The Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana when we left work on January 13, 2024.
On January 7, 2024, I drove from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. My project was to catalogue a portion of the vast scenery collection at the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana. Located in southeastern Iowa, this unique museum is “dedicated to the preservation of memorabilia and artifacts of early repertoire theatre.”
The Theatre Museum resulted from a memorabilia exhibit displayed at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion and Iowa Wesleyan College in 1970. Local enthusiasm fueled discussions to build a Theatre Museum on Old Thresher Reunion show grounds. On September 1, 1973, the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana was dedicated, and is currently situated at the north end of the show grounds. I. must mention that most of the credit for this entire endeavor goes to the promotional efforts of Caroline Schaffner (Neil & Caroline Schaffner Players), Jimmy Davis (6-yrs. member and 35-yrs. owner of the Schaffner Players), Helen Virden, and Joe Mauck.
The exterior of the Theatre Musuem is intended to simulate a nineteenth-century opera house.
My photograph of the Theatre Museum Building, March 2017.
Over the years, a variety of theatre artifacts were donated to the museum, necessitating two major renovations. In 2000, the Caroline Schaffner Research Library was added to the building. This archival space is packed full of rare scripts, correspondence, tour schedules, production photos, and a large collection of videotaped interviews with performers describing their touring experiences.
There is much, much more to discuss about the Theatre Museum’s origin, but I am going to pause here.
Displays at the Theatre Museum include a variety of scenery, costumes, machinery, touring trunks, play bills, show cards, advertising sheets, playbills, musical instruments, and more. Here are a few photographs of museum displays from my most recent visit.
Display cases in front of two 1875 shutters painted by Harry Dressel for Steyer’s Opera House in Decorah, Iowa.
Interior book flat delivered by Iowa scenic artist Jesse Cox in front of an Ad Drop painted by Iowa scenic artist Hugh Lanning (for the Blakesburg Opera House) in 1905.
There are many aspects that make this museum that make it internationally significant. However, it is their association with the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion (Old Threshers) that I find the most remarkable.
To clarify this relationship: Old Threshers owns the museum, but it is run by a museum board.
(Click here for more information about the upcoming Reunion)
Now you may wonder, “What is an old threshers reunion?” Let’s start with a thresher. A thresher, or threshing machine, beats the kernels from grain heads. This is a necessary step in the process of preparing grain for market. In the Midwest, many farmers gathered their resources to hire a threshing machine at harvest time. Threshing was an annual, or bi-annual, affair (depending on region) that gathered communities together for a common purpose. The result of their labors made it possible to ship large amounts of grain to flour mills and other processing plants across the country. For those who want to know about the evolution of the thresher, here is a link: https://www.farmcollector.com/steam-traction/evolution-of-the-thresher/
A Minneapolis Threshing Machinein front of chaff (the covering and other debris separated from the kernal when threshing grain).
Harnessing a steam engine’s power.
Although this is a far cry from current agricultural practices, it marked a culturally significant events for farmers. Threshing reunions celebrate agricultural technology from the nineteenth-century through mid-twentieth century. In addition to tractors and farming equipment these shows feature other aspects of farm life, including innovative technology and cultural artifacts from metropolitan areas too.
Also referred to a “steam shows,” the main feature are rows of tractors, with the earliest examples powered by steam. There is nothing quite like watching a massive steam tractor slowly puff across a field or power a threshing machine. It is a multi-sensory experience that instantaneously transports you back to another time and place. It provides contexts for all those American History classes that examined rural communities. If the show grounds include a steam engine that puffs along on a few miles of track, old-time music, vintage-clothing style show, it is magical.
I have been a member of the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion (WMSTR) since 1972. Here is their link and a few pictures from 2023: https://rollag.com/
My son and mother playing music in the WMSTR mercantile building, 2023.
My dad and husband working as conductors on the 353.
My dad has been the WMSTR Hobo for three decades.
Sadly, both WMSTR and the Midwest Old Threshers hold their reunions at the same time – on Labor Day Weekend.
Threshing shows are extremely affordable, with a four-day pass costing approximately $30.00. Both volunteers and visitors often camp on, or near, the show grounds for the entire event. This creates a tight-knit community over the years, fostering many life-long friendships.
Threshing shows offer something for everyone in the family, but the inclusion of a theatre museum makes the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion unique. As in days past, the museum offers respite to those weary from spending the day outside. In fact, it is a natural pairing that many fail to realize; the bringing of theatrical entertainment to rural activities.
As America’s network of transportation expanded throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, performance venues rapidly appeared throughout the Midwestern States and Western Territories. Scenery was delivered to stages in buildings titled Opera House, Opera Hall, Academy of Music, Museum, and Atheneum. Town halls, city halls, lodge rooms, saloons, and academic institutions. These spaces included stages, often with complete sets of scenery. The construction of a stage, regardless of the building’s name, signaled the success of a rural community. It signified that there was a social space to not only host a variety of community events, but also serve the needs of touring entertainments. For farming families, it was an opportunity to connect with their neighbors and in-town residents. Overall, it fostered the sense of community and provided a network of support for many individuals otherwise isolated on distant homesteads.
The Theatre Museum’s scenery collection includes scenery dating as early as 1875. Painted compositions for the stage feature the works of many well-known studios, including Sosman & Landis, Kansas City Scenic Co., Twin City Scenic Company, Joy & Cannon Scenic Company, and Universal Scenic Company. Some pieces are even signed and dated, signifying the only surviving scenic artworks by well-known scenic artist’s Arthur R. Hurtt and Harry Dressel. There is also an extensive collection of the Diamond Dye scenery painted Jesse Cox, founder of Cox Scenic Studios in Estherville, Iowa. The Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana houses the greatest variety of late-nineteenth century and early-twentieth century scenery on display in North America.
Studio label on back of a drop recently documented at the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana.
Jesse Cox’s paint table on display in front of a dye drop.
During my stay, I documented far more than 50 drops, and there are dozens of wings and interior flats to go, with some dating as early as 1875. Despite, two blizzards and sub-zero temperatures, the trip was extremely successful. Keep in mind, that I was born and raised in Minnesota. I am very familiar with driving in near white-out conditions and have snow tires on my car. However, I am always hesitant to put myself in harm’s way on a winter road.
On Sunday, January 7, 2024, I drove from Minneapolis, MN, to the home of my host in Washington, Iowa, where I stayed at the home of Theatre Museum president, Monie Hayes.
He was my timeline for the week:
Day 1: On Monday, January 8, we both drove the 40-min. trip to Mt. pleasant, Iowa. That day we were able to unroll and document ten drops. Our primary focus was unlabeled scenery stored in the basement, above the stage and on the walls. The basement of the museum is another display area with small stage.
Day 2: On Tuesday, January 9, the first blizzard hit, dumping about 15” of snow where I was staying. It was an intense storm system that paused and spiraled around Washington. We called work off for that day, so I started compiling my report. Sadly, this delay meant extending my stay.
Screen shot of my weather app radar on Jan. 9, 2024.
Day 3: On Wednesday, January 10, I drove down the Mt. Pleasant, where we repeated the process, slowly unrolling, or unfolding, one scene at a time.
Day 4: On Thursday, January 11, I relocated to the home of another board members, Leigh Bradley, in Mt. Pleasant. I needed to be in town and not commute 40 minutes to an from the job site. My decision was based on the forecast of another blizzard. This storm was now combined with sub-zero temperatures. Iowa had again issued a no-tow order, meaning that travel was at your own risk; tow trucks would not be sent out to rescue stranded cars. As I was now staying only a few miles away from the Museum, we continued cataloguing scenery. The second storm was scheduled to start at 9PM that evening. After work, we all headed out to dinner at a local restaurant. These are the moments that make everything worthwhile; getting to know the people who are passionate about preserving there scenery collection.
Part of the week-long team included Richard Finkelstein. He had driven 14 hours to join me on site and photograph this remarkable collection. As always, I am amazed with Richard’s talent, knowledge, and generosity. It was such a delight to work with him again. Our last project was at the Scottish Rite in Richmond, Virginia when I packed up and moved that Masonic scenery collection to Tucson, Arizona, in January 2021.
Richard Finkelstein working at the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana.
Wendy Waszut-Barrett and Richard Finklestein at the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana.
Our workspace in the basement. Platforms and chairs were moved in the auditorium to lay out the backdrops.
Signature on corner of a Front Curtain (shown above), painted at the Twin City Scenic Co. in 1915.
Days 5 and 6: The back-to-back winter storm and second blizzard warnings for January 12 and 13 meant that there were only two volunteers who could show up. In many ways, these were my two favorite days on site.
Day 7: By Sunday morning, I recognized that I was going to be stranded in Mt. Pleasant another day. Again, there was a no-tow order, and I was unwilling to chance the 5-hrs. drive north; some roads were still impassible due to snow and ice.
Day 8: In the end, I left early Monday morning, and made it home by late afternoon. The anticipated 5-hrs. drive lasted much longer due to poor road conditions and slow speeds.
Iowa roads after the storms on January 15, 2024.
Here are a few images from my adventure.
1875 Shutter painted by Chicago scenic artist, Harry Dressel, for Steyer’s Opera House in Decorah, Iowa.
Detail from a drawing on the backside of Dressel’s shutter.
Detail of Grand Drapery Border paint by Sosman & Landis Scenic Studio, delivered to Mineral Point, Wisconsin.
Painted detail from dye drop painted by Jesse Cox of Estherville, Iowa.
Painted detail from dye drop painted by Jesse Cox of Estherville, Iowa.
Painted detail delivered the the Quoque Community Hall in Long Island, New York.
Painted detail by Sosman & Lanids studio artists for the ZCBJ Lodge Hall Front Curtain in Oxford Junction, Iowa.
Painted detail from a “Yankee Doodle” scene used by the Jack & Maude Brooks Stock Co.
Painted detail from a 1918 Ad Drop.
Stage screw and stage jack on display the the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana.
Border lights from the Blakesburg Opera House on display at the Theatre Museum.
The next few posts will explore some of the more significant scenery in the collection, starting with Arthur R. Hurtt’s street scene. I am posting some of my research while I complete condition reports, replacement appraisals, and a Collections Care Management document for the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana. In an effort to generate support for the Theatre Museum, I will share some of the most significant artifacts in the scenery collection.
Please consider becoming a member of the Theatre Museum. The annual fee is only $20 ($15 for students). Your support sends a message to the Midwest Old Thresher’s Reunion and the Mt. Pleasant Community that the Theatre Museum is important and should remain open. Here is the link to contribute: http://thetheatremuseum.com/membership
The spring of 1885 to the spring of 1886 was a significant period in the development of Sosman & Landis. They not only constructed a new studio building, but also diversified their business interests, establishing a panorama company. For the next decade Sosman and Landis tried their hand a variety of businesses, including lighting equipment, theatrical management, stock companies, and pottery.
Location
The studio building that Sosman & Landis leased in 1879 was located at 277 and 279 South Clark Street. They rented space alongside many other tenants in a large building at the northeast corner of Clark and Van Buren streets. They were situated one block east of the Rock Island Depot and two blocks north of the Dearborn Station, as well as being near two public transit lines.
There were a variety of nearby entertainment venues, employing dozens of scenic artists. Theaters located just a few blocks to the north of the studio included Haverly’s Theatre, McVicker’s, Hooley’s, the Chicago Opera House, the Grand Opera House, and the Olympic Theater. A few blocks to the south was the People’s Theatre and Park Theatre. Three panorama buildings were also nearby. Two were a few blocks southeast of the Sosman & Landis studio: the Battle of Gettysburg in the National building and the Siege of Paris in the American Panorama Building. The third panorama was a few blocks northeast of the studio. The Battle of Shiloh was featured in the newly-constructed World Panorama building on Michigan Ave.
To the north of Sosman & Landis’ Clark Street Studio.
To the south of Sosman & Landis’ Clark Street Studio.
The Popularity of Panoramas
I am going to briefly touch on these three panoramas that were delivered between 1883 and 1885, as they were likely the instigator for Sosman and Landis to establish the Grant Panorama company. The most popular subject matter in the United States quickly became Civil War subject matter. From a timing perspective, we are twenty-two years away tragic events of 9/11 in 2001. 1885 was twenty-two years away from the height of the Civil War. Both were still in the forefront of public memory for many Americans.
In 1879, a group of Chicago investors commissioned Paul Philippoteaux to create a Battle of Gettysburg panorama. This is the same year that Sosman & Landis moved to their studio on Clark Street. City residents were familiar with Philippoteaux’s work, as “Paris by Moonlight” had been exhibited in Chicago in 1875 (Chicago Tribune 21 Oct 1883, page 4). It took four years from conception to the opening of the Battle of Gettysburg panorama. In the fall of 1883, advertisements credited the work to Philippoteaux, Joseph Bertrand, and Lucien Sargent. The panorama’s popularity soon prompted another Philippoteaux panorama. On June 20, 1884, the Siege of Paris opened across the street from his Battle of Gettysburg (Inter Ocean 20 June 1884, page 8).
The two panorama buildings that once house the Battle of Gettysburg and Siege of Paris. Link to 1890 image posted to Chicagology: https://chicagology.com/?s=cyclorama
Another photograph showing the location of the two panorama buildings when facing south. Link to 1912 image posted to Chicagology: https://chicagology.com/?
A third panorama opened in Chicago the summer of 1885. Credited to French artist Théophile Poilpot (1848-1915), the Battle of Shiloh panorama’s progress continued to make newspaper headlines. On April 30 of that year the Chicago Tribune announced “Though not yet 35 years of age, [Poilpot] has visited some part over every country on the civilized globe, and his travels crossed the equator eight times. He arrived in this country last fall and went direct to ‘Hornet’s Nest,’ the scene of Shiloh, where he devoted several months to the study of the battlefield” (page 8).
Battle of Shiloh Advertisement in the Chicago Tribune on July 31, 1885.
On August 1, 1885, The Inter Ocean reported “The Battle of Shiloh panorama adds another splendid battle piece to Chicago’s attractions. The painting and direction of the work have been accomplished by T. Poilpot of Paris, who., thanks to the enterprise and liberality of local capital, has been given every advantage for the projection and perfection of the titanic pictures. Mr. Poilpot is an artist who has a large experience in similar works on a large scale, having painted in Paris ‘The Taking of the Bastille;’ ‘The Charge of Reischoffen’ (franco-Russian war), and ‘Busenval’ (episodes of the siege of Paris). In London he painted the ‘Charge of Baklava;’ and in Russia, ‘The Crossing of the Danube.’ ‘The Battle of Shiloh’ is his first distinctive American work, and he is now engaged upon ‘The Battle of Manassas,’ and will shortly commence the famous marine fight of Monitor and Merrimac.” The article continues, heralding Poilpot’s skill and painted details in “The Battle of Shiloh.”
What Chicago investors realized between the summer of 1884 and 1885 was that there was much more of a demand for tickets to the Battle of Gettysburg than the Siege of Paris. Chicago residents were more interested in Civil War battles, than foreign wars. I am going to pause here and remind readers that many of the well-known scenic artists working in Chicago at this time had fought in the Union Army during the Civil War. This included both Sosman and Landis, as well as several of their staff members.
Panoramas remained a risky investment. However, when they succeeded, investors reaped large profits. There were a surprisingly number of panorama companies that appeared during the 1880s. By 1883, panorama companies began to pop up all over the region. On Nov. 15, 1884, the Wisconsin State Journal reported, “New Organization – The Northwestern Panorama company, of Milwaukee, filed articles of association with the secretary of state to-day, the capital stick being $25,000. The object is to give panoramas and other entertainments” (page 4). Located on Cedar Street, the firm was operated by scenic artists Louis Kindt and Thomas Gardner.
Louis Kindt’s Panorama Company
On November 17, 1884, the “Milwaukee Letter” section of Minnesota’s The Saint Paul Globe, announced, “Paul Bechtner, Otto Osthoff and Louis Kindt have incorporated the Northwestern Panorama company and will soon erect in this city a building of the same style and size as that occupied by the ‘Battle of Gettysburg,’ at Chicago. The panorama to be exhibited will be the battle of Vicksburg, with two contending armies and the gunboats on the Mississippi river. Mr. Kindt is a scenic artist and has taken sketches at the scene of the battle. He is the artist who painted the picture of the battle of Lookout Mountain, now on exhibition in the exposition building” (page 2).
Kindt had made a name for himself as a scenic artist in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ohio, beginning in the mid-1860s. He was listed as a painter of theatrical scenery in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Chicago Directories. In Chicago, Kindt was employed as a scenic artist at the same time as Henry Burcky, Joseph Hart, Thomas McGann, Louis Malmsha, Ernest Pappineaux, Harry Ribbet, and J. Howard Rogers were associated with various theaters there.
In 1884, Kindt had organized a panorama company in Milwaukee, while continuing work as a scenic artist throughout the region. The size of a panorama was certainly not daunting to scenic artists. In fact, in 1890 Sosman & Landis delivered a cyclorama to the Broadway Theatre in Denver, Colorado. Of the project. Moses wrote, “I painted my first cyclorama sky backing, forty feet high and 395 feet long. There were three different skies. The cyclorama was operated from the fly gallery. We had no borders, all exterior settings were painted on set pieces which carried out the same arrangement that was used in the auditorium of Chicago
Kindt’s Siege of Vicksburg panorama was approximately this same size. Scenic studios were designed to accommodate huge panoramic pieces. Unlike a rotunda building with permanently positioned canvas, necessitating that the artists move from one scene to another. Scenic studios moved the fabric, and not the artists. It was common for a larger spool of fabric to gradually unroll. Each section was tacked to the frame and painted. This section was then released and spooled on the opposite side of the frame – like a moving panorama. This is because the scenic artists for the theatre used distemper paint and not oil paint. Like constructing a moving panorama, distemper paint allows the fabric remained lightweight and pliable. This also means that a distemper panorama can easily be shipped from one location to another. When panoramas were produced with oil paints, moving them becomes a logistical nightmare due to the weight.
