both were short lived, as by the spring of 1920, Moses was
back at Sosman & Landis. We he returned to the studio, Moses agreed to only
an annual contract. The same spring that Moses returned, Sosman & Landis Scene
Painting Studio was credited with scenery for the Redpath Chautauqua’s
production of “H. M. S. Pinafore.”
Annual Chautauqua events, or tent shows, were held in cities
across the country during the spring and summer, featuring programs with all
types of entertainment that ranged from popular Broadway shows and orchestra
concerts to magicians and lecturers. During its peak, some 12,000 communities
hosted a Chautauqua. The Redpath Chautauqua was massive circuit with hundreds
of shows and thousands of entertainers. Although there were many Chautauqua
agencies that contracted entertainers and lecturers, one of the most notable was
the Redpath agency.
The “Newberry Weekly” included a picture of the 1920 Redpath
Chautauqua production with the caption, “A feature of the coming Redpath Chautauqua
here will be the presentation of a complete production of the famous Gilbert
and Sullivan light opera ‘Pinafore,’ with special lighting and scenic effects,
the scenery having been built especially for the Redpath production by Sosman
& Landis, noted scenic artists of Chicago” (Newberry, South Carolina, May
4, 1920, page 3).
The “Bedford Daily” reported, “Three seasons ago the Redpath
management presented a complete production of ‘The Mikado; which was so
enthusiastically received that Chautauqua patrons have ever since been asking
for another Gilbert and Sullivan opera”(5 June 1920, page 2). “The Mikado”
production had also boasted scenery by Sosman & Landis. In 1917, a company
of thirty, selected in part from the Chicago Grand Opera Company, had performed
“The Mikado.” For more information about the Redpath Chautauqua Circuit and “The
Mikado” tour, see past post 967 (https://drypigment.net2020/04/21/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-part-967-the-redpath-chautauquas-mikado-1917/).
By 1920, Sosman & Landis contracts ran the gamut, from tent
shows to charity balls. Although Moses returned in April, he and his wife left
for a 40-day western vacation that summer. Of his trip, he wrote, “We left for
the West August 19th…Arrived home on September 28th,
having been gone forty days, it was certainly some trip… It took me a few days
before I was I the harness again, and working just the same as I did before I
left two years ago. Landis and I got out
after business within a few days after my arrival and succeeded in landing a
few good ones. I started to do some
painting but it did not last long, as I had too much other business to do. I found the conditions altogether different
from what I supposed them to be – too much overhead. It will be awfully hard to keep up the output
to balance it all I was very well pleased to learn that from September 1st,
we made a profit of $12,000.00 before January 1st. I am afraid we will use it all up before
spring.”
He would remain on annual contract. In 1921 wrote, “we had a
director’s meeting and it was settled that I remain at $8,000.00 a year.” The
monetary equivalent of an $8,000 annual salary in 1920 is approximately $103,000.00
today.
From August 9 to 24 I painted a grand teaser (border) and two grand tormentors (legs) at the University of Minnesota in Duluth for the Sanderson Arts Centre in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. The three pieces form a portal, reducing the proscenium opening from 50 feet wide to 25 feet wide for more intimate performances, with trim heights ranging from 14 feet to 18 feet. Although the design was finalized and all materials ordered in June, the project became delayed when the paint space became unavailable due to COVID-related concerns. At the beginning of August, the space was again available for my original timeframe, now only a week away. Everything shifted into high gear as I planned for an Aug. 9 start. The rental was only possible if I worked there completely solo and constantly wore a mask; so, the unloading of supplies, setting up the space, unfolding drops, snapping lines, and handling bending sticks was just me. Keep in mind that the sizes of the scenic pieces were 54’w x 12’h (teaser) and the two torms at 19’w x 20’h 9 (legs); still doable by a single person, but just unpleasant.
I left Minneapolis on Sunday, August 9 at 6:15AM in the morning. By 9AM I was unloading all of my supplies into the humid shop and jumped into the project. The days were a blur of 12-hr. to 14-hr. days. I finished the teaser on August 19 and the two torms on August 21. August 22 was a day for tweaking, with my final day in the space reserved for clean-up. The drops shipped on Monday, August 24. I returned to Minneapolis last night after my fifteen-day absence. In regard to the logistics of the project, the border was painted on the main stage floor and the legs on the motorized paint frame. Being able to paint all three pieces simultaneously was the plan, as I could shift from one piece to another, allowing for ample dry time. It also meant that I was able to shift position constantly, something that is incredibly helpful when physically doing a long stretch.
I can’t wait to see how to pieces look in place as this is a permanent installation. More later.
For the next two weeks, I am taking a break from my blog to complete an out-of-town painting project. I will return to posting on Aug. 24, 2020.
This spring I designed a permanent portal for the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. The next two weeks will be spent painting the three pieces. Based on historical samples and color palettes, the drops are quite large, and intended to reduce the 50’ proscenium opening for more intimate performances. The top piece (Grand Border) measures 12’h x 54’w and will be painted down. The side pieces (Grand Tormentors), 20’h x 18’w, will be painted up, on a vertical frame. I will post the process photos upon completion.
In 1920 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Walter Moses went to
Colorado Springs in June to sketch and invited the Madam and I to call on him,
which we will do…We left for the West August 19th. As I have written the trip up very fully in
my travelogues, I will not repeat it here.
Arrived home on September 28th, having been gone forty days,
it was certainly some trip.”
Walter Farrington Moses (1874-1947) was his
half-brother, and a well-known American Landscape painter.
The Wikipedia entry for Walter notes the following: “After
studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he founded the Art
Craft Club of Chicago in 1916 and was art director of Vogue Studios. He was an
instructor at the Fashion School of Illustrating in Chicago. He was the
author-illustrator of Artistic Anatomy and managing director of the
California Art Club in 1922. A prolific plein air painter, his works are
infused with light and air and captured the unspoiled beauty of Southern
California of the 1920s and 1930s. He settled in Los Angeles in 1922 and
founded the Art Guild Academy in 1930 where he taught for many years. He lived
in Eagle Rock, California until his death on October 25, 1947. Moses signed his
paintings using various variations of his name, including Walter Farrington
Moses, Walter Farrington, W. Farrington, Farrington, Moses, Farrington
Moses, W.F. Moses and Walton. Here is a link to some of his work previously
sold at auction: https://www.invaluable.com/artist/moses-walter-farrington-kosq2fakok/sold-at-auction-prices/
Walter was the second of two sons born to Lucius Moses from
his second marriage to Adeline G. Moses (sometimes spelled Adaline). She was
eighteen years younger than Lucius, born on April 17, 1874. Walter primarily grew up in Chicago after his
parents left the small town of Sterling.
In Chicago, Lucius ran a grocery store. At the time Walter lived with
his father, mother, brother Kirke, and much older half-sister, who was an actress.
On June 7, 1899, Walter married Florence S. Babcock in
Kankakee, Illinois. The couple raised two children, Horace J. and Edith S. The 1910 census listed Walter as a commercial
artist, living in Kankakee. His mother
was living with them too at the age of 75.
There is so much information about Walter out there; really too
much to fit in a single post. On Oct. 15, 1916 Moses placed an ad in the
“Chicago Tribune.” The want ad noted, “ARTIST _ A firm in Toronto, Canada,
operating a complete publishing plants, desires the services of a high grade
designer – one who is capable of earning $75 a week; must have had experience
in preparation of dummies for catalogues, folders, etc. For further particulars
see MR. WALTER F. MOSES, Commercial Art School, 116 S. Michigan-av.” (Chicago
Tribune 15 Oct 1916, page 64).
Walter’s WWI Draft Registration card listed his occupation as
“Art Prop. School,” and his employer’s name as “Commercial Art School” at 116
S. Michigan Ave in Chicago. In 1918, his physical description noted that Walter
was short, of medium build, with brown eyes and gray hair. Walter was 44 years
old at the time. His residence was at 317 N. Humphrey St. in Oak Park, nine
blocks away from his older brother.
By 1919, Walter Moses placed an ad in the “Chicago Tribune:”
ARTIST.
Figure man, capable of doing commercial illustrating: $5,000
per year guaranteed, with opportunity of making $6,000 or $7,000; out of town
position, Apply to Walter F. Moses. Commercial Art School. 116 S. Michigan”
(Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 1919, page 20).
The 1920 census still listed Walter living in Oak Park and
working as a landscape artist. He and his older brother lived in the same area,
and both were well-known for their painted landscapes.
At the beginning of 1921, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Walter
Moses called and we talked over our plans for the coming summer at Colorado
Springs and Manito, where we expect to clean up a fortune on small pictures
besides getting some sketches around Pike’s Peak.”
Later
in 1921, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “December 13th the Madam and I were on
our way to Kansas City where we put in a day, then on our way to Los Angeles
where we arrived early Saturday morning.
Spent the day with Walter Moses and family.”
After
working in Tacoma in 1922, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “On completion of our work,
we went to Oakland for a day’s visit with Walter and family, the we proceeded
on our way to Los Angeles.”
In
1924, Moses wrote, “I went over to see Walter and family. September 1st we went out on a
sketching trip and I certainly enjoyed it very much.. Had a delightful
Christmas day at Walters.”
By
1929, the “Los Angeles Times” reported that Walter Moses was teaching “short
cuts in business” for artists (27 Jan. 1929, page 64). The article announced, “Guild
Academy Offers Students Practical Aid in Learning Profession. An Unusually
interesting offer to students who wish to make commercia art their profession
is offered by the Art Guild Academy. Under this offer young artists are given
the privilege of testing their drawing ability without charge for the tuition.