It is no wonder that Sosman & Landis constructed a studio in 1885 that could accommodate their own version of a Grant’s Trip Around the World panorama. The footprint of their new two-story building was 44’-0”x 150’-0”. This space could have easily accommodated the production of a panorama when shifted along the paint fame from one fabric spool to the next.
Back to Kindt’s Vicksburg panorama…
On Dec. 10, 1884, The Oshkosh Northwestern announced, “Louis Kindt, the scenic artist, formerly a resident of this city, is one of the projectors of the Northwestern Panorama Co., recently organized at Milwaukee with a paid capital of $25,000. Mr. Kindt and several other artists are now engaged on a panorama representing the siege of Vicksburg, which ended by the surrender of the city, July 4, 1863. It is 400 feet long and 36 feet high. When completed it will be placed in a new building to be erected for that purpose. Mr. Kindt has charge of the scenic work for the Opera House and Turner Hall of this city and his reputation is a guarantee of success in his undertaking. He spent some time at Vicksburg recently and no doubt will produce a life-like representation of the scene” (page 3). I was especially interested that Kindt worked for the Oshkosh Opera House. This was the same venue that both Moses & Graham and Sosman & Landis bid on stock scenery for in 1883. Awarded to Moses & Graham, it was at this point that Moses, Lemuel L. Graham and John H. Young returned to the Sosman & Landis studio.
Interestingly, a second Northwestern Panorama Company opened the next year. On Oct. 11, 1885, The Saint Paul Globe announced, “Articles were yesterday files with the register of deeds incorporating the Northwestern Panorama company, with a capital stock of $200,000, and a liability of $5,000. The incorporators and directors are John Watson, Robert C. Kalkoff, George H. Eastman, George G. Jacoby and T. J. Buxtow as incorporators” (page 3).
The appearance of tis second firm may have been the incentive for Kindt to change the name of his panorama company from the Northwestern Panorama Company to the United States Panorama Company. On Sept. 12, 1885, The Oshkosh Northwestern reported, “The United States Panorama Co. is breaking ground to-day on Algoma St. to exhibit the Battle of Gettysburg, painted by the well-known Mr. Louis Kindt, at one time a citizen of Oshkosh, who has also painted the battles of Vicksburg and Lookout Mountain” (page 3). Earlier, the Wisconsin State Journal had reported, “The most attractive thing at the fair this year will be the Battle of Gettysburg, brought here under great expense. This picture represents a battle of July 2nd, 1863, and is about 75 feet in length and 39 feet in height; was painted by the most skillful artists in the country under the supervision of well-known Louis Kindt, the painter of Vicksburg and Lookout Mountain. The management will save no expense in making the foreground and surroundings of the picture as natural as possible. No one should fail to see it, because without having been seen it cannot be conceived” (page 4). It is interesting to read how much smaller this panorama is from his previous one that measured 400 feet long.
Kindt’s panorama company was established shortly after German-born Chicago businessman, William Werner opened the American Panorama Company; both were in Milwaukee. During the spring of 1885, Werner staffed his panorama studio with well-known European artists. The size of Werner’s staff rivaled that at Sosman & Landis during this time.
A photograph of Werner’s staff at the American Panorama Company studio building, 1887. Panorama artists: (from the left, standing) Franz Bilberstein, Richard Lorenz, Johannes Schulz, and Bernhard Schneider; (from the left, sitting) Wilhelm Bernhard Schroeder, Franz Rohrbeck, Friedrich Wilhelm Heine, Karl Frosch Thaddeus Zukotynski, George Peter, Amy Boos, August Lohr, and Herman Michalowski.Here is the link to the Wisconsin Historical Society image: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM26069
Unlike Kindt, or Sosman & Landis, Werner solely focused on the production of panoramas. Between 1885 and 1889, the American Panorama Company produced eight panorama paintings at the Milwaukee Studio. His is a link to a short paper about Werner and his firm for more information: http://www.germanamericanpioneers.org/documents/WhathappenedtothePanoramaPainters.pdf
When considering the production of panoramic works at this time, it is not hard to recognize that most artists were Europeans, those recently brought to the United States for this work. These were not individuals interested in permanently moving and becoming naturalized citizens. Such was the case in many other trades at this time.
Immigrant Labor
I also need to mention the 1885 Alien Contract Law, also known as the Foran Act. The first section stated, “It shall be unlawful for any person, company, partnership, or corporation, in any manner whatsoever, to prepay the transportation, or in any way assist or encourage the importation or migration of any alien or aliens, any foreigner or foreigners, into the United States, its Territories, or the District of Columbia, under contract or agreement, parol or special, express or implied, made previous to the importation or migration of such alien or aliens, foreigner or foreigners, to perform labor or service of any kind in the United States, its Territories, or the District of Columbia.” Here is a link to the full act: https://immigrationhistory.org/item/foran-act-of-1885-aka-alien-contract-labor-law/
This basically described what Werner and other companies were doing, except there was a loophole for the entertainment industry. The legislation specified unskilled labor. Exceptions were made for skilled labor, such as artists or performers. Many theatre practitioners were not thrilled about an influx of competition, even when they are also foreign-born. In fact, in 1888, English scenic artist and actor, Harley Merry, joined Edwin Booth and Lawrence Barrett in the Actor’s Order of Friendship to lobby against the wholesale importation of foreign actors and touring companies.
Image of H. Merry in 1886.
Merry was later instrumental in establishing the American Society of Scene Painters. In 1892 the organization was established in Albany, New York, with the executive staff consisting of Richard Marston (Palmer’s Theatre), Henry E. Hoyt (Metropolitan Opera House), Homer F. Emens (Fourteenth Street Theatre), Sydney Chidley (Union Square Theatre), Harley Merry (Brooklyn Studio) Brooklyn and Ernest Albert (Albert, Grover & Burridge, Chicago). Keep these names in mind, as you read the rest of this post about 1885. Keep these names in mind as you read the remainder of this post.
Back to 1885. This year, there are three panoramas on display painted by foreign artists. Werner has brough over an entire team of foreign artists to staff his panorama company in Milwaukee. Kindt is producing his third panorama. Two panoramas depicting General Grant’s Trip Around the World are planned in Chicago.
General Grant’s Trip Around the World
On June 11, 1885, the Chicago Tribune reported, “A license was granted at Springfield yesterday to incorporate a panorama company made up of Chicago men whose object will. Be to exhibit a series of gigantic views illustrative of scenes of Gen. Grants trip around the world. The incorporators are Frank C. Bromley, the artist, John H. Atkinson, and John V. A. Weaver. Mr. Bromley, who was seen yesterday, said that the project was already advanced to a certainty for the near future, although many essential details are still unarranged. In a general way the scheme is sufficiently outlined above. Mr. Bromley will contribute some of the views form sketches of his own made during the extensive travel over the scenes covered by Gen. Grant. The rest will be gathered from various sources. It is not yet determined whether the canvases will be housed in a permanent building or arranged for transportation to different cities” (page 8). For context, Bromley frequently exhibited artwork at with other Sosman & Landis employees at Louderback & Co. Galleries, only a few blocks away. In fact, Thomas G. Moses collected works by Bromley for his own home. In 1885, Bromley lived at 78 Monroe, just three blocks north of the Sosman & Landis studio on Clark Street.
About the same time that Bromley began his Grant Panorama project, Sosman and Landis also began to plan for their own version. This was the same summer that Poilpot’s Battle of Shiloh panorama opened in Chicago.
Sosman and Landis’ Grant Panorama Company
At the beginning of 1886, Sosman & Landis moved into their newly-constructed studio on Clinton Street. The first project was a panorama. Sosman & Landis employee, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Mr. Strong and I started on a very interesting panorama of Grant’s trip around the world. We were alone in the big studio for some time before the whole force came over. We enjoyed painting the panorama as it was continuous. There was some careful blending to be done.” On March 31, 1886, The Inter Ocean announced the following their new company in the “Embarking Upon Business Section” (page 6). The announcement stated, “The Grant Panorama Company, at Chicago, to exhibit a moving panorama of scenes in the life of the history of General U. S. Grant; capital stock, $50,000; incorporators, Charles S. Gillespie, Perry Landis and Joseph Sosman.” Although the firm’s first studio on South Clark Street was in an ideal location, there was simply not enough space for their ever-increasing workload, or something on the scale of a panorama project. They needed a building specifically designed for the manufacture of painted scenes.
The General Grant Memorial Park
It is understandable that two firms came up with the same idea when one considers the popularity of panoramas in Chicago and the City’s plan for the General Grant Memorial Park. In 1885 donations were collected for the park. Donors to the cause were individually listed in local newspapers. Companies were also named if several employees donated to the cause. Such was the case with Sosman & Landis in August 1885.
On Aug 2, 1885, the “Chicago Tribune” published a list of Sosman & Landis employees who contributed to the Grant Memorial Fund:
Sosman & Landis $10.00
Thomas G. Moses $2.00
Henry J. Buhler $2.00
David A. Strong $1.00
George W. Dayton $1.00
J. C. Evans $1.00
Karl Boettger $1.00
Frank E. Gates $1.00
John Moore $1.00
Edward Loitz $1.00
C. W. Carey $1.00
C. M. Crouse $1.00
Frank Lewis $1.00
William Martin $0.50
Frank Ford $0.50
B. P. Lee $0.50
Julius Fehrman $0.50
Fred Miller $0.50
Hugo Schoessling $0.50
Mrs. J. S. Curran $0.50
Ed Donnigan $0.25
Kirke W. Moses $0.25
I have written biography’s for this entire list of individuals. Just use the keyword search function. The firm’s donation was also noticed by Sosman’s hometown newspaper. On Aug. 6, 1885, “The Macomb Journal” reported, “We see by the Chicago papers that Sosman & Landis, scenic artists, and their workmen, made up a subscription of $19 to the Chicago Grant monument fund” (page 4).
I am going to provide some financial context for the General Grant Memorial Park donations in 1885. The average prices for food that year: meat was 12 cents a pound; eggs were 17 cents per dozen; bread was 5 cents per loaf; sugar was 8 cents per pound; potatoes were 45 cents per bushel, and soft coal was $2.95 per ton. $1.00 in 1885 has the equivalent purchasing power of approximately $31.00 today. However, considering average annual earnings at the time, $1.00 was not insignificant. In fact, the average annual wage in the United States for 1885 was $589.00. For more information about wages in the US from 1880-1889 visit: https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1880-1889
With all of this in mind, Thomas G. Moses earnings at Sosman & Landis were $3,050 in 1884 and $2,975.00 in 1885, well above the average.
The Sosman & Landis employee donations provide a wonderful snapshot of who was working in the main studio at the time. In addition to the 21 Sosman & Landis employees listed above, there were at least 15 other individuals working for the firm that year who did not donation at this time. Also, other than Mrs. J. S. Curran, I have yet to identify any individuals who were working in the sewing rooms and office. She could not have been the only seamstress when considering the amount of scenery that was being produced in 1885.
All told, there were at least 36 employees at Sosman & Landis in 1885, not including the two founders of the firm.
Other 1885 Sosman & Landis staff members included Charles Landis, James M. Wood, Charles Ritter, David Strong, Henry C. Tryon, Edward Loitz, Edward Morange, Hardy Maratta, John H. Young, Henry C. Barrow, Charles S. King, Charles E. Boyer, C. D. Baker, Frank Ford, and Frank Gates. It is very likely that these individuals were on the road at the time that donations were collected. Gates had joined the force that summer, leaving his position at Pope’s Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri. On July 12, 1885, The St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported, “Mr. Frank Gates, who has been the scenic artist for Pope’s Theatre for a year or more, left last night for Chicago, where he will engage himself to Sosman & Landis, scenic artists on South Clark Street. He intends to remain in Chicago” (page 9). On Aug. 15, 1885, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch announced, “Frank Gates is with Sosman & Landis, of Chicago” (page 12). Later Gates partnered with fellow 1885 Sosman & Landis scenic artist, Edward Morange. Gates & Morange settled in New York, becoming an extremely well-known Broadway Design Team.
A Gates & Morange advertisement in 1902.
This was a very significant time in American Theatre History, as scenic artists and stage carpenters from all over the country began working for the same firm. In many ways, Chicago became a melting pot of stage craft. This gathering of talent and meeting of minds resulted in a variety of events that highlighted members of the scenic art community. A new exhibit was being planned to showcase the talents of American scenic artists in Chicago.
The Scene Painter’s Show
In 1885 the American Scenic Artist Exhibition was conceived, planned, and exhibited. Newspaper announcements specified that all artworks for the exhibit “must be painted in distemper color – scene painting fashion” (Detroit Free Press Sept. 7, 1885, page 5).
The announcement of the exhibit was published on the same page that featured Poilpot’s new panorama. On August 1, 1885, The Inter Ocean reported he Inter Ocean reported, “The scenic artists of this city held a meeting this week at Parker Galleries and determined to hold an exhibition and sale of works in distemper at those galleries early in September. Among those artists present were Ernest Albert, John Mazzanovich, Walter Burridge, David A. Strong, John Howard Rogers, Henry Tryon, George Dayton, Thomas Moses, John Howell Wilson, H. Burcky, Charles Ritter and others” (page 4). Parker’s Galleries, soon to be known as Louderback & Co. Galleries, was located on Wabash Ave., less than two blocks south from Poilpot’s panorama. In fact, it was halfway in between the panorama building and the Sosman & Landis’ Clark Street studio.
A series of articles advertising the upcoming exhibit were published in newspapers across the United States. For example, on Aug. 23, 1885, The San Francisco Examiner reported, “A very good move has been set on foot in the interest of art in Chicago by a number of gentlemen who propose to arrange for an exhibition of works in distemper, the contributors to be exclusively scenic artists. The exhibition will be held at Louderback & Co.’s galleries, No. 215 Wabash avenue, Chicago, commencing September 22d, and continuing for two weeks. The pictures are to be all original, but there is no restriction to subject, and they must all be sent in not later than September 15th. The managing committee includes the names of David Strong, John Mazzanovich, Ernest Albert, Walter Burridge, Thomas Moses, Henry Tryon, George Dayton, Charles Ritter, John Young, and William Petford. The art of scene painting has in these days reached a very high plane, and probably its results gratify even a greater number of people than those who visit art galleries. Such an exhibition as that indicated in the above announcement will assuredly contain many very interesting examples, as in addition to the painters whose names appear as members of the committee, there will probably be contributions from the brushes of Marston, Clare, Voegtlin, Goatcher, Hoyt, Witham, Halley, Duflocq, Roberts, Merry, and many others – Chicago News Letter “(page 7).
On Sept. 7, 1885, the Detroit Free Press reported, “Robert Hopkin is at work on two water colors, which he will send to the scenic artists’ art exhibition at Chicago. All contributions to this exhibit must be in by the 15th inst., and all must be painted in distemper color – scene painting fashion. The show promises to be one which will create a considerable excitement in art circles, as the best artists in America will contribute” (page 5).
On Sept. 26, 1885, The Inter Ocean published an article about the opening of the exhibition entitled, “American Scenic Artists. Exhibition in Chicago” (page 16). The article continued:
“During the coming week at the Louderback Galleries, No. 215 Wabash avenue, will be held a novel exhibition in a collection of aquarelle painted by American scenic artists. The galleries could not be better for the purpose, being the best lighted in the city, and when the public leave the walls covered with gems of scenic art they will think more of the scenic artists and their woks than they did before – not as they supposed, coarse whitewashers and daubers in general. In holding the exhibition in Chicago, it not only reflects credit on the artists, but will give the art patrons a chance to secure some bits worthy of galleries of a Corcoran or a Vanderbilt. Among the artists can be found the following: Matt Morgan, of Cincinnati; John Rettig, of Cincinnati; Farney, of Cincinnati; R. Hopkin, of Detroit; W. P. Davis and Graham, of Kansas City; Harly Merry of Flatbush, L. I.; Henry Hoyt, New York; Phillip Goatcher, Wallack’s Theatre, New York; William Voegtlin, New York; Getz, Boston; LaMoss, Boston. The local scenic artists have formed themselves a committee, and it is the intention if successful with this exhibition, the inaugural, to hold it annually.”
John Moran also wrote an article about the exhibit that was published in “Art Union, a Monthly Magazine of Art” (Vol. 2, No. 4, 1885, p. 85). Here is his article in its entirety:
“The Scene Painters’ Show. Chicago, October 12th, 1885.
The first Exhibition of Water Colors by American Scenic Artists has been open free to the public for some weeks past, in this city, and the eighty-four examples hung on the walls of Messrs. Louderback & Co.’s galleries include some praiseworthy and valuable works. Such a collection proves that the broad pictorial treatment requisite for adequate stage effect does not incapacitate a man for the finer and more delicate manipulation essential to good aquarelles, and shows, moreover, a healthy progressive spirit among scenic artists. The name of Matt Morgan has long been gratefully familiar to us, and he is represented by diverse and facile contributions. “Alone in the Forest Shade” (1), shows lumbermen with their load descending a wild ravine flanked on either side by towering pines. The feeling of solitude and gloom is forcibly conveyed, and the tree forms and foliage broadly yet carefully handled. “The Lost Comrade” (27), and “Waiting for Death” (14), are strong and weird aspects of prairies life, the former representing a horseman, lasso in hand, who has come upon the skeletons of a horse and rider among the pampas grass, and the latter a bull calf standing over the moribund body of a cow, striving with futile bellow to keep advancing wolves at bay. A nude figure, “The New Slave” (71), standing expectantly against a rich low-toned drapery, is exquisite in drawing and color and charmingly beautiful in suggestion. Mr. Walter Burridge runs the gamut of landscape figure and decoration and is good in all! His “Spring” (9), “Autumn Leaves” (39), and “Old Mill” (49), are deftly washed-in landscapes, true to nature and aerial in quality, while “My Assistant” (16), a study of behind the scenes life, and a “Ninety Minute Sketch” (83), of his friend Mr. Ernest Albert, show character and a nice sense of texture. Mr. Ernest Albert’s “Winter Twilight” (12), is full of sentiment of the season and excellent in composition, and his “October Morning” (31), “moonrise” (40), “Sunset” (79), and “Autumn” (80), are severally individual as transcripts and prove his mastery over the vehicle he uses. “A Decorative Flower Piece” (84), by the same artist, groups of roses, pansies and forget-me-nots in a most artistic and harmonious manner. “Nobody’s Claim, Col.” (65) and “Near Racine, Wis.” (76) By Mr. Thomas G. Moses, are among his best examples and are freely treated and with fidelity to locale character and sky effects. Mr. Albert Operti gives us some reminiscences of his Lapland tour in 1884, which are realistic and worthy, and Mr. J. Hendricks Young, “A Busy Day on Chicago River” (38), which together with the local bits by Mr. Moses, Mr. C. E. Petford and Mr. Burridge, is of historical value as it is skillfully painted. “Rats, you Terrier” (59), by the same hand, is a “snappy” and bright treatment of a dog’s head and fully catches the spirit of the English. Mr. Henry C. Tryon’s “Source of the Au Sable” (34), powerfully conveys a sense of somberness and grandeur, and though ample in detail loses nothing of the vastness and breadth, which such a landscape motion calls for. Other works deserving of notice are Messrs. George Dayton, Sr., George Dayton, Jr., the late L. Malmsha, C. Boettger, Chas. Ritter, H. Buhler and John Howell Wilson, whose “Country Road” (76” is especially fresh, verdurous and bright. It is to be hoped that this is only the forerunner of many like exhibitions and it marks a decided growth in the national art spirit.”
I have identified thirty scenic artists who participated in 1885 exhibition, piecing together their names from various articles. Here is the list, with their location in 1885. In some cases, I was able to indicate a primary employer, partner, or place of work.
Ernest Albert, Chicago, Chicago Opera House
C. Boettger, Chicago, Sosman & Landis
H. E. Burcky, Chicago, Olympic Theatre
H. Buhler, Chicago, Sosman & Landis
Walter Burridge, Chicago, Grand Opera House
William P. Davis, Kansas City, Graham & Davis
George W. Dayton, Sr., Chicago, Sosman & Landis
George W. Dayton, Jr., Chicago, Sosman & Landis
H. F. Farny, Cincinnati, Pike’s Opera House
Charles S. Getz, Boston, Boston Theatre
Phillip Goatcher, New York City, Wallack’s Theatre
Lemuel L. Graham, Kansas City, Graham & Davis
Robert Hopkin, Detroit, William H. Power shows
Henry E. Hoyt, New York, Park, Casino and Star Theatres
Edward La Moss, Boston, Boston Museum (as assistant to T. B. Glessing)
Louis Malmsha Chicago, McVicker’s (passed in 1882)
J. Mazzanovich, Chicago, McVicker’s Theatre (with Rogers)
Harley Merry, Flatbush, L. I. Casino Theatre NY
Matt Morgan, Cincinnati
Thomas G. Moses, Chicago, Sosman & Landis
Albert Operti, New York City
C. E. Petford, Chicago, Columbia Theatre
John Rettig, Cincinnati
Charles Ritter, Chicago, Sosman & Landis and Hooley’s
J. Howard Rogers, Chicago, McVicker’s (with Mazzanovich)
David Strong, Chicago, Sosman & Landis and Haverly’s
Henry C. Tryon, Chicago, Sosman & Landis and Columbia Theatre (with Petford)
William Voegtlin, New York
John Howell Wilson, Indianapolis, Grand Opera House
John H. Young, Chicago, Sosman & Landis
Nine of those listed above were working at Sosman & Landis in 1885. Two were former employees, who had just left the firm to establish their own studio in Kansas City (Graham & Davis).
More than one-third of the participants in the first American Scenic Artists Exhibit worked for Sosman & Landis between 1884 and 1885.
Thomas G. Moses left Sosman & Landis in late-May 1882. He had been with the firm for a little more than two years. During this short period of time, Sosman & Landis had greatly increased their staff and productivity. Their primary work included stock scenery collections and drop curtains. Many of the drop curtains included local business cards surrounding a central landscape. In other words, they were painting advertising curtains.
Pencil sketch of an ad drop design. Twin City Scenic Co. collection. University of Minnesota Libraries, Performing Arts Archives.
In 1880 Moses wrote, “My first work was to go to Kenosha, Wisconsin and start the first job of scenery that Sosman and Landis ever did. Up to this job they had been doing nothing by advertising drop curtains.”
By 1883, the firm was reliant upon delivering multiples. For example, a number of their drop curtains depicted the same, or very similar design. Popular subjects at this time were Roman chariot races, Venetian seascapes, and Alpine landscapes.
Moses soon became tired with the repetitive nature of the projects. That year wrote “1882 found me just as restless to do something big, and I drifted along with the regular work, until about May, when Graham’s Theatre season closed. We got together and I quit the firm after refusing a big salary – that is, for me.” At the time, Moses was making $26 a week, but had been picking up extra work with Lemuel L. Graham (1845-1914) at the Academy of Music and Standard Theatre in Chicago. Graham also worked for Sosman & Landis, but always maintained a theatre affiliation.
At the end of May 1882 Moses partnered with Graham, establishing Moses & Graham, scenic artists. This may have been in the works for a while as when the two painted scenery for Sosman & Landis at the Minneapolis Academy of Music in 1881, they also went by title Moses & Graham. Graham had at least eleven years more experience than Moses, having painted all across the country. In fact, Graham had trained with some of the best artists in San Francisco, Cleveland, Memphis, and New Orleans before settling in Chicago.
Moses & Graham quickly landed a series of projects, becoming immediate competition with Sosman & Landis. From May 1882 until March 1883, their projects included: the Academy of Music in Kalamazoo, Michigan; Redmond’s Opera House in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Blake Opera House and Belle City Opera House in Racine, Wisconsin; the Opera House in Marengo, Illinois; the Grand Opera House in Eau Claire, Wisconsin; and the Opera House in Burlington, Wisconsin.
Scenery installations completed by Moses & Graham between May 1882 and May 1883.
Moses & Graham added scenic artist, John H. Young to their team, when they were in Grand Rapids. Moses had previously worked with Young early on in his career and the two were close friends. Young remained with team, assisting in Racine, Marengo, Eau Claire and Burlington. Three skilled scenic artists meant that Moses & Graham were able to work on multiple projects, hiring local assistants when needed. They quickly became direct competitors with Sosman & Landis.
It was only a matter of time before Moses & Graham went after the same project at Sosman & Landis. It is important to remember that after two years, Moses intimately understood his former employer’s designs, bidding process, and profit margin; this put him at quite an advantage when the two bid on the same job in Wisconsin. Both arrived in town in late March 1883. On March 23, The Osh Kosh Northwestern announced Perry Landis’ arrival in Osh Kosh at the Revere and Oak Bros.” (p. 1). Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I went to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, after a contract. I met Mr. Landis there. I got the contract. We rode to Chicago together and met Mr. Sosman on our arrival. We were offered $45.00 a week. I wired Graham at Burlington. He answered $50.00 and extras. We closed for that.” $50 in 1883 is the equivalent of almost $1700 today. Moses’ salary at Sosman & Landis almost doubled between September 1881 and March 1883.
This amount needs to be put in context, as it signals a new level of appreciation by Sosman & Landis. When Sosman first hired Moses in 1880, it was for $18 a week. This salary was increased to $20 a week during the spring of 1881. By the fall of 1881, Moses’ salary was again increased to $26/week. However, this was still far below the average scenic art rate of $35-$45 a week.
Moses and Graham’s return to Sosman & Landis caused a bit of a stir with the Osh Kosh Opera House Committee. On April 4, 1883, the Oshkosh Northwestern reported, “Graham & Moses, who were awarded the contract for furnishing curtains, scenery and stage settings for the Opera House have notified that they withdrew their bid and decline the contract. On receipt of this also comes a notification from Sosman & Landis, who also bid on the job to the effect that they have employed Graham & Moses in their establishment and are asking that the contract be awarded them in accordance with their bid. It appears that there were only two bids in for the work, that of Graham & Moses and one from Sosman & Lands. The latter’s bid was about $700 larger than that of Graham & Moses, and, now it would seem the two firms have fixed it up, so as to try and have the contract awarded at a greater amount. The directors are now talking of giving the contract to other parties entirely and not letting either of those firms get a finger in it” (page 4).
After completing Osh Kosh scenery project in April, Moses wrote, “May 1st found Graham, Young, and Myself back on Clark Street at the Sosman & Landis Studio. I averaged $70.00 per week, as we had a lot of night work, mostly piece work. We had to do all the road work which I didn’t like. Ed Loitz joined the force this year.” This was a far cry from the $18/week that Sosman offered Moses in 1880.
For context: $70/week in 1883 is approximately $2250/week today. This means that Moses’ monthly earning of $280/month is the equivalent of $10,000/month today.
Sosman & Landis were enjoying an extremely high profit margin. Throughout the 1880s, the firm maintained a 45% profit margin, or more. To look at their work in a larger picture, I am going to examine the price of a drop curtain at this time. In 1884, Sosman & Landis placed a bid on a drop curtain for the Masonic Temple in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They were one of five scenic studios bidding on the project. The other four were Noxon, Halley & Toomey, Moses & Co, E. B. Fickes, and Kover & Son.
Their bids were published in The Fort Wayne Sentinel on May 21, 1884:
Noxon, Halley & Toomey, St. Louis, $1,800; Sosman & Landis, Chicago, $1,800; Moses & Co., Kalamazoo, $1,550; E. B. Fickes, $1537; Kover & Son, Cincinnati, $1,500.
The project went to the lowest bidder, Kover, who was former Fort Wayne resident.
Thomas C. Noxon also commented on the average price of drop curtains that year. On January 21, 1884, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an article entitled, “Curtain and Scene Painting. The Leading Artists of the Country and the Prices Paid for Their Work” (page 8). Noxon, Albert & Toomey had just delivered a new drop curtain to the Grand Opera House in St. Louis. The reporter queried, “What does a new drop curtain cost?” Noxon replied, “About $500 or $600.”
When asked about how long a drop curtain too to paint, Noxon responded, “All the way from two or three days to five or six weeks. I painted a drop for Tootle’s Opera House, Sedalia. Some years ago, in two and one-half days and got $500 for it, but an artist now seldom turns out a piece of work of this kind in less than three weeks. He can put in much time on it with a great deal of profit.”
Even if one used a timeframe of three weeks, with Moses’ salary of $50/week, that means that the labor for the drop curtain was $150, plus materials. If you factor in materials, shipping, and installation at another $100, that is still less than half for a $500 curtain. So is we look at the 1884 bids for $1500 and $1600, you can see how there could be a significant profit margin for this work.
When asked about the price of stocking a theatre with new scenery, Noxon responded, “From $2,000 to $3,500” for approximately thirty-five sets, “enough for putting on any legitimate piece.” This price did not include a new drop curtain, a piece that was almost as expensive as all of the other scenery combined.
Between 1883 and 1884, Sosman & Landis was becoming a well-oiled machine with standard operating procedures. Salesman travelled the region and landed contracts. Scenic artists and stage carpenters were sent on site to complete many stock scenery collections. Distance, venue, existing scenery, and timeline were all taken into consideration when factoring the various options of location and manufacture. The final decision was based timeline, workload, and available space, in the main studio on Clark Street in Chicago.
Regardless of whether the work was completed in the studio or on site, it often took place place over the span of a few weeks. Some of the more complicated scenes, such as drop curtains, were frequently painted in the studio, shipped to the locations where the accompanying stock scenery was being painted on site.
Once a stock scenery collection was completed, Sosman & Landis made a point of displaying their work under stage lights to a small group of local individuals; a group that almost always included a local reporter. This “sneak peak” of the scenery received a big write up in local newspapers with scenery described in detail. These articles provide great insight into what the firm was delivering to stages across the country.
I located a wonderful article describing scenery painted by Sosman & Landis employee, H. J. Buhler, for Myer’s Opera House in Janesville, Wisconsin. On Oct. 23, 1883, the Janesville Daily Gazette announced Buhler’s arrival: “Mr. H. J. Buhler, of Sosman & Landis studio, Chicago, arrived in the city yesterday afternoon to begin the work of painting new scenery for Myers opera house” (page 4). The article continued, “There has been a great improvement made of late in stage decorations, and standing at the front of artists in this line are Sosman & Landis. They have within the past year or so painted scenery for many of the largest theaters in the west…Mr. Buhler, who has been commissioned to do the work, is an artist of rare skill in that line. The decorations in many of the principal opera houses in the west are by his brush. He thoroughly understands the tendency of modern art as applied to the scenic department, and will do some excellent work. It will take him about two weeks to complete the work and will be engaged both day and night.”
On Nov. 12, 1883, The Janesville Daily Gazette described Buhler’s progress and the scenery (page 3). The article reported:
“Mr. H. J. Buhler from the scenic studio of Sosman & Landis, Chicago, show has been engaged in painting new scenery for Myers Opera House more than two weeks past, will finish the work on Wednesday of this week. To-morrow evening, Mr. Buhler will arrange different stage settings which will show the general character of the work done by him. This will be done for the accommodation of the press of the city. Among the pieces executed by Mr. Buhler are two tormentors and two tormentor wings, and a grand drapery border 12 feet wide by 25 feet long. The scene includes a kitchen set, a plain chamber set, a prison set, a handsome box parlor set of Modern Eastlake ebony comprising two pairs of flats and four wings and borders to match. It is one of the finest box parlor sets to be found in any theater or opera house in this state, and is beautifully decorated with bric-a-brac, armor, plaques, and so on. There is also a Louis 14th gothic set which is also very beautiful. The landscape paintings embrace a country landscape; a dark wood scene; a rocky pass taken from Yellowstone park; a set house, vases, and balustrade. There is also an ancient street scene taken from Strasburg, and is, in all respects, a very effective scene. One of the finest scenes among the large collection which ornaments the stage of the opera house, is an ocean set, which is a splendid piece of marine painting. Very many of these sets and scenes will be used for the first time on Thursday night when Miss Anna Dickinson will produce Anne Boleyn. Mr. Buhler has kindly consented to remain here that night an arrange the scenery for the play. A new drop curtain, a very elegant one, costing not less than $200, has been ordered by Mr. Meyers, and will be painted in Chicago. There is now four times more scenery in Myer’s opera house than ever before, and aside from the quantity, ion artistic merit it is not excelled by that of any other opera house in Wisconsin. Messrs. Sosman & Landis have a wide reputation as scenic painters and have decorated many of the leading theaters and opera houses in the west, and they have served Mr. Myers well and have done a good public service, by sending Mr. Buhler here to furnish the opera house with new scenery. He is a thorough artist, and having made scenery a specialty for years, he was, in every particular, fully competent for the task. He is a rapid workman and a genius in his line. The public will be surprised on Thursday evening to learn the great quantity of fine scenery he has turned out in so short a time. Every single piece is a credit to the artist, and a great advantage to the opera house.”
If Buhler were paid the same amount as Moses and Graham in 1883, he earned less than $300 for the project. By 1882, the studio employed a staff of five scenic artists.
By the summer of 1883, Sosman & Landis’ staff included: Thomas G. Moses, Lemuel L. Graham, John H. Young, Edward Loitz, William P. Davis, Henry C. Barrow, Harry J. Buhler, Edward Morange, Hardesty Maratta, Charles S. King, Cyrus M. Crouse, C. W. Corey and August Kreis. The staff continued to increase over the next year, as the studio’s workload continued to increase. David A. Strong, Henry C. Tryon, Charles E. Boyer, Claude Hagen, and C. D. Baker were associated with the firm by 1884.
I have identified six ways that Sosman & Landis secured scenic and stage work at this time. I will explain each way.
1. The first way was local advertisements, placed in newspapers across the country. They received orders from a variety of entertainment venues this way, many of them mail order.
As noted in my previous post, here is the same advertisement that appeared in both Ohio and Texas newspapers during 1882:
Advertisement in Cincinnati Enquirer, April 15, 1882.
2. The second way was sending salesmen from town to town; this was to making cold calls today. Many of the “salesmen” were intimately familiar with the design and mechanical requirements of a stage, also filling in as scenic artists and stage carpenters. In many cases, the salesmen focused on the sale of advertising curtains (drop curtains with ad spaces for local businesses). After collection payments from local businesses for an ad space, the drop was gifted to the community. Ultimately, their “ad drop” was so successful that it resulted in stock scenery work.