The test includes life and illustrative drawing and creative subjects in art
fundamentals. After the test the students are frankly advised as to just what
their possibilities for us success are in commercial art. This development in
commercial art which is offered by the academy has been built and is personally
directed under Walter F. Moses. The Art Guild Academia is aware that this is a
commercial and industrial era and its entire curriculum is composed of subjects
for which there is demand. It’s training leads directly to the most desirable
branches of commercial art. The training of the academy appeals only to the
student who wishes to enter the field professionally. The course offers a
thorough study of the practical application of art in the commercial world. The
aim of the school is to fit students for commercial artists without serving
student apprenticeship. A feature of this course is that the lessons are all
illustrated and printed for the convenience of students who wish to do
additional work at home.”
In
1930, the Academy was still going strong. The “Los Angeles Times” reported,
“Training of young men and women for good positions in the practical commercial
art profession is the aim of the Art Guild Academy, 2405 West Sixth Street,
according Walter F. Moses, founder and principal of the institution” (26 Jan.
1930, page 55). One of Moses’ more successful students was Herb Schmidt
(Hi-Desert Star, Yucca Valley, California, 7 Jun 1978, page 20). He certainly made
his mark in the fine art world.
Walter
passed away on Oct. 25, 1947, thirteen years after his older brother Tom.
The
“Los Angeles Times” published his obituary on Oct. 28, 1947:
Walter
F. Moses
Funeral
Rites for Walter Farrington Moses, 72, landscape artist, of 5215 Rockland Ave.,
will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. today in the Wee Kirk o’ the Heather Forest
Lawn Memorial-Park. Mr. Moses died Saturday at Queen of Angels Hospital. He has
been a resident of Los Angeles since 1927, coming here from Chicago where he
founded the Commercial Art School. The artist established the Art Guild Academy
here. The artist leaves his widow, a son Horace, daughter, Mrs. Edith M. Wills,
and a brother.”
In 1920 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Sister Lucia passed away on June 23rd, and I had about an hour to get ready to make the trip to Woonsocket, R.I., after a good deal of hard work. I got down and back very quickly. Frank and Pitt came over to the funeral. I went home with Pitt and remained overnight. Left on Sunday. Arrived in Chicago early Monday ready for a hustle.”
In a 1932 letter to his son Pitt, Moses wrote, “While I hope to enjoy a few more years of painting, the sudden passing of Illie, Frank and Lucia has forced me to realize that I have only a few more years at the most and when I do pass out, I want to feel that my life has not been wasted, and my work will live on for many years after I am gone.”
Lucia but also kept a diary, an 85-page book that she
described as “My special occasions diary . . . a
record, not of every day’s trivial round, but the events in each year which
most express the general tenor of our lives.” She made entries from 1898
until the time of her death in 1920. Lucia is included in “A Guide to Women’s
Diaries in the Manuscript Collection of the Rhode Island Historical Society
Library,” edited by Rick Stattler. Her brother Tom is repeatedly mentioned in
some of the excerpts posted online.
Although I have written about it before, here is a little
background on the Moses family. Lucia was part of the first family, born to
Lucius Manlius Moses and Mary W. Titcomb Moses. After Mary’s death, he remarried
and fathered two more children with his second wife.
Capt. L. M. Moses was born in Great Falls, New Hampshire, in
1823. A sea captain and part owner in the ships that he sailed, he was the son
of a sailor -Theodore Bland Moses, a merchant marine. Capt. Moses’ last ship
was a bark built by William Hanscom in 1833.
Of the ship, Thomas Moses recorded, “The wonderful full rigged ship
‘Pactolus’ was handed over to another Master, much regretted by my Father, for
he loved saltwater and sailing. As I do
sketching and painting, I am afraid I inherited some of his roving
disposition.” The family sailed as far as east India, and as far south as Rio
de Janeiro. Both Lucia and Thomas Moses were born at sea. Moses’ diary records
that that his father was fortunate in the fact that he was allowed to bring his
family along on seas voyages. Life on the sea, however, was never without
tragedy. Two of the Moses’ children died while at sea, their first son Lucius
and their daughter Kate. The remaining
children were Lucia Gray (1854), Thomas Gibbs (1856), Frank Deming (1858), and
Illinois “Illie” Mary (1860). Capt. Moses then married his second wife, Adeline
(Adaline) Gowen, Fifteen years his junior, the family increased in size again,
with the births of Kirk W. and Walter D.
Moses.