3. The third way was word of mouth. As the firm gained a national reputation, their scenery was sought after by theater managers who became familiar with their work. For example, Manager Mosely recommend Sosman & Landis for the project at Myer’s Opera House in Janesville, Wisconsin (Janesville Daily Gazette 23 Oct. 1883, page 4).
4. The fourth way was using their employee’s networks. For example, they targeted venues with an employee’s scenery, offering to “redeliver” new scenery for the stage. This familiarity with a particular individual and their work helped Sosman & Landis reach into new areas. As with establishing regional branches, local connections mattered. The firm immediately established regional offices in Dallas, Kansas City, Detroit, New York, and Cincinnati by the mid-1880s. For Cooke’s Opera House in Grayville, Illinois, the settings were installed by employee August Kreis, a machinist who spent his childhood in the area. On June 22, 1883, Evansville Courier and Press reported, “The scenery which is very elegant was painted by Messrs. Sosman & Landis of Chicago. The settings and its stage were arranged by Mr. August Kreis, a Grayville boy, and shows taste and skill” (page 4). Over the years, Sosman was also remembered as “a Macomb boy,” despite having left the area decades ago. These histories greatly mattered when competing for work in small towns and rural areas.
5. The fifth way was responding to call for bids on an upcoming project. These were also instances where local ties could sway a vote. On Saturday, August 30, 1884, the Chicago Tribune published an announcement from the Academy of Music in Saginaw, Michigan (page 15). It was a call for “Sealed Proposals” on upcoming theatre work. The announcement stated, “Sealed Proposals will be received till 12 o’clock noon Sept. 1 for the following work on the new Academy of Music at East Saginaw, Mich.:
1st – Work and materials to complete the private boxes and proscenium front according to plans and detail drawings.
2nd – Scenic and stage work.
3rd – Carpets, draperies, matting, and window shades.
4th – Brass-work, tiling, and material trimming
5th – Decorating
6th – Gas-fixtures and electric lighting of same
7th – Interior painting, gilding, and bronzing
Proposals will be received for the whole or any part of the above work.
Proposals to be sent to E. H. Morely, East Saginaw, Mich. Committee reserve the right to reject any or all proposals. Plans, specifications, and detail drawings can be seen till Saturday, Aug. 30, at 111 and 113 Wabash-av. Inquire for B. W. Wood. Architect to be consulted as to the colors, etc.
(signed, J. M. Wood” (page 15)
Earlier that year, Wood had become lessee of the Blake hotel, of Racine (The Daily Journal and Republican 28 May 1884, page 4). He would go on to form a brief association with Sosman and Landis, known as Sosman, Landis, & Wood. Having an employee with architectural experience was key.
6. The sixth way was establishing an affiliation with a particular theatre architect. In addition to Co. J. M. Wood, Sosman & Landis employees H. C. Barrow. Barrow had experience as a stage carpenter, scenic artist, architect, contractor, and salesman. In many ways, he was a jack-of-all-trades; certainly as asset to the firm. Over the years, Sosman & Landis would form alliances with regional architects, but also offer their own architectural services for the construction of stage houses. In fact, they later offered free stage houses designs, if their scenery was installed at the venue. This was a wonderful way to ensure that the stage machinery was in working order when the scenery arrived for installation.
Below is a list from 1883-1884 mentioning the firm’s sales, work and installations. In some cases, a specific individual employed by the firm is named, and his work described in detail. Please consider this a small sampling of their work. In 1884, the firm was credited with delivering scenery to 150 opera houses. In 1889, the firm was credited with delivering scenery to 1000 opera houses across the United Stated. In 1894, the firm was credited to delivering scenery to 4000 opera houses. No one could compete with their track record. Sosman & Landis was a firm known all across the country, greatly respected for their high-quality of scenic art, mechanical innovation, and their consistency to deliver an excellent product.
ALABAMA
Gadsden, 1884 – Opera House (Corey, stage carpenter)
ARKANSAS
Fort Smith, 1883 – Academy of Music (Barrow, salesman)
Little Rock, 1883 – Capital Opera House (Barrow, salesman)
On August 12, 1883, the Daily Arkansas Gazette reported, “The Capital Opera house is to have a new drop curtain immediately. The scene to be represented upon it is that grand old conception of the Roman chariot race, and when completed the curtain will be one of the finest in the state. Mr. H. C. Barrow, representing Sosman & Landis, of Chicago, at whose studio the work is being done, is in the city, and states that he also has orders for the curtain for the Pine Bluff Opera house, the Fort Smith Academy of Music, the Van Buren theater and Ghio’s at Texarkana.”
Pine Bluff, 1883 – Opera House (Barrow, salesman)
Texarkana, 1883 – Ghio’s at Texarkana (Barrow, salesman)
Van Buren, 1883 – Opera House (Barrow, salesman)
GEORGIA
Columbus, 1884 – Springer Opera House
On June 4, 1886, the Columbus Enquirer Sun reported, “Mr. H. C. Barrow, of Chicago, was in the city yesterday, endeavoring to secure the contract to place the new scenery in Springer Opera House. Manger Foley has not given him an answer to his proposition yet.”
ILLINOIS
Bloomington, 1884 – Durley Theatre
Chicago, 1884 – Standard Theatre
On Jan. 13, 1884, the Chicago Tribune reported, “The painting is by Sosman & Landis, and everything, from the elegant new curtain to the smallest property, is thoroughly first class…The scenery is beautiful and effective and elicits the admiration not only of the audience, but of the theatrical profession as well. It was done by the Sosman & Landis Scenic Studio, 277 and 279 South Clark Street, a firm who have almost a National reputation for artistic work. They are now putting scenery in the new Lyceum Theatre, and during last season put scenery in the new Gillis Opera-House, Kansas City, Mo., and a number of others, besides supplying upwards of 150 smaller opera houses and halls” (page 6).
Chicago, 1884 – Lyceum Theatre
Decatur, 1883 – Opera House (Graham and Young, scenic artists)
On June 27, 1883, the Decatur Daily Republican reported, “Mr. John H. Young, the water color artist of Chicago, has arrived in the city and will form a class on Thursday afternoon of this week for th purpose of giving instruction in making sketches from nature. Mr. Young may be found either at the opera house where he is engaged painting scenery, or at Drake’s Hotel. The artist will give lessons on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons each week during his stay of four weeks in Decatur.”
Grayville, 1883 – Cooke’s Opera House (Kreis, installer).
Streator, 1883 – Plumb Opera House (Strong, scenic artist).
On July 29, 1883, The Daily Commonwealth of Topeka, Kansas, announced that the house was rapidly approaching completion, and when finished it would be “one of the prettiest in the West.”
Joliet, 1883 – Opera House (Strong, scenic artist).
On July 7, 1883, The Ottawa Free Trader credited Strong as the scenic artist (p. 5)
Aurora, 1883 – Opera House (Strong, scenic artist).
On June 24, 1883, The Inter Ocean reported that David A. Strong “had painted a fine drop curtain for the Opera House at Aurora. He will go to Aurora and devote his attention to the scenery of that house during the present week. The Opera House is to be remodeled and put in shape for first-class attractions” (page 13).
Decatur, 1883 – Opera House (Graham and Young, scenic artists).
On July 28, 1883, The Herald-Dispatch reported “The exhibition of the new scenery at the opera house last evening was highly satisfactory. The favored few who were present saw even better scenery that they had expected. The drop curtain is a copy of Jerome’s celebrated painting of the Roman chariot race. The ‘back drops’ included the following scenes: an ideal mountain landscape’ a ‘palace drop,’ which is really the scene under the dome of St. Peter’s cathedral at London; a ‘palace arch drop,’ which is used in connection with the foregoing and to give it a changed appearance; a ‘marine drop,’ presenting a pretty sea view. The ‘flats’ include the following views: a dark wood, a light landscape, a palace garden, a street in perspective, a modern drawing room, a rustic kitchen, a prison and a plain chamber. All these scenes have the requisite borders and wings. Below is given a list of what the painters call ‘set stuff,’ i.e. pieces which are placed in stage alone and braced, not being made to run in grooves or drop from above. The list embraces a garden walk, a garden balustrade, a ‘set house,’ a ‘set cottage,’ ‘set waters,’ ‘set rocks’ and ‘set trees.’ L. L. Graham, the scenic artist, has been engaged in this work for three weeks. He has been assisted by John H. Young, of Chicago. Mr. Graham has had 17 years of experience in this line of painting. He and his assistant left last night for Chicago, whence they go to do the same kind of work at Boyd’s opera house in Omaha, and finally at the New Gillis opera house in Kansas City, the largest in the west, which has just been built at a cost of $175,000. Of Mr. Graham’s work in the opera house, we need only speak briefly, His work shows that he has greatly improved during the years since he painted the former scenery. In the painting of his landscape views, he is almost perfect. The coloring is natural, and the lights and shades are arranged with an artistic taste. In the painting of animal, however, he is not so happy. Two of the horses’ heads in the scene on the drop are perceptibly ‘off’ in shape, but with this exception the view seems perfect. He is accurate and painstaking in his views of house, streets, palaces and gardens. We of Decatur are to be congratulated that he has come among us, for his work on the opera house scenery will give to the drama enacted there this year a realism and vividness which we have never heretofore known” (page 3).
INDIANA
Edinburgh, 1883 – Tracy’s Opera House
On Dec. 6, 1883, The Edinburg Daily Courier reported, “grand and magnificent scenery, gotten up by Messrs. Sosman & Landis, of Chicago” (page 4).
IOWA
Waterloo, 1884 – E. W. Burnham’s new Opera House (Strong, scenic artist).
On October 8, 1884, The Courier reported, “A Splendid Job. – E. W. Burnham yesterday showed us the new drop curtain which he has just received for the opera house. It is from the studio of Sosman & Landis, of Chicago, where the rest of the new scenery is being made and was painted by Strong the scenic artist of Haverly’s theatre. In artistic design and execution, this curtain can hardly be excelled in any city theatre, It represented a Swiss River scene as a picture, framed in a heavy frame, with handsome velvet curtain on each side. The combination of colors makes a rich and very beautiful effect and the whole curtain displays great artistic excellence” (page 8).
KANSAS
Sabetha, 1884 – Armory
On Jan. 3, 1884, the Sabetha Weekly Herald announced, “Sosman & Landis have agreed to positively have the scenery into position, at the Armory, by the 15th.” Then, as now, not all jobs ran smoothly, or were delivered on time. Over the years, scenery was both damaged and lost in transit. Occasionally, these unfortunate incidents results in court cases. As previously stated, the average profit was so high that they could afford to take a loss, without having to waste time on expensive court cases. That being said, demand for painted scenery was greater than the supply of artists or studio, giving the firm an upper hand in negotiations.
Sabetha, 1883 – GAR Hall
On Dec. 6, 1883, the Nemaha County Republican reported, “The scenery for the stage has been contracted from Sosman & Landis, of Chicago. It will be about the same as used at Seneca, except the drop curtain, which will be much finer” (page 7).
Seneca, 1883 – Opera House
Topeka, 1884 – Union Hall
Wyandotte, 1883 – Dunning’s Hall
On May 17, 1883, The Wyandotte Herald reported, “The scenery and drop curtain were painted by Sosman & Landis of Chicago” (page 3).
MASSACHUSETTS
Haverhill, 1884 – Music Hall (scenic artist, Tryon).
On August, 2, 1884, the Deseret News of Salt Lake City, Utah, reported, “Henry C. Tryon, formerly scenic artist of the Salty Lake Theatre, whose productions are so much admired by the theatre-going public of this city, lately executed a splendid specimen of his skill at the Music Hall in Haverhill, Mass. It is in the form of a new drop curtain, the subject being a scene at Bellagio, on Lake Como, Italy. The Haverhill Gazette asserts confidently that ‘a more artistic production of its kind does not now hang behind the proscenium of any theatre in the country.’ It must be indeed superb if it excels the curtain executed by the same artist for the Salt Lake Theatre, which delights all who look on it with artistic eyes.” (page 2).
MISSISSIPPI
Vicksburg, 1884 – New opera house (Corey and Barrow, stage carpenter and scenic artist).
On July 10, 1884, The Vicksburg Herald reported, “Mr. Henry C. Barrow, scenic artist representing the big scenery house of Sosman & Landis, of Cincinnati, arrived here yesterday, to contact with Messrs. Piazza & Botto, proprietors of the opera-house, for a new set of scenery for that building” (page 4).
Aberdeen, 1884 – Masonic Temple Opera Hall (Corey).
On Sept 19, 1884, The Vicksburg Herald reported, “The Opera-house. Messrs. Piazza & Botto, proprietors of the Opera-house have determined to send to Chicago for the stage carpenter to put up the stage settings. A man was telegraphed from some days ago and he is expected to arrive here this morning and will begin work at once putting up the scenery and arranging the house for the opening of the season. The drop curtain will be a new departure in this vicinity. In the center of it will be handsomely painted a beautiful landscape while surrounding this will be twenty spaces which will be devoted to advertising, the lettering on the advertisements will be tastefully and handsomely done by the best of scenic artists. Only about five of the twenty spaces which compose the inner border of the curtain remain untaken, and these will be filled to-day and the curtain will be ordered at once” (page 4).
On Sept. 23, 1884, the Vicksburg Evening Post reported, “Mr. Charles W. Corey of Chicago, the stage carpenter engaged by Messrs. Piazza & Botto, arrived by this morning’s train. He is much pleased with the appearance and arrangement of the new Opera-house, and says it will make decidedly one of the handsomest places of amusement in the South. He says it is one of the nicest arranged places for an Opera-house he has seen elsewhere in the South. Mr. Corey will proceed with work at once, and says that there will be no delay whatever from now on in pushing the work to a rapid and satisfactory completion. The managers of the Opera-house state that Mr. Corey has a big reputation as a stage carpenter, and that they are charmed with his favorable opinion of the house, because his opinion is that of a man who has splendid experience in such matters and knows what he is speaking about” (page 1).
On October 24, 1884, The Vicksburg Herald reported, “Mr. Frank Corey, the stage carpenter has about finished his labors on the new opera-house and yesterday hung the new drop curtain, which can double discount the old one with greatest safety. A richly painted border in fancy colors, surrounds a fine representation of the noted Roman chariot race, and majestic horses being defected near life size in the canvas and appearing as natural as the brush held by an artistic painter who did this work. The delicate shadowing is done beautifully and the richly folded draperies surrounding the grand stand from which the Roman emperor of old is represented as viewing the race, set-off to advantage the fine figures as they are grouped together in the stand. Altogether the scene is a thrilling one, beautifully done, and the eyes of those frequenting opera-house will invariable rest on it with uninterrupted pleasure” (page 4).
MISSOURI
Kansas City, 1883 – New Gillis Opera House (stage carpenter, Hagen, with scenic artists Graham, Young).
NEBRASKA
Fremont, 1884 – Bullock’s Opera House
On June 18, 1884, the Fremont Tri-Weekly Tribune reported, “The drop curtain is 25 feet square and was painted in Chicago by Sosman & Landis; there are seven new sets of scenery and a Saunders gas machine with 12 border and 12 footlights to illuminate the stage” (page 7).
Omaha, 1883 – Boyd’s Opera House (Graham and Young, scenic artists).
NEW YORK
Delhi, 1884 – Opera House
On July 2, 1884, the Delhi DelawareGazette reported, “The following is a list of the stage supplies, ordered from Sosman & Landis, of Chicago, the largest house of its kind in America: An elegant and artistic drop curtain; parlor scene; kitchen scene; plain chamber scene; prison scene; wood scene; garden scene; street scene; 2 front wings’ 6 parlor wings; 6 kitchen wings; 6 wood wings; 1 grand drapery border’ 3 sky borders; 1 set cottage; 3 set rocks; 1 set bridge; 2 set balustrades; 2 set garden vases. The building will be completed about the middle of August, and the grand opening will occur about the 1st of September” (page 3). All told, Sosman & Landis delivered a drop curtain and 7 complete sets, with 43 pieces (Oct. 1, 1884 in Delhi Daily Gazette).
PENNSYLVANIA
Irwin, 1884 – Opera House
On Jan. 2, 1884, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, “The stage scenery came from the popular firm of Sosman & Landis, Chicago” (page 8).
Tunkhannock, 1883 – Opera House
On Oct. 19, 1883, the Tunkhannock Republican reported, “The manager of the Opera House, F. H. Piatt…has ordered new scenery from Sosman & Landis, well known scenic artists of Chicago, which he expects to put up soon” (page 3).
TEXAS
Austin, 1883 – Opera House
On July 5, 1883, Austin American-Statesman reported, “Mr. H. C. Barrow, from the celebrated scenic studio of Sosman & Landis, Chicago, was in our city yesterday for the purpose of consummating arrangements with Manager Millett for additional scenery to the already large stock of his opera house” (page 4).
Burnett, 1884 – New Opera House
On March 11, 1884, the Austin American-Standard reported, “Messrs. Sosman & Landis of Chicago, are painting the scenery for our new opera house” (page 1).
Dallas, 1884- Opera House (Barrow, salesman).
On Aug. 20, 1884, The Herald announced, “Henry C. Barrow, scenic agent, and opera-house architect and contractor, is in the city” (page 4).
Fort Worth, 1884 – Opera House (Barrow, salesman).