Capt. Moses was a sea captain for twenty-two years. He left
the sea in 1859, selling his interests in the ships and moving his family inland. They headed west and eventually settled in small
town of Sterling, Illinois. The “Sterling Daily Gazette” reported Lucius Moses to
be “one of several old New England sea captains who settled in Whiteside
county” (Dec. 13, 1927, page 2). The newspaper article also recounted, “A
number of older residents of Sterling remember the Moses family. John Dundon’s
father sold his first residence here to Mr. Moses when the family came here, and Mr. Dundon went to school with the two
Moses boys and their sister, Grace Moses.” “Grace” Moses, was actually Lucia
Gray Moses, who went by “Gray” when she was young
I know that I have mentioned this before, but it is
extremely difficult to track down a woman’s history because their names are
constantly changing. It is like they disappear
when their name becomes erased and replaced with another. For example, when
Lucia Gray Moses married her husband, she did not just get a new last name;
that would have made it easy. At first,
she was listed as Mrs. Lucia Gray Cook, Mrs. Lucia G. Cook, and Mrs. L. G.
Cook.” Later the initial of her middle
name even changes; “G,” is replaced with “M” to signify her maiden name of
Moses – Mrs. Lucia M. Cook. In other
cases her entire birthname is completely dropped, and she is solely noted as
Mrs. Stephen R. Cook, or Mrs. Stephen Cook.
Now if you throw in a nickname, like Grace or Gray, it becomes even more
difficult. Or when an individual goes by their middle name, it is doubly hard. Even
my husband goes by his middle name, Andrew, and not first name, George. In
1870, Illie was listed by her middle name of “Mary,” and similarly, Lucia was
listed by her middle name, “Gray.” “Grace” was the name used by childhood
friends in Sterling.
In Sterling, Illinois, Capt. Lucius Moses established
Sterling Hide and Leather Shop with a partner. His business was a successful
one and eventually he owned sole interest in the company, also running a
tannery and harness shop. On Jan. 2, 1875, the “Sterling Gazette” advertised,
“There are two tanneries in the city, one owned by Captain L. M. Moses, both
doing good business) (page 2). He would
later move to Chicago and run a grocery store on Randolph Street. His second
family was raised in the windy city, a far different experience for his younger
sons Kirke and Walter.
Back to Lucia’s story… On Feb. 2, 1883, the “Boston Globe”
announced the marriage of Samuel P. Cook and Lucia G. Moses, “both of
Woonsocket” (page 3). The couple celebrated the birth of a son (Theodore P.) and
daughter (Gertrude N.) In 1900, Samuel Cook was employed as a bank cashier, and
the two children ages 14 and 15 were in school. By 1910, Cook was listed as a
banker.
The same year as her passing, Lucia was mentioned in “History
of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Biographical” (NY: The
American Historical Society, Inc. 1920). She was part of the entry for her
husband:
“SAMUEL PENNY COOK — When a youth of eighteen years,
just out of high school, Samuel P. Cook entered the service of the Producers
National Bank of Woonsocket. That was nearly half a century ago, and from
the year of his admission, 1870, until the present, 1918, he has known no other
business home nor a greater business interest. This long term of service,
eleven years of which has been as president of the bank, coupled with the fact
that for a quarter of a century he was city treasurer, has given him a grasp of
matters financial and brought him so prominently before the people that his
opinions on finance carry the weight of authority. The radical changes made in
the banking laws during the past few years, although not at first cheerfully
accepted by the financiers of the country, and the problems presented were
approached by bankers with characteristic caution, but as their value became
apparent and their ability to meet national and international demands was
proven, all doubt vanished and the splendid response made by national banks and
bankers to the enormous demands made upon their financial resources and upon
their patriotism is the best answer to any criticism of either American banking
laws or upon the patriotism and good faith of American bankers. No
business has been called upon for greater sacrifice during these years of
national stress and storm, and the best thought of the financial world has lent
itself to the solution of the war’s financial problems. As executive head
of Woonsocket’s leading bank, Mr. Cook has borne his part in carrying the
financial burden imposed upon this city and has as well ably fulfilled his
obligations to those who look to the Producers Bank as their source of
financial supply…Samuel P. Cook, son of Ariel Lindsey and Mary Harris
(Phillips) Cook, was born in Albion, Rhode Island, July 20, 1852. He
attended graded and high schools of Woonsocket until 1870, then entered the
employ of the Producers’ National Bank of Woonsocket, that bank having a
savings department bearing the same name. He developed unusual banking
ability, and in 1885 was elected cashier of the Producers National Bank and
treasurer of the Producers Savings Bank. He held that office until
January 14, 1907, when he was elected president of the Producers National Bank,
his present high and responsible office. He is a thoroughly capable
financier, learned in the law of national finance as applied to banking,
conservative yet not timid, ready at all times to trust his judgment in
financial matters. For twenty-five years he was treasurer of the city of
Woonsocket and his business interests in the city are not inconsiderable. Mr.