On May 19, 1884, The Fort Worth Daily Gazette identifies Henry C. Barrow as “opera-house architect, and contractor, of Dallas” (page 8)
Galveston, 1884 – Opera House (Barrow, salesman).
On June 3, 1884, The Galveston Daily News reported, “H. C. Barrows, scenic agent, of Chicago, is in the city, and gave THE NEWS a call yesterday. He comes to put in a bid for refitting the Opera House” (page 8).
Jefferson, 1883 – Taylor Opera House (Barrow, scenic artist).
On March 1, 1883, the Tri-Weekly Herald reported, “Mr. H. C. Barrows, scenic artist from Chicago, just has completed for the Taylor Opera House, in Jefferson, one of the handsomest stages and scenery to be found in Texas. There are fifteen scenes in all, embracing two beautiful drop curtains, ten regular scenes, and a number of set pieces, set house, garden wall, balustrades, &c. Mr. B. has also done some beautiful frescoing on the Proscenium front, In company with a number of Jefferson gentlemen, we visited the Taylor Hall yesterday morning, all of whom were delighted with the work. It cannot be excelled in artistic finish, completeness and excellence of prospective, equaling the best scenery in large cities. Mr. Barrow has just completed Ghio’s Opera Hall, at Texarkana, and is likely to capture every place he goes to where stage scenery is required. It is admirable. We repeat: there has been nothing like it in Texas before Mr. B.’s advent” (page 2).
On March 6, 1883, the Tri-Weekly Herald reported, “Mr. H. C. Barrow with Sosman & Landis scenic studio, of Chicago, Ill. Is here and will soon refit our opera house with a full set of scenery and new drop curtain with advertisement of our leading business firms painted thereon” (p. 3).
Marshall, 1883 – Opera House (Barrow, scenic artist).
WISCONSIN
Janesville, 1883 – Myer’s Opera House (Buhler, scenic artist).
Oshkosh, 1883 – Opera House (Graham and Moses, scenic artists).
It is understandable that Sosman & Landis recognized their employer’s high profit margins, as opportunity to share the profit if one were willing to strike out on their own. Like Moses, others briefly left the firm and establish their own scenic studios. In many cases, Sosman & Landis continued to work with these former employees, often offering them an incentive to run the firm’s regional office, in addition to their new business. Such was the case with the new scenic studio of Graham & Davis in 1884. Lem L. Graham and Will P. Davis left Sosman & Landis to establish their firm in Kansas City, Missouri. They never directly competed against their former employer, and often represented the firm in western projects. In other words, they also ran the Kansas City branch office for Sosman & Landis. However, it appeared to the public as two completely separate entities.
In 1883 Graham had become quite well-known in the Kansas City area when his name made headlines in 1883. That year, Sosman & Landis landed the contract for the new Gillis Opera House. On Sept. 8, 1883, The Kansas City Star reported, “As stage carpenter, Mr. Claude Hagan, one of the most expert in his profession in the country, has been engaged. He has been employed in the best theaters in the country for years and last year traveled with the Hanlons who required the most complicated stage machinery. He superintended the setting of the Gillis stage, and it is said that what he don’t known about a stage isn’t worth knowing. Mr. Lem Graham is the scenic artist and none who see the scenery exhibited at the Gillis will for a moment doubt his ability” (page 1). Graham and Hagen continued to work together, both continuing their association with Sosman & Landis.
With Graham and Davis’ departure, there were two new openings in the scenic department at the firm’s main studio in Chicago. Henry C. Tryon and Charles Boyer joined the paint staff in 1884. Tryon had recently left a position at The Salt Lake Theatre in Utah. Tryon, his brother Spencer, and William Morris, had painted new scenery for the renovated space. Tryon left Salt Lake City mid-September 1883. On Sept. 17, 1883, the Deseret News announced, “Good Bye – Mr. Henry C. Tryon, the skillful scenic artist, leaves for the East to-morrow. Besides his remarkable talent he is the innate possessor of a genial disposition and a mind remarkably free from that species of petty jealously by which otherwise capable men too often dim the luster of their capacities. He has made numerous friends here whose best wishes he carries with him. Good bye” (page 3).
As their shop was staffed with well-experience individuals, both Sosman and Landis took to the road, securing even more orders and scouting for new employees. A few of their travels were mentioned in newspapers as arrivals at local hotels. For example,
On March 24, 1883, The Osh Kosh Northwestern reported, “Perry Landis, the scenic artist from Chicago, visited the studio of Edmund Osthaus and his sister, when here, was so much pleased with the flower work by Miss Mary Osterhaus that he gave her an order for a large piece of work. He pronounces her painting excellent” (page 4).
While business increased at the studio, friendships blossomed among the staff. On June 15, 1884, Sosman & Landis scenic artists Moses, Young, Morange and Maratta went on a sketching trip to Colorado. Moses published in the Palette & Chisel newsletter years later. His series of five articles was entitled “Tom Moses’ Trips: Breckenridge, Col.” Early in 1884, Thomas G. Moses accepted quite a bit of “night work” that subsequently funded his travel that year. At the time he was twenty-eight years old. The ages of his traveling companions were as follows: John H. Young (26 yrs.), Edward A. Morange (19 yrs.), and Hardesty C. Maratta (20 yrs.).
I have written about this trip over the course of several posts in the past, but here is the beginning of his story as it provides a reason for the adventure. Moses wrote, “John H. Young, Edward Morange, Hardesty Maratta and myself talked and planned for over a year regarding a trip to the mountains of Colorado. In our every day work of Scenic Painting we were called upon to paint all kinds of mountain scenes, and, as we had never seen a real mountain, we had to rely upon photographs or magazine cuts for our ideas. So we were, naturally, anxious to see the wonderful piles of rock and earth.” The four scenic artists travelled from Chicago to Breckenridge, staying for a few weeks in the mountains. In the end, Moses wrote, “On our return trip we looked like a bunch of tramps, happy and ready for our old work.”
In addition to forming close friendships with his colleagues, Moses also became attached to both Sosman & Landis. In 1884, Moses moved to the same street as the Landis. Of the move, he wrote, “Mr. Landis prevailed on us to move to Centre Avenue, next flat to theirs. We did so, and it cost us considerably to furnish the flat, including a piano. We thought we deserved it; as the old one that was given to us as a wedding present had become impossible. We had saved considerable money.” Landis’ young wife was out of her element and in a marriage with a husband who was constantly on the road or planning with his business partner. She was from a small town without any support network. Moses’ wife Ella was also from a small town but had the benefit of small children and nearby in-laws. It makes sense that Landis would have also seen the similarities and hoped that Ella would help ease his wife’s discomfort in new surroundings.
This added a layer of complexity to Moses’ relationship with his employers. Although he would repeatedly strike out on his own over the years, Moses maintained extremely close ties to Sosman, Landis and their families.
There were two newspaper articles published about Perry Landis on Jan. 27, 1881.
Perry Landis, pictured in 1889 Sosman & Landis catalogue.
The first article appeared in Joseph S. Sosman’s hometown newspaper, in Macomb, Illinois. It announced Landis’ recent marriage. At the time, Landis was living with Sosman at 177 S. Peoria St. in Chicago. Sosman remained at the address after the marriage, with Mr. and Mrs. Landis renting a few doors down, at 173 S. Peoria. In 1883, they all moved one block west, living at 155 S. Sangamon. Understandably, this situation did not last for long. By 1885, Sosman returned to his previous home at 177 S. Peoria, with the Landis’ living a few blocks to the west, at 104 Centre av.
On Jan. 27, 1881, Sosman’s hometown newspaper, The Macomb Journal, announced:
“LANDIS-FESSLER. At Shelbyville, Indiana., Jan. 13th, 1881, by Rev. J. G. Chaffee, Perry Landis, of Sosman & Landis, Chicago, and Miss Nora Fessler, of Shelbyville.
When we opened the letter containing the above announcement, saw the well known handwriting of J. S. Sosman, and the word married, we thought sure enough ‘Joe’s married as certain as a gun.’ But further investigation showed it only came near enough to be his partner. Never mind, Joe, it don’t always simply ‘graze’ a fellow. At present, however, content yourself in the felicity of Mr. and Mrs. Landis” (page 5).
Also on Jan. 27, 1881, the Clinton Republican of Wilmington, Ohio, reported, “Perry Landis, of the firm Sosman & Landis, the gentlemen who furnished the scenery for our City Hall, has been in town for the past few days. He proposes, provided the Council are willing, to place an extra curtain in front of the stage at the hall free of charge. The pay to come from advertizers who have their cards inserted on the margin” (Jan. 13, 1881, page 3).
Over the span of less than two weeks, he married, moved his wife to Illinois, and was back to selling scenery in Ohio. During this same period, the firm not only ran a series of nationwide advertisements, but sent salesmen on the road from one town to the next. The idea was to sell advertising spaces on a drop curtain and gift the finished product to a local theater. A drop curtain, paid for by local businesses, was one way to “get your foot in the door.” It often resulted in much larger orders for stock scenery and touring productions. Brilliant marketing strategy. The community and theater owners just needed to see your work and how it compared with existing scenery. In all cases, their work was leaps and bounds above existing stock created by local sign painters. Advertising curtains were guaranteed income as the money was collected before the product was installed.
Here are two examples from early in 1881:
On Feb. 21, the Portsmouth Daily Times in Ohio published, “Sosman & Landis, scenic artists of Chicago, Ill., are soliciting advertisements for a new drop curtain to be painted for Wilhelm’s Opera House.”
On March 17, 1881, Fayette County Herald in Washington, Ohio, reported, “Messrs. Sosman & Landis, of Chicago, hung the new drop curtain in Music Hall last Monday. It is a very pretty piece of work. A beautiful Venetian scene occupies the center, and across the top, bottom and sides are arranged the business cards of prominent firms, painted in attractive and artistic style. The whole presents a very fine appearance and is an improvement over the old curtain” (p. 5).
Orders poured in at such a rate that Sosman & Landis rapidly increased their staff. Keep in mind that Moses was the first scenic artist hired at Sosman in 1880. Nine years later, the firm employed a staff of twenty-five artists, in addition to managing regional branches all across the country.
Of the scenic art staff in 1881 Moses wrote, “The others were able to draw more, because they were better in the artistic end, but I had it over them all when it came to speed.” And because of this speed, Moses became the best candidate to send on the road. After all, you want someone who is fast, as it keeps the expenses down, the profit margins up, and the clients happy.
Sadly, this also meant that Moses spent long periods away from his family. He was starting to realize that he was in a losing position; making less money than before and spending less time with his family. This became apparent by the onset of 1881, with Moses writing, “1881 opened with a restless feeling for me. I wanted to do something to get more money.” When Moses was in Chicago, he also painted for Lemuel L. Graham at the Academy of Music in Chicago, writing, “I enjoyed the work, even if I had to do it evenings and Sundays. I received good pay for this, which all helped. The plays were mostly of the melodramatic order and required a lot of scenery. Sosman and Landis knew I was helping Graham and seemed to be pleased that I was forging ahead.” By the summer of that year, Graham was also working for Sosman & Landis.
Graham and Moses painted scenery for the Academy of Music in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As with all projects for Sosman & Landis, a stage carpenter was sent on site, ahead of the artists, to prepare the space, install stage machinery and superintend the final installation. In Minneapolis, it was Charles S. King.
King was an extremely gifted, well-respected, and nationally-renowned stage carpenter when he stared working at Sosman & Landis. He installed scenery at the Minneapolis Grand Opera House earlier that year. On Jan. 27, 1881, Minneapolis Star Tribune explained that Mr. King “is regarded as one of the best stage-carpenters in the country, having had a wide experience and possessing perfect knowledge of his profession. He says our opera house will have the finest stage, the easiest worked, and will be the best appointed of any theater west of Chicago, or of many large eastern cities (Jan 27, 1881, p. 5).
Grand Opera House, Minneapolis, MN, 1885. Minnesota Historical Society.
It was likely the success of this project that landed the Academy of Music work.
Academy of Music, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo by William Henry Illingsworth, 1874. Minnesota Historical Society.
On August 20, 1881, The Minneapolis Journal reported:
“THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC.
Beautiful New Scenery Ready for the Public Gaze – General Renovation of the Auditorium.
Manager Herrick last evening invited the members of the press, lit up the Academy of Music and exhibited the new scenery painted under Sosman & Landis, of Chicago by Graham & Moses. Everything is new from the drop curtain to the smallest bit of stage illusion. The drop curtain in the center shows a framer of the same size as that which formerly contained the group of dyspeptic cadavers who so long exposed to the public gaze that their consumptive frames in the midst of a mad revel incited by one consecutive glass of beer and a bunch of grapes. The new painting represents a scene in Normandy with a cotter’s home in the foreground and grand old mountains in the rear, one of the hill-tops crowned with an ancient ruin. The coloring and lights and shadows in this picture, as in all the scenery, is soft and pleasing. The large frame surrounding the picture is draped with a representation of a lace curtain drooping in graceful folds and parting on either side to show a large vase of flowers. The drop which is revealed as the curtain is rolled up, represents heavy white silk drapery trimmed with rich fringe, while on each side are looped curtains of cardinal velvet, edged with ermine. The proscenium arch pillars are new and handsome. There have been added some fifteen new scenes among them; the street scene, representing the times of ’76; the ‘center door fancy;’ ‘the plain chamber;’ ‘the oak interior.’ The ‘palace arch’ with its beautiful effect; ‘the dungeon scene,’ grim with skulls, rusty chains, and heavily barred windows; ‘the cottage flat;’ ‘the drawing room;’ ‘the rocky pass,’ etc., etc. The painters have been especially happy in their out-door scenery; the trees and shrubbery standing out in bold relief, so that one is led to wonder why the timid maiden, coy and fair, does not seek shelter behind their friendly trunks when ‘the villain still pursues her.’ The scenery is all new, every piece of it, and the Academy is to-day as fully equipped as any similar theater in the country and certainly none can boast of more artistic worth in their scenic effects” (page 1).
Moses became very canny about getting his name in print, in addition to the name of the firm. He must have realized that this was key to securing his own future career as a scenic artist. Many studio artists remained nameless throughout the duration of their life, sole credit going to the firm where they worked.
This was an incredibly exciting time at the firm as they rapidly became the largest scenic firm in the country. Between the summers of 1881 and 1882, the firm delivered scenery to seventy-four venues in nineteen states and three territories. This number did not reflect other projects for touring shows or local productions. We only know of this number as a list of scenery installations was published in Sosman’s home town of Macomb, Illinois.
On July 14, 1882, The Macomb Journal reported:
“SOSMAN & LANDIS – A Leading Firm in Their Line in Chicago – The Senior a Macomb-Raised and Educated Boy.
“Nearly all the county readers of the Journal know ‘Joe’ Sosman, and that he is in Chicago in the scenery-painting business, but few, if any, are aware of the prominence of the firm of which he is the senior partner. ‘The News Letter,’ a paper devoted to the theatrical interest, in an article not long since, gave some account of the prominence and business of the firm, which article we append below. We know it will be perused with interest by hundreds of the ‘Journal’ readers, who have a lively solicitude not only for Mr. Sosman, but for every McDonough county boy who goes out in this great world to carve his fortune, his head and hand being his only capital. Here is the article:
One of the surest indications that Chicago is fast becoming one of the most important dramatic centers in America is the evidence before us, that in all matters pertaining to the theatrical profession Chicago has become, so to speak, a manufacturing center. Theatrical printing, etc., have long been staple industries, but of late years, matters which hitherto might have been considered as peculiarly belonging to the great metropolis of the East, have taken prosperous root in Chicago. Among the industries we refer to is that of fitting up opera houses and out of town theatres.
Some five years ago, Messrs. Sosman & Landis, a firm composed of a couple of enterprising young fellows established in this city what they termed a scenic studio. The beginning gave them a good deal of hard work, but in the period we have mentioned above, their business has grown from comparatively nothing to being one of the most important of its description in the United States. This all speaks volumes for Chicago as a theatrical center, and say what we may, there is no disavowing the fact that next to New York city, Chicago is without a question the most important locality in America in all matters pertaining to general amusement affairs.