Cook is a member of the State Banking Association and of other societies,
financial in their scope, is a Republican in politics, and an attendant at the
First Universalist Church, his club the Squantum Association. He holds
all degrees of York Rite Masonry, belonging to Morning Star Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons; Union Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and Woonsocket Commandery,
Knights Templar. He is interested in the welfare of his adopted city and
is generous in his support of all worthy aims.
Mr. Cook married, in 1883, Lucia G. Moses, and they are the
parents of Theodore Phillips, born in Woonsocket, August 7, 1884, now receiving
teller of the Producers National Bank, and a daughter, Gertrude Nourse, born
April 15, 1886.” Here is the link: http://sites.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/articles/125.html
As I mentioned earlier, Lucia also kept a diary. She is
included “A Guide to Women’s Diaries” in the Manuscript Collection of the Rhode
Island Historical Society Library (https://www.rihs.org/mssinv/WomenGuide.htm#Intro).
The document was originally compiled for a University
of Rhode Island seminar in women’s history with Dr. Sharon Strom, April 1997. It
was greatly expanded with the help of Rhode Island Historical Society staff and
volunteers, June 2004.
Here is the full entry for Thomas G. Moses’ sister, Lucia:
Notes on the Lucia G. (Moses) Cook Diaries
Entries dated 1898 to 1920
Biographical:
Name at birth:
Moses, Lucia Gray
Name
after marriage: Cook, Lucia G. (Moses)
Birthdate and place:
Circa 1854, at sea
Death date and
place: Between 1920 and 1928
Age range during
diary: 44 – 65
Residence during
diary: Woonsocket, RI
Places written:
Woonsocket; Digby, Nova Scotia.
Biographical
note: Raised in New Hampshire, married a Woonsocket banker, and raised two
children there.
Ethnicity: Yankee
Social class:
Upper-middle
Background
and comments:
Number of
volumes: 1
Number of pages:
85
Exact dates:
September 23 1898 to January 1 1920
Frequency of
entries: Very irregular – perhaps two or three entries per year.
How was author
identified?: Label on front cover
Brief
description: Describes the diary herself as “My special occasions diary .
. . a record, not of every day’s trivial round, but the events in each year
which most express the general tenor of our lives.” Most entries are
retrospective, covering the events of the past several months.
Writing quality:
Generally good, although the handwriting is somewhat difficult.
Related papers at
RIHS: Letter written by Lucia to her grandmother, 1868, inserted in diary.
Family
members:
Father’s name:
Moses, Lucius M.
Father’s
occupation: Ship captain, born New Hampshire, died Chicago. Married 2nd:
Adeline Gower.
Mother’s name:
Titcomb, Mary W.
Mother’s dates:
1825-1861
Brothers: Thomas
G. Moses (1856-), Frank D. Moses (1858-), Kirke W. Moses (1871-) (half-brother),
Walter F. Moses (1874- ) (half-brother)
Sisters: Illinois
Mary (according to genealogy)
Husband’s name:
Cook, Samuel P.
Husband’s dates:
1852-1928
Husband’s
occupation: President, Producers National Bank of Woonsocket
Marriage date and
place: January 31 1883, Boston
Father-in-law’s
name: Cook, Ariel L.
Father-in-law’s
dates: 1823-1886
Mother-in-law’s
name: Phillips, Mary H.
Mother-in-law’s
dates: d.1917
Sons: Theodore
Phillips Cook (1884-)
Daughters:
Gertrude N. Cook (1886-, m. Smith?)
Topical
content:
Events discussed:
“On this day the awful world war ended, peace was declared! Banks,
schools, mills, shops closed, and a joyous pandemonium reigned all day! The
awful strain ended. Everyone relaxed!” [11/11/1918]
Social life: On
12/31/1910, “I gave a tea, to which I invited 204 people! Every morning, I
was up at five, writing my invitations, and arranging my house. I had a caterer
from Providence, and Raia the harpist… People were kind enough to say the
affair was a great success.” [4/1910]
Family: On
Christmas, “Cousin Theodore was an unexpected but welcome guest… Cousin
Theodore spent a week, and left us, as he always does, the richer for the
visit, for his outlook on life is broad and uplifting.” [12/25/1898]
“I sat before the blazing open fire and read a bundle of my mother’s
letter, which Tom sent me. They were written fifty years ago, and I am selfish
enough to wish they were going to be mine.” [1/1903] Trouble with mother-in-law:
“Mrs. Cook came to make her home with us… Right after X-Mas we began
doing over what was my maid’s room for a room for Mrs. Cook…. The winter from
then on was hell, no less. My children will know this and if this
record falls into other hands I do not care… Mrs. Cook never liked me, and it
is the irony of fate that she should have to end her days with me – only I am
convinced that I should go first. But one lives through a great deal!”
[10/1909] “Mrs. Cook spent the month with Ida Lord. For this relief, much
thanks.” [1/1915] Death of mother-in-law on 2/26/1917 [4/12/1917].