Perhaps no better recommendation could be given to the firm we have referred to above than the information which is contained in their circulars to managers, and which tells the actual number of houses they have fitted-up since the first of June, 1881. We give the list as a matter of curiosity as much as anything else:
New Opera House, Rockford, Illinois
Academy of Music, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Grand Opera House, Richmond, Indiana
Hill’s Opera House, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Humblin’s Opera House, Battle Creek, Michigan
Union Opera House, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Russell’s Opera House, Bonham, Texas
Brownsville Opera House, Brownsville, Texas
My Theatre, Fort Worth, Texas
Leach’s Opera House, Somerville, Tennessee
Kahn’s Opera House Boliver, Tennessee
King’s Opera House, Jackson, Tennessee
Stummer’s Hall, Washington, Georgia
Vicksburg Opera House, Vicksburg, Mississippi
McWhinney’s Opera House, Greenville, Ohio
Yengling Opera House, Minerva, Ohio
City Hall, Athens, Ohio
Freeman’s Opera Hall, Geneseo, Illinois
Odd Fellows Hall, Peshtigo, Wisconsin
Hyde’s Opera House, Lancaster, Wisconsin
Klaus’ Opera House, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Storie’s Opera House, Menominee, Wisconsin
Holt’s Opera House, Anamosa, Iowa
King’s Opera House, Hazleton, Iowa
Opera House Nanticoke, Pennsylvania
Opera House Athens, Georgia
Opera House Gainesville, Texas
Opera House Reidsville, North Carolina
Edsell Opera House, Otsego, Michigan
New Opera House, Howell, Michigan
Stouch Opera House, Garnett, Kansas
Germania Hall, Blair, Nebraska
Bennett’s Opera House, Urbana, Ohio
Klaus’ Opera House, Jamestown, Dakota
Opera House, Westville, Indiana
City Hall, Mineral Point, Wisconsin
City Hall, Lewisburg, West Virginia
Opera House, Denison, Iowa
Opera House, Nevada, Ohio
Opera House, Hoopeston, Illinois
Opera House, Cambridge, Illinois
Turner Hall, LaSalle, Illinois
Kolter’s Opera House, Wausau, Wisconsin
Opera House Moberlv, Missouri
Krotz’s Grand Opera House Defiance, Ohio
Opera House, Montague, Michigan
Opera House Eutaw, Alabama
Opera House, Greyville, Illinois
Opera House, Carthage, Illinois
Masonic Hall, Macomb, Illinois
New Hall, Good Hope Illinois
Music Hall, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Temperance Hall, Seneca, Illinois
Opera House, Jefferson, Iowa
Opera House, Waupaca, Wisconsin
Soldiers’ Memorial Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Opera House, Mexia, Texas
Opera House, Wilson, North Carolina
Opera House, Newbern, North Carolina
Opera House, Goldsboro, North Carolina
Grand Opera House, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cosmopolitan Theatre, Miles City, Montana Territory
Arbeiter Hall, Ludington, Michigan
Opera House, West Bay City, Michigan
Opera House, Detroit, Minnesota
Opera House, Lockport, Illinois
Opera House, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
Opera House, Grass Lake, Michigan
Opera House Demopolis, Alabama
Opera House, Unionville, Missouri
Opera House, Harrodsville, Kentucky
Opera House, Hancock, Michigan
City Hall, New London, Ohio
Opera House, Stevens’ Point, Wisconsin
A visit to the studio of Messrs. Sosman & Landis, in this city, reveals the fact that these gentlemen, at this time, give employment to five of the best scenic artists in the United States, and that their facilities for turning out first-class work with promptitude and at reasonable figures is unequaled by any establishment in America. At this very moment these gentlemen are actively employed in fitting-up the interior of one or two of the best theatres in the West, and their large corps of artists and stage carpenters are constantly kept busily at work.
We take some little pride in the success of these gentlemen. It has always been, and still is, our ambition to see Chicago ahead in all matters pertaining to western dramatic affairs, and the unusual success which has attended the venture of Messrs. Sosman & Landis is a feather in the cap of our wishes.
It is true that much of the success attended these gentlemen has been due to the fact that they have proved entirely reliable in all their transactions, and that their work has always been of the very best. They take contracts to fit up the entire stage of any new house in course of erection, and we venture to say from undoubted information that no contract that they have ever undertaken has proved aught but most highly satisfactory. With their success the success of Chicago as a dramatic center is blended, and we are more than glad to see that to-day, in nearly every opera house in the West, which is under erection, the contract for fitting up the stage has been let to Sosman & Landis.’
The article mentions “five of the best scenic artists in the United States” and “their large corps of artists and stage carpenters.” Studio staff at this time included Thomas G. Moses, Lemuel L. Graham, William P. Davis, Harry Barrow C. Barrow, Charles S. King, and Cyrus M. Crouse, and C. W. Corey. There were certainly more individuals on staff, but I have yet to identify them.
In 1881, the firm placed numerous advertisement in newspapers across the country. No other scenic artist or studio placed advertisements at this scale. They certainly reaped the benefits of a successful marketing campaign. Here are two examples that appeared in Ohio and Texas newspapers.
On April 15, 1882, The Cincinnati Enquirer published the following advertisement:
This same advertisement was placed two weeks earlier in The Galveston Daily News on April 1, 1882 (page 3).
Sosman & Landis also began to refurbish and sell old scenery. Clients seldom had use for old scenery, especially after a stage was enlarged. The firm listing used scenery for sale.
On Feb. 11, 1882, The Cincinnati Enquirer announced, “FOR SALE – SCENERY FOR HALLS – Elegant drop curtain, 15 scenes, necessary wings, borders, &c., 23 pieces in all; new and artistic; a bargain. SOSMAN & LANDIS, 277 S. Clark st., Chicago, Ill.
A similar advertisement was published on May 6, 1882, again in The Cincinnati Enquirer:
“FOR SALE – DROP CURTAIN- Elegant drop curtain and set of scenery. 18 pieces in all; only $125. SOSMAN 7 LANDIS. 277 and 279 S. Clark st., Chicago” (page 3).
Moses was constantly on the road that year. On September 7, 1881, he celebrated the birth of their second child from afar, writing, “Ella was in Sterling with her mother…This baby girl was a reminder that I would have to earn more money, so the firm gave me $26.00 per week, as I did a great deal of extra work, all on the day rate, I never received more than straight time.”
Keep in mind that many of Moses’ scenic art colleagues were making $35 to $45 a week. This “extra work” for the firm kept Moses away from outside projects; projects that would pay much more. Studio work continued to be combination of in-studio and on-site work, with teams of artists working together. In 1881, Moses mentioned working on the road with both Graham and Davis.
Moses and Davis delivered a large stock scenery collection to the Richmond, Indiana. Davis was also a very skilled stage carpenter and mechanic.
On Sept. 19, 1881, The Evening Item described the newly refurbished Grand Opera House (p. 1). Of the Moses’ work, the article reported, “There has been added as scenery one fancy set chamber, four wings; one set plain chamber, four wings; one kitchen, and one prison, each four wings; one wood, six wings; one landscape, one perspective street, one rocky pass, one horizon, one ocean, one garden, one grand drapery border, one set tormentor wings and doors, three drapery borders, two kitchen borders, three foliage borders, one set cottage, one set bridge, four set rocks, one tree, two set waters, one foreground, one garden wall, one balustrade, two statues….the scenic work was done by Sosman & Landis, of Chicago. The drop curtain, by Thomas G. Moses is the finest piece in the entire work and really a work of art.” Moses’ assistant, William P. Davis, would later go on to establish the Twin City Scenic Co. in Minneapolis. Davis was likely one of the artists that dropped by as business increased. In 1880, Davis was listed as an artist, living at 193 W. Van Buren. The Sosman & Landis studio was located at the intersection of Clark and Van Buren Streets. Moses also lived at 744 W. Van Buren.
Over the course of the next few years, both Moses and Davis left Sosman & Landis to partner with Lemuel L. Graham; Moses in 1883, and Davis in 1885. Graham also worked for Sosman & Landis at this time. All three were working for the firm in Chicago during 1884.
On Sept. 28, 1882, the Unionville Republican in Missouri reported, “The grand opening of Roth’s New Opera House in this city will take place the middle of October, at which time George Kendall’s Grand Dramatic and Comedy Company will give three entertainments. The new scenery from the studio of Sosman & Landis, the celebrated Chicago artists will be used for the first time on opening night” (p. 3). The firm’s work was extremely popular with the community. On Oct. 12, 1882, the Unionville Republican reported, “Messrs. Sosman & Landis, of Chicago, at whose studio the work was done, have fitted out nearly all of the leading Opera House in the west, and their scenery both as to beauty and effectiveness ranks among the best in the country. The work they have done for Mr. Roth is no exception and will be a source of genuine surprise and pleasure to our citizens when the opportunity is offered them to inspect it. The outer drop curtain has a beautiful painting in. the center representing a scene on the Nile, with the ruins of an Egyptian temple in the background. In the foreground a group of dusky Arabs are standing near the waters edge near the ruins of a second temple. The inner curtain presents a charming illustration of one of the famous Swiss lake scenes, with an old Castle in the foreground. Beyond the broad waters of the lake the rugged mountains rise in the background giving the whole scene a beautiful winning aspect. The blending of colors in both scenes is exquisite. The scenery embraces eight distinct scenes as follows: Parlor, Kitchen, Street, Woods, Prison, Landscape, Ocean and Garden. Also, four interior wings, four exterior wings, one grand drapery, two sky borders, three set rocks, and one set cottage. Under the manipulation of a skillful stage manager many other combinations may be arranged out of the scenes. The opera House is in truth a little gem, both a credit to our city and its enterprising owner” (p. 3).
The firm’s stage carpenters were critical for on-site work and frequently mentioned in local newspapers. On Oct. 12, 1882, the Unionville Republican reported, “During the past week, Mr. C. S. King, of Chicago, one of the most experienced stage carpenters in that city, has been busy arranging the stage fittings and mounting the scenery, and by the first of next week everything will be in readiness for the opening” (p. 3). To date, I have only located seven stages that credit King with the construction. They include the Grand Opera House and Academy of Music in Minneapolis Minnesota (1881), Roth’s Opera House in Unionville, Missouri (1882), Ragsdale Opera House in Newton, Kansas (1885), Myar’s Opera House in El Paso, Kansas (1886), Crawford Grand Opera House in Wichita, Kansas (1888), and the Crump Theatre in Columbus, Indiana (1889). Yet by 1889 he was credited with over 200 stages for the firm. This means that King was one of many stage carpenters employed by the firm in the 1880s. It would make sense as King was not only a skilled stage carpenter, but also a scenic artist. In 1882 the Chicago Directory listed King ‘s residence as 320 W. Van Buren. This is the same street that was home to Moses and Davis.
Another long-term Sosman & Landis employee working at the time was H. C. Barrow. On October 11, 1882, The Atlanta Constitution announced, “Mr. H. C. Barrows, representing Sosman & Landis, scenic artists of Chicago, put in Scheurman’s opera house a new and beautiful advertising drop curtain. The work on this curtain is nicely executed and presents a fine appearance. In the centre is a very handsome southern landscape scene, and around the border is decorated with 14 nicely arranged business cards representing different firms in the city. This curtain does not interfere with the regular drop curtain but can be used as a change at intervals during entertainment. Its cost is about one hundred and fifty or seventy-five dollars and may be classed strictly as both useful and ornamental” (p. 2). Scheurman’s Opera House was in Griffin, Georgia.
Other projects completed by Barrows over the years included: the Taylor Opera House in Jefferson, Texas; Ghio’s Opera Hall in Texarkana, Texas; the Capital Opera House in Little Rock, Arkansas; the Pine Bluff Opera House in Pine Bluff, Arkansas; the Academy of Music in Fort Smith, Arkansas; the Van Buren Theater in Van Buren, Arkansas; an academic hall in Salem, Illinois; the City Hall in Frederick, Maryland; the Springer Opera House in Columbus, Georgia; the Opera House in Vicksburg, Mississippi; and the Opera House in El Paso, Texas.
Cyrus M. Crouse (1837-1899) was also on staff near the beginning. In 1880, his residence was only a few doors down from the studio, at 253 Clark. Over the years, newspaper articles listed Corey as a stage architect, stage carpenter and master mechanic. On September 2, 1882, the “Montgomery Advertiser” listed Corey as the stage architect for a new theatre in Montgomery, Alabama. This was possibly his first project with the firm. On Dec. 1, 1882, the “Pensacola Commercial” reported, “Mr. C. W. Corey, stage carpenter, of Chicago, Ill., arrived in the city last Wednesday, and has gone to work with a good force on the stage of the new opera house, and will have it ready for Ford’s company, who have an engagement here beginning on the first of January” (page 3). Both Barrows and Corey were working together in Vicksburg, Mississippi, when Sosman & Landis delivered scenery and stage machinery to the opera house. For this project, Barrows was painting, with Corey installing the scenery.
The Sosman & Landis staff in 1881 and 1882 relied on several individuals who could work on projects as either scenic artists or stage carpenters. This was key in keeping overhead down as the firm tried to amass funds to build a studio.
Other Sosman and Landis projects not listed in the 1882 Macomb article, those completed early in 1881 and late in 1882, included opera houses in: Appleton, Wisconsin; Moberly, Missouri; Topeka, Kansas; and Strong City, Kansas. Of the stage in Appleton, Wisconsin, The Nennah Daily Times reported, “The new opera house in Appleton is first-class…There are twelve changes of scenery painted by Sosman & Landis, of Chicago” (9 Dec 1882, p. 4). On Dec. 21, 1882, the Emporia Republican in Kansas reported that the Strong City Opera House had “been fitted up by Sosman & Landis, scenic artists of Chicago, and it is a gem of an opera house” (page 1).
In the early 1880s, Sosman & Landis were taking the nation by storm. By 1882, Sosman & Landis also managed offices in Chicago, New York, and Kansas City.
Some information about Sosman & Landis in 1880 comes from the personal memoirs of Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934). He was the first scenic artist hired by Joseph S. Sosman during the spring of that year.
Thomas G. Moses portrait in the Inter Ocean, 28 Feb. 1886.
When Moses met Sosman, he was 24 years old and had been working as a scenic and decorative painter for seven years. He had worked throughout the region after training at P. M. Almini’s and McVicker’s Theatre as Louis Malmsha’s assistant (1873-1874). Of his mentor, Moses remembered, “He was a very clever man. In all the years that have passed since then, I have never found a man that could do so little and get so much out of his work. Very simple in drawing and color, but very effective.” In many ways, working for Malmsha “set the stage” for Moses’ career. He learned both an economy of brushwork and speed. This skill set was an incredible asset to any employer, especially since studio profits increase as paint labor decreases.
Although Moses had started his painting career in Chicago, love brought him back to his hometown of Sterling, Illinois, in 1878. He married his childhood sweetheart and soon celebrated the birth of their first child. Between 1878 and 1879, Moses primarily worked in his hometown as a scenic artist, fresco artist, and decorative painter. In the beginning, work was plentiful. His name made frequent headlines. Their first home is is still standing! I had the pleasure of photographing the building on July 20, 2019, when I passed through town.
Thomas G. Moses’ home in Sterling, Illinois. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, July 20, 2019.
Original photographs are part of the Illinois Digital archives.
n.a., Homes, Sterling, Illinois, Thomas G. Moses & Susan Ella Robbins Moses Residence, 508 East 7th Street, Sterling and Rock Falls Local History Collection (Illinois Digital Archives), 2023-12-05, http://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/stpl/id/1783.
On Nov. 30, 1878 the Sterling Gazette reported, “Ten full sets of scenery including parlor, chamber and kitchen scenes; a river, sea, street, woods, prison, landscape and garden scenes comprise list of scenery. Those were painted by our townsman, T. G. Moses, and we need not tell those familiar with his work that they are finely done. The work alone will give him a reputation as a scenic artist, everywhere that it is known” (page 8). His decorative painting for Sterling’s Commercial College was also praised in the Sterling Gazette that same day. The second article reported, “The first floor is divided into three parts, making three of the most elegant store-rooms in the city – two of them are fifty feet front, the third forty-three. They are beautifully paneled and frescoed by T G Moses.” The stream of initial projects soon slowed to a trickle. Moses began to look for work in neighboring towns. The distance that Moses had to travel for work continued to increase as the months passed.
Although he tried to remain in his hometown, there was not enough work to pay the bills. In his memoirs, Moses remembered, “The winter was coming on and the outlook was anything but bright. I was earning on an average about $75.00 per month.” He knew that he needed a stead paycheck from an employer, even if it was less than he could make on his own.
Moses did not relocate to Chicago until that spring. His last project in Sterling was completed in early February. On Feb. 7, 1880, the Sterling Gazette reported, “We called at the office of Pollock Bros. one day this week and was shown their rooms. They have added another operating room on the same floor, which has been recently painted and frescoed. Much credit is due to Thos. Moses, for the excellent taste displayed. The oil paintings on the ceiling are elegant showing skill rarely met with” (page 8).
His final project in the area was a Presbyterian Church in Dixon, about 12 miles away from Sterling. The job did not go well. Moses wrote, “The last job from Sterling I did was the Presbyterian Church in Dixon, and I did them a good job, but the chairman of the decorating committee was not a man of honest dealings, and I quit the whole Western part of the state in a ‘huff’ and went to Chicago, alone, to see if I could find anything.”
Moses started at the doorstep of a former employer, the decorating firm of P. M. AImini. Of the interaction, Moses wrote, “I had been away so long that my case didn’t interest them.” He then headed to the new scenic firm of Sosman & Landis. The decorative firm of P. M. Almini was located at 231 Wabash av., near Jackson. This means that the studio Sosman & Landis was only six blocks away. Moses wrote, “I had heard of Sosman and Landis and they knew of me. I called on them, met Mr. Sosman, and settled to go to work for them for $18.00 per week, rather small pay, but I could only get about $24.00 at Almini, and that was not steady. I had no alternative, so I settled to go to work at once.”
I need to provide some context for the weekly salary of $18 offered by Sosman in 1880. Six years earlier, Moses had earned $21 a week at Almini’s. He was 18 yrs. old at the time. His salary increase had been rapid at the decorating firm going from $4 a week had increased to $21 a week over the course of a year. This likely validated Moses’ belief that hard work and determination would be rewarded by an employer.
In the beginning, Moses boarded with his friend Will T. Fuller at 428 W. Van Buren. At the time, Fuller was working as a salesman at 103 State. Both lived above the jewelry store of Oresta W. Young and his family at 428 Van Buren. Oresta Woodworth Young (1847-1923) was a jeweler and watchmaker, living with his family. The 1880 Census report listed that the Young household included: O. W. (32), Jennie (wife, 27), Frank (son, 4), June (daughter, 1 mth.), Ida Berkley (sister-in-law, music teacher, 17), Mary Mastisen (servant, 19) and William Fuller (boarder, 21). Young was also listed at a second residence at 744 W. Vanburen.