Childhood:
“Theodore and Gertrude were the best-looking children there – the best –
but if they only fulfill the promise of their youth!” [9/13/1903]
Marriage:
“My twenty-fifth wedding anniversary! Does anyone who has had a happy
married life ever realize how the years slip away like summer clouds!”
[1/31/1908]
Health: Lengthy
description of diseased glands under daughter’s arm (possibly caused by
vaccination) which resisted three operations and took several months to heal,
interrupting her freshman year of college. [5/1905]
School: “In
August Sam and I decided after grave deliberation to send Theodore to
Phillips-Exeter. our chief reason being his lack of self-reliance.”
[11/1901] Sends daughter Gertrude to Wellesley College so she can continue her
music studies with Mrs. Hamilton. [9/1904] Theodore’s graduation from Exeter
“the very happiest week of my life.” [5/1905] Daughter graduates from
Wellesley. [4/1911]
Class relations:
Trouble with an inexperienced servant: “I had under my elastic roof at one
time Tom and Ella, Louise Greene, Horace Holden. Then Ernest Greene and Louise
visited me, and they made the welkin ring. It was very hot, and I had a green
Norwegian, but I somehow managed.” [6/1906] “The first of November,
the axe fell. Mary Dooley, after living here three years, and serving good
meals, garnished by a bad temper and lies, departed to live at the Donahoes and
cook. With her went domestic peace. From the first of November until the first
of June a procession of imbeciles, idiots and incompetents passed through my
kitchen – seven in all. Most of the time I was my own chief cook and bottle
washer.” [9/1912] “In May I made my usual visit to Dover: when I
returned Polish Sofie gave her notice to earn $25 a week in a factory!”
[11/11/1918]
Travel: Circa May
1898, “I began to agitate the question of Sam’s going to England. After
his many years of faithful service in the bank he badly needed a change of
thought and scene. He needed a great deal of persuasion before he could be
induced to go.” [9/23/1898] Visits Ogunquit Beach in Maine 8/1900
[11/1900]. Spends a few weeks in Digby, Nova Scotia at second family home
called “Bleakside” late each summer.
Geographical and
architectural: “We had our first X-Mas celebration in the new house.”
[12/25/1898] “Every year I realize more and more that, though
transplanted, my roots are deep in New Hampshire soil.” [7/1901] Describes
minor house renovations. [5/1902]
Cataloging
information:
Catalog number:
MSS 9001-C
Collection title:
Lucia G. (Moses) Cook Diaries
Location
within the collection:
Size: 10″ x
8″
Condition:
Excellent
Graphic
content: 1920 photograph of Nova Scotia home after final entry.
Provenance: 2002.
43. 2, gift of L.H. Strickland
Cataloged
by Rick Stattler, July 2002
Bibliography:
Moses,
Zebina. Historical Sketches of John Moses of Plymouth…, 219.
Hartford: Casey, Lockwood & Brainard, 1890
Woonsocket
directories, 1920-1928
1920
U.S. Census, Rhode Island E.D. 336, page 11
Subject headings:
Nova
Scotia – Description and travel
Woonsocket,
R.I. – Social life and customs
If you
happen to visit, Lucia’s diary is in MSS 9001-C Box 12.
In 1920 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Early in June I went to Fox
Lake to see about tearing down the club houses and moving them to another place…
I go up to Fox Lake every Saturday, looking after the house and I hope to complete
it on time.”
Moses was back at Sosman & Landis after two tumultuous
years of working for New York Studios and Chicago Studios. He was constantly suffering from headaches
much of the time and had all but six teeth extracted. Yet he made time to visit
and work on the Palette & Chisel Club’s house on Fox Lake. In two years, he
would lose interest and begin focusing on the west coast.
In 1904, Moses became a member of the Salmagundi Club in New
York, sponsored by R. M. Shurtleff. Moses
joined the Palette & Chisel Club when he was 50 years old in 1906.
Founded in 1895, the Palette & Chisel Club was an
association of artists and craftsmen for the purpose of work and study. The
organization’s members were reported to be “all wage-workers, busy during the
week with pencil, brush or chisel, doing work to please other people” (Inland
Printer, 1896). But on Sunday mornings, they assembled for five hours to paint
for themselves.
In 1905, the members of the Palette and Chisel Club
established a seasonal camp at Fox Lake, Illinois.
In 1906 Moses wrote, “I joined the Palette and Chisel Club
at the Chicago Society of Artists. I
don’t know why, as I had so little time to give to pictures, but I live in
hopes of doing something someday, that is what I have lived on for years, Hope,
and how little we realize from our dreams of hope. As the years roll by, I think one’s whole
life is one continuous dream, unless we are wonderfully gifted and fame drops
on us while we sleep.”