Ella and baby Pitt remained in Sterling until the end of May when Moses relocated his family to Chicago, settling his family down the street from his previous boarding house. Their new home was 744 Van Buren, on the corner of Robey. The house next door was also occupied by Oresta Young. Interestingly, I located the rental listing for Moses’ hous. On April 18, 1880, the Chicago Tribune listed the following in the section “TO RENT – HOUSES. West Side-Continued”-
744 Van Buren-2-story brick, $30. Edward A. Trask, 181 West Madison-st” (page 14).
Advertisement that was published in the Chicago Tribune just before Thomas G. Moses rented the home.
I was surprised to discover the reason why the house was changing tenants. The previous owner, Frank Van Osdel, had been severely injured in a freak accident during Dec. 1879. Osdel and Frank Piercy, employees at Crane Bros., were boxing in an elevator shaft when the scaffolding failed, with each falling to the bottom. Piercy was killed instantaneously and Van Osdel was severely injured (Chicago Tribune 20 Dec. 1879, p.1). It was Van Osdel who resided at 744 West Van Buren.
Moses’ father (Lucius M. Moses), stepmother, sister, and two young step-brothers also moved to Chicago that year. They were listed at 331 Randolph Street in both the 1880 Lakeside Directory and the Census report. Lucius sold his tannery business in Sterling, but continued to work as a harness maker.
After starting with Sosman & Landis, Moses was immediately sent on the road to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to paint stock scenery for Kimball’s Opera House. He recorded that this project began on April 19, 1880.
Kenosha was a sizable town of 7,000 citizens, located approximately 35 miles from Milwaukee and 10 miles from Racine. On April 29, 1880, The Telegraph-Courtier of Kenosha, Wisconsin, reported, “Mr. Kimball is having six scene and a new drop curtain for his hall painted by two of the best scenic artists in Chicago, Messrs. Sosman & Landis.” It is understandable that Moses was mistaken for Landis, as he was working with Sosman on site. Over the years, this case of mistaken identity would repeat itself, fueling the myth that Landis was also an accomplished scenic artist.
Moses started the project alone, writing, “Sosman joined me in Kenosha after I had gotten started and painted the plain interior and kitchen and some set pieces. We were soon through and back in Chicago.” However, it wasn’t long until Moses was on the road again.
Projects that summer included an advertising curtain in Steven’s Point, Wisconsin. On June 12, 1880, Stevens Point Daily Journal reported, “H. D. McCulloch has decided to change his drop curtain in the hall to one of the elegant affairs gotten up by Messrs. Sosman & Landis, Chicgao, being a beautiful landscape with advertisement of the prominent business houses of the city” (p. 5).
Image of the opera house on H. D. McCulloch Block, later known as the Silvermint Arcade. Here is the link to the image: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI72865
Advertising curtains were typically paid for by businesses and gifted to theaters. The spaces were either purchased outright or rented. This was a way to collect cash for a product before it was installed. These type of projects were a quick way to access cash, as a group was financing the project.
In Winona, Minnesota, the firm was credited with painting a new advertisement curtain for the Philharmonic Hall stage in July 1880. On August 2, 1880, the Winona Daily Republican reported,
“The new drop curtain which was mentioned some time since in THE REPUBLICAN has been completed and placed in Philharmonic Hall. It is the work of Messrs. Sosman & Landis, scenic artists of Chicago, and is a finely executed piece of work. The scene is a view of a city, the foreground consisting of a river with a large, fine bridge spanning it, upon which teams and carriages are crossing. Several boats are plying in various directions, as team tug towing a couple of barges being the central objects. Back from the rive fine blocks of buildings rise in a succession, the spires of churches and domes of public building adding a fine variety to the scene. In the distance a low range of hills are visible, while in various portions of the city fountains and columns are tastefully interspersed. As to the merit of the work the perspective is excellent, the colors good, and the production is certainly not the achievement of a novice. At the border of the curtain is a row of advertisements which are well arranged and indicate that the idea was well received by our prominent merchants. The curtain is not intended to take the place of the old one, but is simply another curtain if the same size hung back of the first one to be used between scenes and acts only” (p. 3).
That fall, the firm was also credited with stock scenery for the new Turner Hall in Menasha, Wisconsin. The theater opened on Oct. 14, with the New Orleans Minstrels as the first entertainment (The Saturday Evening Post, 14 Oct, 1880, p. 2). The firm’s new scenery was a grand success. On Oct. 28, 1880, The Saturday Evening Press reported, “The scenery, all that was exhibited was very fine, and in this connection, the Society wish to return thanks to the firm of Sosman & Landis, of a Chicago Scenic Studio, who painted the scenery, for the excellence of the work, and fairness of the prices, and the Society is ready at any time to recommend them as a first class firm in every respect” (p. 3).
Advertisement for the Philharmonic Hall on July 2, 1880, in the Winona Daily Republican.
This marks the standard operating procedure for the firm; one that would continue even after the passing of both partners. Sosman & Landis did not require payment for the scenery prior to installation. A portion was due upon installation, with the remainder in the form of a few scheduled payments. An announcement published in The Saturday Evening Press on Dec. 2, 1880, stated, “A grand leap year party is to come off at the Turner hall, Dec. 27th. The proceeds are to be applied to paying for our new scenery” (p. 3).
In the beginning, Moses and Sosman worked as a team, one step behind Landis as he contracted projects. Of this time, Moses wrote, “Sosman and I had to travel a good deal as Mr. Landis was on the road all the time securing orders for advertising curtains, and I didn’t see him until I had been there nearly six months. As the business increased, we put on a paint boy.”
This meant that Moses started out as a combination of scenic artist, assistant, and paint boy. Sosman & Landis were certainly getting their money’s worth in the beginning. However, as their workload increased, other scenic artists took notice.
Moses wrote, “Then the artists began to drop around. They all wanted $35.00 or $45.00 per week and told me I could get that much in the theatres. I began to think I was worth more as I had proven that I was a hustler. My work might not have been as artistic as some I saw in the theatres, but it pleased the people who paid for it.”
The seeds of discontent were sown. Moses knew that he should be making a much larger salary; one that was at least twice his current rate. Reflecting on 1880 in his memoirs, Moses wrote, “My career as a scenic artist starts from here. I was full of ambition and hustle. If I had been endowed with a like amount of ability, I would have set the world on fire. It was all hard work.” I find it interesting that although Moses had painted dozens of sets for the theater by this time in his career, starting with Sosman & Landis signaled something special. He remembers it as his beginning; a beginning that coincided with the first full year of the firm.
By the spring of 1881, Moses’ salary was increased by $2 a week, but it wasn’t enough. Moses began picking up extra work at the Academy of Music, working for Lemuel L. Graham. Sosman & Landis must have recognized that Moses was planning to leave, as he was offered $26.00 a week that fall with the idea that he would not take outside projects. Moses’ raise coincided with the birth of their second child.
The scenic art scene was rapidly changing in Chicago. New drop curtains by well-established artists that year included:
Matt Morgan, Academy of Music (Chicago Tribune, 21 Dec. 1880, p. 3)
Lou Malmsha and J. H. Rogers, McVicker’s Theatre (Chicago Tribune, 1 August 1880, p. 2)
Charles G. Petford, Hooley’s Theatre (Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 1880, p. 12)
George Dayton, Hamlin’s Grand Opera-House (Chicago Tribune 15 Aug. 1880, p. 12)
Not all were living in town, or being listed in the city directories. For many, Chicago was simply another stop in the region. They came, made headlines, and headed to the next project. Henry C. Tryon, another future employee at Sosman & Landis, also worked in a variety of cities at this time.
In 1880, however, he was in Chicago long enough to write a letter to the Chicago Tribune Editor. At the time, Tryon was associated with McVicker’s Theatre in Chicago, working as an assistant to both Malmsha and Rogers.
Here is Tryon’s article in its entirety, published on Dec. 19, 1880:
“SCENE PAINTING.
Some hints to the Public Regarding a Special Department of the Painters’ Art Not Well Understood.
To the Editor of The Chicago Tribune-
Chicago, Dec. 18.-
Theatrical scenery is painted in “distemper,” dry color being mixed with a vehicle consisting of glue and water, much the same as is used with whiting for calcimining rooms. Stage scenery and drop-curtains are never painted in oil colors. While the color is less brilliant than when mixed with oils (the artist being compelled to get his brilliancy by skillful arrangement of dull color), the glare of varnish and oil is avoided which would destroy the realism of the scene. Scenery, then, being painted in watercolors, the danger from fire is much less than popularly supposed; in fact, when it does take fire, it burns very slowly for a long time. The canvas is much less combustible than before being painted. Scenes painted on both sides are almost fireproof.
The qualities required of a first-class scenic-artist are of a much higher order than is generally supposed, and the technical difficulties to be overcome to produce any brilliant effect whatever for the stage are so numerous that, with a thorough knowledge of drawing, color, and composition, and the clearest possible idea on the part of the artist of what he desires to do, he will fail utterly, without great practice, to convey to the audience the effect that he may have already, in his brain, arranged in the clearest and most tangible shape. The artist in oil colors can produce any effect which his mind conceives. The scenic-artist must first overcome many very difficult obstacles. One of the chief difficulties arises from the fact that the colors dry out several shades lighter that they are when applied. (Throw a little water on the floor and the difference in color will illustrate this difficulty). The artist is compelled to paint with one color while thinking of another. He must think with every brush mark how the colors will “dry put.” The difficulty in doing this can be imagined when it is considered that all exterior scenes are painted from a pallet making a constant change of thousands of different tints. Then the effect of a night light is a serious drawback. Whoever has observed the changes in the colors of fabrics from the light of day to the artificial light of gas must have noticed how some colors are heightened and others dimmed by being brought under the yellow gaslight.
The scene-painter working in the broad glare of day must consider with every brush mark the effect of this gaslight on his color. A brilliant effect by daylight may, under an artificial light, be entirely destroyed, and also the reverse holds true; but must not be accident with the scenic-artist.
Do the audience in the theatre ever realize the immense difficulty of painting a scene while within three or at most four feet from the canvas, to produce the proper effect at a distance of fifty to 150 feet, the artist being compelled to see his work in his mind’s eye this distance, when his first opportunity to see his entire work is after it has been finished and on stage? The result of constant practice in this direction is, that, as he acquires knowledge, and consequently power and decision, he gradually choses larger brushes, until the skillful artist is enabled with the roughest and apparently most hideous “swashes” of the calcimining brush to produce effect as soft, tender, and full of appropriate meaning as is done by the most labored, painstaking care on smaller surfaces by many landscape painters. In scene-painting, as in all other art, it is only the novice who takes the life out of his work by petty, contemptible smoothing down with small brushes. “Pictures are made to be seen, not smelled,” said Reynolds. In decorative painting mechanical finish is the important requisite, but in scene-painting it is no more an excellence than is mechanical finish in any other art.
The popular impression is that because scenes are thus painted with broad, bold, rough marks it is scarcely more than a grade or so advanced beyond mere decorative painting; but think for a moment of the knowledge of drawing, perspective, composition, and color required to enable the artist to produce on these large surfaces a scene which to the audience must be realism, when he can only see at any time a limited portion (say ten feet square) of his work – on a “drop” say thirty feet by fifty – while working within three feet of his canvas, and to be seen across a large theatre. The fact is, that a scenic artist is able to paint a small picture with much greater ease and readiness that he can with his theatrical work, because he has the knowledge to paint the small subject without very great obstacles attending his work on the large canvas.
Another thing to be considered in this connection: The scenic-artist does not always – in fact, seldom- have the leisure to do work at his best. He has neither the time nor opportunity to correct his work. When a picture is finished in an artist’s studio the artist sees where a change here and there will enhance the value of his work and can perfect it. The scene-painter must call his work “a go” and start on the next scene. “We press your hat while you wait,” is the sentiment. The manager comes to the artist, and says we want a street – Paris, 1600 – to-night. He must have it then, though the heavens fall. “Time, tide, and managers wait for no man.” Many times in the experiences of all scenic-painters are they obliged to work thirty-six hours at a stretch, their meals brought to them, and stopping for nothing else, each of those hours working against time, with no sentiment other than to get through, get out of the theatre and to the rest that exhausted nature loudly demands. Still, he must be criticized on this very work. The audience doesn’t know anything about his having worked all day, and all night, and all day.
The great scenic-artists of the world are great artists, and so recognized in the world of art. Poor dead Minard Lewis was the very Prince of scenic artists, and his genius was the wonder and admiration of every artist of every department of art in New York. Yet the theatre-going public who for thirty or forty years had admired and applauded his beautiful work did not know or care to know his name.
The position of scenic-artist in a first-class theatre is one of great responsibility, which is properly recognized “behind the curtain line,” but the general public has no interest in the personality of the scenic artist, supposing in a vague sort of way that the manager paints the scenes. It is no unusual thing for scenery to be lavishly commended by the press and public, the manager receiving the press and praise for his “enterprise, taste and liberality,” while the artist whose brain and hand has created it all is never mentioned or even thought of. Scene-painters, like all other artists, have their ambitions, and are grateful for proper and honest appreciation. Much injustice has been done to them (perhaps through thoughtlessness) by the public press and this is strongly felt by every scenic-artist. If the newspaper dramatic critics would take the same interest in the scene-painters themselves that they do with other individual members of the theatrical business and that they do with other artists, and would find out under what adverse circumstances they generally labor, their sense of justice would cause them to be more discrimination in their reports. If a theatre during an extended period is uniformly negligent in the matter of scenic accessories, it would be but simple justice for the public critics to inquire whether it is due to the incompetency of the scenic-artist or to the economy of the manager. The truth in this matter can always be easily discovered, and when blame is laid, as it frequently is, it should not be done in loose and indiscriminate manner which injures most the artist who is frequently not to blame. If the dramatic critics would visit and become acquainted with the scenic-artists they would be welcomed, and would perhaps gain in the interest of dramatic art and progress some ideas from that unknown and unthought of portion of the theatre 9the paint gallery) that would be a revelation to them. The sooner the press and public recognize the scene-painters as artists and deal with them individually as with other artists – commending or condemn them on their own merits, – the better it will be for the elevation of scenic art.
-Henry C. Tryon”
This likely caught the eye of Sosman. By 1882, Tryon began working for the firm. This was immediately after he delivered scenery to the Salt Lake Theatre in 1882.
In 1891, Perry Landis explained to a reporter why he and Joseph Sosman selected Chicago for their first studio:
“…we were totally unknown, and New York presented a good deal of formidable competition. It’s the name you want in our business, and, at that time, we hadn’t got it.”
For years, I have tracked down artists who specialized in theatre scenery, those specifically listed in US City Directories. It has been a daunting task, but my research has helped me track the movements and demographics of scenic artists between 1850 and 1900. I have been able to explore shifts in occupational title as artists journeyed from one region to the next. Their job titles included scenic artists, scenery artists, scene artists, scenery painters, scene painters, and scenic painters. Some even omitted their occupation entirely in City Directories, or just went by artist or painter.
While entering scores of names, addresses, and dates, I noticed that many metropolitan areas east of Chicago were saturated with established artists. I completely understand why Sosman & Landis didn’t set up shop in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, New Orleans, or San Francisco. These cities already hosted generations of scene painters.
Although there was an abundance of work, it would have been a struggle to compete with more well-known and established artists. In short, there were too many artists in the eastern cities with long-standing reputations at specific entertainment venues and touring groups. Unless you were apprenticed to one of these master painters, it could have been difficult to get the most lucrative jobs with steady employment. Although the demand for painted scenery was greater than the supply of artists, location mattered. Connections were key in established markets.
In 1879, Chicago was still in the process of rebuilding itself after the Great Fire of 1871. This meant new construction, new buildings, and new transit lines. It also meant new theaters and new management. Any scenic art hierarchy that existed before the fire was long gone. In fact, many scenic artists had left Chicago in search of other work elsewhere across the country, settling into new venues and establishing new partnerships. This meant that those venturing west had little competition for a few years. In fact, Sosman & Landis was the only firm listed in the scenic artist section of the 1880 Chicago Directory. They had arrived in town the year before, quickly setting up shop on the south-side of Chicago.
In 1879, Sosman & Landis leased their first studio at 277 and 279 South Clark Street. Their space was in a multi-purpose building, located at the northeast corner of Van Buren and S. Clark. See the location below – marked with a red star.
Rental advertisements published in the Chicago Tribune provide some insight into the rental spaces at 277 and 279 South Clark street. There were several retail spaces, dozens of residential units, and a large hall.
For example, on April 12, 1873, the Chicago Tribune listed:
“TO RENT – STORE 20×50 IN BRICK BUILDING, on the south side; first-class location for a good drug store. Also two others, same size, suitable for dry goods or boot and shoe. Call or address Room 6, 279 Clark-st., corner Van Buren” (page 7)
On Oct. 31, 1875, the Chicago Tribune published:
“TO RENT – CHEAP – OFFICES AND SLEEEPING rooms in the building known as 277 and 279 South Clark-st. A large hall suitable for lodge or society purposes, in building 277 and 279 South Clark-st. Also basement 279 South Clark -st…Inquire of GEO. G. NEWBURY, Rooms 8 and 9 Bryan Block, or the OWNER, 279 South Clark-st” (page 15). For additional context, George Gardner Newbury (1842-1912) was a real estate agent and loan broker. At the time of his passing, his obituary remembered him as “one of the oldest real estate men in Chicago” (Chicago Tribune 3, Jan. 1912, p. 11).