The year that Moses joined the Palette and Chisel Club, the
group consisted of sixty local painters, illustrators, and sculptors. The
Chicago Tribune reported that it was “primarily a working club, being the
oldest organization in the west” (Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 1906, page 2). That
year, the club’s new enterprise was the maintenance of a permanent exhibition
in the clubrooms on the seventh floor of the Athenæum building.
In the beginning it was quite rustic. Of the camping
experience, Moses wrote, “June 1st, I made my first trip to the
Palette and Chisel Club camp at Fox Lake, Ill.
Helped to put up the tent. A new
experience for me, but I enjoyed it. I
slept well on a cot. Made a few
sketches. A very interesting place. I don’t like the cooking in the tent and
there should be a floor in the tent. I
saw a great many improvements that could be made in the outfit and I started
something very soon.” The Palette and Chisel Club camp drew a variety of
artists during the summer months. An
artistic community was formed along the shores of Fox Lake, providing a haven
far away from the hustle and bustle of work in Chicago. There were many Sosman
& Landis employees who also became members of the Palette & Chisel
Club, escaping to Fox Lake whenever they could.
In 1908, Moses wrote, “I bought the portable house that we
built years ago and at that time we received $300.00 for it. I finally got it for $50.00, some
bargain. It cost $25.00 to remove it and
we will put it up at Fox Lake in the Spring.
It has been used in Forest Park all summer to show “The Day in the
Alps.”
By 1909, Moses wrote, “As we had
put up the portable house in Fox Lake, I was better contented to go up. I gave the camp a portable kitchen and it was
some class. I felt sure I would manage
to get a camp outfit worth while and the boys all fell in line with me.” Moses
enjoyed his scenic retreats to Fox Lake, escaping from the hard grind of the
studio whenever he could during the summer. He painted numerous landscapes of
Fox Lake and the Palette & Chisel camp house over the years, including on that
I own from 1909. “
In 1910, Moses wrote, “Fox Lake
appealed to me all summer. I went up as
much as possible and made good use of my time.
How I wished in vain for time and money to spend all summer
sketching. I know I could do something
worthwhile.” Regardless of his own opinion, Moses was making progress in the
eyes of Palette and Chisel Club members. By 1912 the Palette and Chisel Club
honored Thomas G. Moses by giving him a big dinner and a new nickname – “Uncle
Tom” of the Club.
By 1913, Moses was still
spending time at Fox Lake, writing, “I enjoyed the summer at Fox Lake, as the
motorboat kept us busy and I enjoyed the water.
I also did quite a number of sketches, a few very good, balance rather
doubtful.” That same year, he wrote,
“The Palette and Chisel Club boys wanted me to give an exhibit at the
club. I always refused, claiming that I
am not in the picture game, and paint pictures for pleasure only. September 3rd, a committee came to
the house and insisted on going to the studio, I had over three hundred
pictures in the studio; some very good but the other 275 were not as good, but
the boys seemed to think I had at least 250 good ones, which was quite
flattering.” That year, Moses also commented, “The Palette and Chisel Club were
anxious to buy a lot near the lake, but we found it would cost too much.” Yet
the search for a new home continued the following year.
In 1914, Moses wrote, “Early in
April a number of Palette and Chisel Club boys, including myself, went to Fox
Lake to look for a new site. We didn’t
find anything worthwhile, so we will remain where we are for another season… Miss
Maude Oliver, Art Critic of the Herald, wanted to see the animals fed and
housed, so she went to Fox Lake to the camp.
She requested that we all act perfectly natural and not put on any
frills and do nothing out of the ordinary to entertain her. I never saw a bunch act worse. It was awful.
I think she got plenty of local color and artistic atmosphere for her
article in the Sunday Herald the next week – convinced me that she had drunk a
glass full of camp life…I am not very regular at Fox Lake this year and I miss
sketching. I also miss my rocks and
running brooks. I have to go some
distance for that kind of a motive.”
By 1915, Moses commented about
the Palette and Chisel Club’s new site on Fox Lake, “April 17th a
crowd of us went to Fox Lake and took down the old house and moved it to our
new site south of the track on a very high hill, overlooking Pistakee Bay. Got the carpenter and lumberyard men together
and we arranged for credit and ordered the material for a new house 22 x 50, was
soon ready for members. We certainly got
great sport in assisting the carpenter.
Pretty hard work for an artist, but they all did very well.”
The next few years include only
a few sporadic entries in Moses’ memoirs. In 1917, Moses wrote, “I went to Fox
Lake on Decoration Day, official opening.
I had a new cot sent up and it was certainly and improvement over the
old one. I actually rest now and enjoy
going up.” In 1918, Moses wrote, “I have not been out to Fox Lake this year,
the first I have missed in twelve years.
The business is in such an upset condition that I felt I should stick to
it.” In 1919, Moses and his son Rupert made several trips to Fox Lake where he
made a few sketches. He wrote, “It is
very nice to make the trip in a car, as we made it in three hours. The roads were not any too good.”
By 1922, Moses wrote, “I made one trip to Fox Lake
Camp. It is not the same, and I am very
sorry to say that I have lost interest in it, besides I feel that all the good
sketching had been worked to death.” He did not write about Fox Lake again.
In 1920 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “June and July found us tied
up with a lot of repaint stuff for the Junior Orpheum, all over the country,
and there was some awful stuff sent in to be repainted, while there was some
that was really good.” Junior Orpheum theaters were the Orpheum Circuit’s
“popular-priced” vaudeville houses.
There are a few things to consider about Moses’ diary entry.
The first is that stage settings were never meant to last. Repainting backdrops
and flats were a common occurrence when theaters could not afford to purchase a
new scene, or entire stock scenery collection. Due to the nature of the paints,
the scenery did not just receive another coat of paint. The tempera paint was
scrubbed down, effectively removed to leave a slightly stained piece of fabric
that was ready for a new coat of paint.
Painted scenery was a major investment for any performance venue
at the time. Scenic studio catalogues even offered the refurbishing of old
flats and fabric as an alternative to purchasing new. From 1889 to 1894, Sosman
& Landis catalogues included a “Special Notice.” The section noted, “When
there is already a stock of Scenery on the stage, and it is desired to add some
new scenes and wings, we can easily make them to fit the frames of present
scenery, and they may be mounted on the backs of other ‘flats’ and ‘wings.’ We
can do this work for you much better, and we think cheaper than you can have an
artist do it on stage, and it will save you considerable trouble. If you intend
putting any new Scenery this coming season, we hope we will hear from you, and
we will try and make it to your interest to at least give us a trial order.” At
the time, the firm advertised they had already supplied 1700 opera house,
theaters and halls in the United States and Canada with stock scenery. By 1894,
Sosman & Landis catalogues announced, “Over 4,000 places of amusement are
to-day using scenery made by our firm.” By 1904, it was close to 6,000.
The Junior Orpheum Circuit was just one more client who opted
to repaint existing stock scenery collections for upcoming touring shows and a
variety of vaudeville acts.
Of the Junior Orpheum Circuit, the “Los Angeles Evening
Express” interviewed Martin Beck, managing director of the Orpheum Circuit on
April 9, 1920 (page 29). He explained the theater chain in seven cities that
will be grouped under the name of the “Junior Orpheum” circuit. In the
interview Beck stated, “In naming the theaters that are to make up the Junior
Orpheum circuit, we intend calling them after the intersecting streets on which
they are located. Thus, in Kansas City we have named that theater the
Fourteenth-Main, and the one in Minneapolis has been called the Ninth-Hennepin.
The Los Angeles theater will be known as the Hill and the name of the other
street on which it will be situated. It is impossible to give the exact
location of the Los Angeles theater at the present time, as the full title of
the property has not been acquired.”
Mort H. Singer was the manager of the Orpheum Circuit. He
explained, “By the establishment of the Junior Orpheum we will be able to book
more and better material for the regular Orpheum system of theaters which has
always been far above the best of any vaudeville circuit. Contract will be made
for an entire year, and the acts will play first the regular Orpheum Circuit
and then double back on the Junior Orpheum circuit, thus maintaining the same
high-class performance on the Junior circuit and in the regular Orpheum
theater. There will be no reserved seats in the Junior Orpheum theaters, and
the admission charged will be at popular process. Patrons will be assured of
more than three hours of high-class entertainment.” This reminded my of second
run dollar theaters; same show, a little later, and a lot cheaper. Really quite brilliant from a business sense.
You are able to extend the run of a show, and have a secondary venue simply
based on volume.
Moses had previously worked with both Beck and Singer, so
the Junior Orpheum selecting Sosman & Landis to refurbish all of their existing
stock scenery is not a surprise at all.
In 1920 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “In May I went to Rock Island
to make a sketch for the old Block House on the island. Had to get a permit. I enjoyed myself immensely.” At the time, the
“old Block House” was only four years old; a replica constructed in 1916.
Moses was referring to the Block House at Fort Armstrong on Rock
Island. Located on the Mississippi River, the Fort Armstrong was erected as one
of the many frontier defenses after the War of 1812. The construction of the fort began on May 10,
1816 and was intended to establish a military presence to dissuade French and
English Canadians from settling the territory. Ironically, this was part of the
Americans settling land inhabited by the Sauk, native Americans of the region.
A century later, in 1916, a replica of the three-story block
house was built. This was the structure that Moses sketched in 1920.
That same year, H. H Cleaveland announced plans to build a
new hotel and social center on the island. The Fort Armstrong Hotel Co. was
formed and plans to raise money for the endeavor. It took a while, but investors
finally raised $451,000 and construction commenced March 17, 1925. The area has
remained a popular tourist attraction over the decades.