Another rent ad published in the Chicago Tribune on April 8, 1877, announced:
“TO RENT – SECOND AND THIRD FLOORS of 277 and 279 South Clark-st. containing 26 rooms with all conveniences. Inquire of GEORGE G. NEWBURY, Rooms 8 and 9 Bryan Block” (page 13).
The Sosman & Landis Studio was strategically situated between two public transit lines and a railway depot. Known as the Rock Island Depot, the station housed the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific R.R., as well as the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Lines. Close proximity to a railway hub was important for theatrical manufacturers to succeed, especially if they planned to import skilled labor and export product.
1886 Robinson Fire Map showing the location of the train depot, located one block west of Sosman and Landis on Van Buren.
Although a few studios advertised “scenery to let” at this time, Sosman & Landis advertised mail-order scenery. In fact, they may have been the first US scenic studio to offer this service. Sosman & Landis placed an advertisement in the Chicago Tribune on May 17, 1879:
“SCENERY FOR HALLS – AN ELEGANT Landscape drop-curtain, only $30; parlor scene, $18; wood scene, $18; street scene, $18, kitchen scene, $15; prison scene, $15, all new and first-class suitable for small halls or amateur societies. Can be shipped to any part of the country. SOSMAN & LANDIS, 277 and 279 South Clark-st., Chicago” (page 3).
1879 Sosman & Landis advertisement.
I really wonder if Sosman & Landis rented the great hall in the building at 277 and 279 South Clark Street. It certainly made sense as they needed room for construction, sewing, painting, and storage. Also, if there had been an existing stock scenery collection in the hall, it that could have been removed, refurbished, and immediately sold.
The Neighborhood
In addition to exploring the various rental spaces at 277 and 279 South Clark Street, I identified 47 individuals living in the building during 1880. Occupations listed for the residents included carpenter, blacksmith, tinsmith, printer, clerk, bookkeeper, tailor, shoemaker, broker, and speculator.
This heavily-trafficked neighborhood was home to a variety of individuals from varying ethnic and economic backgrounds. The area was diverse, albeit somewhat rough. In fact, a portion of the neighborhood was even labeled “whisky row.” Newspaper articles and public records described robberies, fist fights, shootings, suicides, and homicides. Perusing newspaper accounts between 1879-1880 indicated an interesting mix of people, organizations, and activities.
There was also an incredible amount of good that was done in the area – missionary work, charity, and black activism – all at the intersection of Clark and Van Buren Streets. A few particular groups caught me eye as I read through hundreds of articles from 1879-1880.
This intersection was considered one of the “great thoroughfares” for the Yoke Fellows. They frequented the crossroads of Clark and Van Buren. This group was described at the 1879 YMCA convention. A. T. Henningway stated, “The Yoke Fellows seek to reach young men of each class by Christian young men of that class in their own band.” At the same convention, President D. L. Moody said, “I was among the “yoke fellows” in Chicago a few years ago, and spent with them some of the pleasantest hours of my life. They would pray together and then start out, every man to his post, upon the four corners of the great thoroughfares, before all the hotels, and in public places generally. And a man could not get within one mole of their head-quarters without receiving an invitation” (Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Convention, 1879, p. 50).
The Pacific Garden Mission was also situated at the corner of Van Buren & Clark. It was a homeless shelter founded in 1877 by Colonel George Clarke and Sarah Dunn Clarke, taking its name from the former tenant, a saloon known as Pacific Beer Garden. Instead of changing the sign, Clarke painted out the word “beer” and added “Mission.” Pretty clever and thrifty. 1880 advertisements for services at the Pacific Garden Mission announced, “all were welcome” (Chicago Tribune, 4 March 1880, page 8). The Mission still exists and is considered “the nation’s oldest rescue mission working to change lives through God’s transformative love.” Here is their website: https://www.pgm.org/who-we-are/our-history/#:~:text=The%20Mission%20began%20in%201877,speaking%20eloquently%20of%20God’s%20love.
In addition to religious outreach, there was also a significant amount of black activism. Pacific Hall, was host to a variety of groups, including Company A of the “Sixteenth Battalion, I. N. G. (colored).” This group started out as the “Hannibal Zouaves,” organized by Capt. Robert E. Moore as an independent black militia company, but was later designated as Company A, 16th Battalion Illinois National Guard. On March 30, 1879 the Chicago Tribune announced:
“Ward Meetings Monday. First Ward – The Hannibal Zouaves, Company ‘A’ will celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment at Pacific Hall, corner Van Buren and Clark-sts. Speakers are Gen. O. L. Mann, E. R. Bliss, M. F. Tarble” (p. 8).
In fact, their first annual entertainment at Pacific Hall included “Forty-five handsomely uniformed and well equipped colored men were in the ranks and they marched well and went through the manual of arms fairly. It is said that the company can muster seventy men in all, but there are not enough uniforms for the whole number” (Chicago Tribune, 1 April 1879, p. 8). Their events were often advertised as “a grand military bal masque” (Chicago Tribune 18 Jan 1880, p. 12).
In 1880, the Pacific Hall also hosted a meeting discussing “colored people desirous of holding a convention to elect delegates to a State Convention” (Chicago Daily Telegraph 30 June 1880 p. 1). The Chicago Tribune announced this “mass meeting of colored men” at the Pacific Hall reporting, “Judge William Bord of Cairo, reviewed the political situation from the standpoint of colored interests, and urged that there should be no division, but that the colored people should work as one that they might be a factor in State, city, and National politics. The elevation of the negro should be their aim, and to that end all their thoughts and actions should be directed” (12 Oct 1880, p.8).
Pacific Hall was also rented by the Monaco Club, a group described in the Chicago Tribune as “a colored organization” (27 Oct, 1880, page 8). Two of the other groups that used the hall included the Sabbath School Union and the Love and Charity Society.
The First Studio Staff
The same year that Sosman & Landis leased studio space on Clark, Perry’s younger brother, Frank Landis, was brought on as a salesman. He traveled throughout the region, securing scenery orders for the firm.
On August 16, 1879, the Atchison Daily Patriot announced, “Frank Landis, representing the firm of Sosman & Landis, is in Atchison” (page 4). As the firm’s project load increased, there was a need for additional staff. In the beginning, Sosman painted all of the scenery, with the hwlp of Landis when necessary. For larger projects, they used a few local hires. This is also how Sosman entered the scenic art profession; he assisted Tom Harrison painting scenery at Chandler’s Opera House in 1873. At that time, Sosman was a local hire. In Macomb, Illinois, Sosman primarily worked as a decorative artist and sign painter.
Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934)
Thomas G. Moses was hired by Sosman in 1880. Moses walked into the studio on Clark Street. He was in the right place at the right time. Landis was on the road and Sosman needed help. In his memoirs Moses wrote: “I had heard of Sosman and Landis, and they knew of me. I called on them, met Mr. Sosman, and settled to go to work for them for $18.00 per week.”Moses was only living a few blocks away from the studio, at 428 Van Buren.
A view from the intersection of Clark and Van Buren Streets.
Of his home on Van Buren, Moses wrote, “We had four rooms, second floor, in a brick building, $11.00 per month…We set our table on $3.00 per week and lived well.”
Sosman and Landis leased their own private residence on the west side, at 177 S. Peoria. However, the public transit line ran along Van Buren street, so their studio was only a short ride away.
Between In 1881, Landis married Nora Fessler and rented an apartment just a few doors down on the same street. Sosman remained at 177 South Peoria, with Landis and his wife living at 173 South Peoria. Want ads describe the house at 173 South Peoria as having ten rooms (Chicago Tribune 1 May 1872, p. 7).
Sosman & Landis did not remain on Peoria street for long. In 1882, the boarding and lodging section of the Chicago Tribune listed “177 South Peoria-St. – a south and east front room, well furnished with first-class board for gentleman and wife or two gents” (26 Feb 1882, p. 12). Both Sosman and Landis moved a block west, securing a residence at 155 S. Sangamon.
Interior of the hall and stage at The Forum. Sept. 28, 2023.
A remarkable Sosman & Landis drop curtain was discovered on the south-side of Chicago this year. On Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, I scheduled a visit to examine it and other historic scenery at The Forum in Bronzeville. Located approximately six miles south of Chicago’s Loop, the building is situated on the northwest corner of East 43rd Street and South Calumet Avenue. It is immediately east of 43rd Street ‘L’ Station, making it very accessible from other areas of the city. The Forum is part of the Grand Boulevard community, with other Bronzeville communities including Douglas and Oakland. The stage is situated on the second floor with retail spaces below.
The Forum scenery collection first came onto my radar this summer. On July 18, 2023, Brian Traynor sent me a photograph with the text, “Guess what I’m looking at.” It was a Sosman & Landis signature on the corner of a drop curtain.
Photograph texted to me by Brian Traynor on July 18, 2023.
This prompted a flurry of exchanges, with me asking for more information. Traynor was at the Forum with Mary Margaret Bartley and several other Forum stakeholders. After visiting the Forum earlier that year, on an open house day, it was Bartley who set the wheels in motion to unroll and examine the drops with Traynor in tow.
On July 19, I spoke with Bernard Loyd, PhD, current owner of The Forum. He is also the founder and president of Urban Juncture and on the Build Bronzeville Team.
Occasionally, you meet a person who radiates so much positive energy that they instantly draw you into their vision. That is what happened to me when I shook hands with Loyd and ascended the Forum’s grand staircase during my visit. The energy radiating from both Loyd and the building are palpable, creating an inescapable pull to this project as you envision the potential. You don’t even have to shut your eyes to imagine what this space once was, and what it could be again.
Loyd’s fight to preserve the Forum from the wrecking ball is part of a much larger movement in within the neighborhood. In 2019, Three years later, the the Bronzeville-Black Metropolis National Heritage Area was established with the hope of preserving more than two hundred locations between 18th and 71st Streets.
During my visit we unrolled the scenery and discussed the subject matter, use and current condition of the collection.
Michael Beavers and Brian Traynor preparing a roll drop for storage.
Here are the rolls of scenery that were discovered by Michael Beavers in the attic.
Loyd contacted Book Club Chicago journalist Jamie Nesbitt Golden to be there and possibly write a story about the significance of the painted scenes. Colin Boyle. Also, in attendance that day were Book Club Chicago photographer Colin Boyle, Michael J. Beavers, Brian Traynor, and Ayana Simone Loyd.
Left to right: Brian Traynor, Bernard Loyd, Colin Boyle, Jamie Nesbitt Golden, Ayana Simone Loyd, and Michael Beavers.
After our visit, Loyd followed up with an email to the group. It ended with his writing:
“I can’t help but comment on how the Forum drop seems like a perfect metaphor for both The Forum and the Bronzeville community, of which The Forum was a central hub. They’ve all been challenged, battered, and all but discarded, but against all odds they’ve survived and they’re still incredibly rich and connected. As we figure out how to tap into that cultural wealth and reactivate those dormant links, we will bring the drops, The Forum, and our community back to their full vibrancy.”
You may see why I am compelled to help Loyd and the Forum History Team. Seldom do I meet a theatre owner who immediately understands the cultural significance of the extant scenery.
My post could end here with some lovely shots of the scenic art. This is far too great of a cultural discovery to dismiss. For the past few days, I decided to do some extensive research for the Forum History Team, placing this scenery collection within the context of local, regional and national histories.
This project also ties in with my current research regarding marginalized groups in technical theatre history, those that were often left out of theatre history books. For the past few years, I have been exploring the lives and careers of 113 Sosman & Landis employees, a firm that employed both women and people of color. When people were not included in written histories, it does not mean that they were not present.
The Forum Scenery Collection
The Forum’s historic stock scenery collection includes a drop curtain, landscape, street scene, grand border, and three sky borders (light blue).
Drop Curtain and grand border delivered by Sosman & Landis to The Forum in 1897.
Painted detail on drop curtain with extensive water damage.
Street Scene roll drop delivered by Sosman & Landis to The Forum in 1897.
Painted detail on street scene.
Painted detail on street scene.
Landscape roll drop delivered by Sosman & Landis to The Forum in 1897. Brian Traynor (left) and Michael Beavers (right).
Painted detail on landscape drop.
These seven tattered and water-stained pieces are all that remain of the Forum’s original stock scenery collection, delivered by Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio in 1897.
For context, when a stage does not have space above the stage to raise painted scenery, the only viable option is to used roll drops or framed shutters.
The Forum stage.
Here are a few example of a roll drop collections to help understand how these pieces were stored above a stage without a fly loft.
Roll drop collection in Danville, Virginia.
Roll drop collection in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Roll drop collection in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
End view of roller on a drop at The Forum.
There are a few miraculous moments that saved The Forum scenery. The first moment was when the scenery was lowered to the stage floor for a final time. It was carefully rolled, not ripped away from the top battens or bottom rolls. The second moment was when these scenes were moved to the attic for safe keeping. It is amazing that the scenery was not either given to another venue or thrown away. Someone made the decision to keep the scenes and tuck them away in the attic. We may never know who the person was, or what their motivations were; however, I consider this unknown individual to be the first steward of the Forum scenery collection.
The third moment was when Michael Beavers discovered the dust-laden rolls and knew that they were historic theatre scenery. The fourth moment was when Loyd immediately understood that they were worth saving, signaling new stewardship.
Stage Scenery
I am going to start with the functionality of the drop curtain, and accompanying stage masking.
The drop curtain was designed to pair with not only painted top border, but also two side tormentor wings. Only The Forum drop curtain and grand border survive. Here is an example of a grand border and two tormentor wings.
Grand Border and Wings delivered to the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, by the Kansas City Scenic Co. in 1902.
This top piece is also referred to some as a valance or teaser. Keep in mind that terminology varies from one region to another, and one decade to the next. When it was manufactured and installed by the Sosman & Landis studio, they termed the painted top piece as a “Grand Drapery Border.” Its listing in the firm’s 1894 catalogue included the following definition: “Made to represent rich and massive drapery and matches the drapery on the tormentor wings.”
The grand border delivered by Sosman & Landis in 1897.
Painted detail on grand border.
The measurement for the grand border and three sky borders were 30’-0” long. The three sky borders were painted as a single 9’-0” x 30’-0” drop in the studio and then cut into the three pieces. The original size remains on the back of one sky border.
Charcoal notation with measurement for the piece of Fabric that was sent from the fabric room to the paint studio at Sosman & Landis. This was standard procedure throughout the firm’s history.
The catalogue described the accompanying side pieces:
“Tormentor Wings – Represent columns with elaborate base and rich drapery at top and side. These wings are stationary ones, set three or four feet back of and parallel with the drop curtain.”
Here is an example of a tormentor wing design, like what may have been paired with The Forum’s drop curtain and grand border. These three pieces (drop curtain, grand border, and tormentor wings) typically reflect the color scheme of an auditorium or hall, unifying all decorative elements.
Drapery detail on drop curtain. This color scheme was reflected in the extant grand border and would have been incorporated into the two missing tormentor wings.
Tormentor wings were framed pieces that functioned as masking, to conceal the side stage. Working in conjunction with the grand drapery border, when the drop curtain was “out” (rolled up to reveal the stage), the three pieces framed all other painted compositions, such as the Forum’s landscape and street scenes.
A description of a standard drop curtain was included in the 1894 Sosman & Landis catalogue:
“Drop Curtain – Representing some romantic or historic view, with rich and elaborate drapery and gold frame.” The selection of “some romantic or historic view” often included popular artworks of the day.
It was quite common to replicate a painting or sketch, with the scenic artist taking a few liberties. Henry C. Tryon used William Linton’s painting, “A City of Ancient Greece – Return of the Glorious Armament” for the subject of the Salt Lake Theatre drop curtain in 1882. Tryon titled his drop curtain, “Return of the Victorious Fleet,” for the Salt Lake Theatre in 1882.
Illustration of William Linton’s painting (left) and photograph of Henry C. Tryon’s drop curtain for the Salt Lake Theatre (right). Both are from the Twin City Scenic Co. Collection. University of Minnesota Libraries, Performing Arts Archives.
William Linton’s painting, “A City of Ancient Greece – Return of the Glorious Armament.”
Similarly, an artist at the Twin City Scenic Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota, designed a drop curtain with the central view replicating Thomas Moran’s “Sunrise on Ruins at Cuernavaca, Old Mexico.” Paint droplets still coat the copy once used by the scenic artist. Prints were readily available of his work and even included in the 1912 publication Three Wonderlands of the American West by Thos. D. Murphy.
A print of Thomas Moran’s “Sunrise on Ruins at Cuernavaca, Old Mexico” (left) and Twin City Scenic Co. drop curtain design (right). Both are from the Twin City Scenic Co. Collection. University of Minnesota Libraries, Performing Arts Archives.
Here is an example from the Twin City Scenic Company Collection of the scenic artist’s source, the design and final drop curtain for Milton, North Dakota.
Print and corresponding drop curtain design. Both are from the Twin City Scenic Co. Collection. University of Minnesota Libraries, Performing Arts Archives.
Realized backdrop by Twin City Scenic Company scenic artists for the Opera House in Milton, North Dakota. Photograph by Dr. Lawrence Hill.
Black and white photograph of Milton Opera House that shows more detail. Photograph by Dr. Lawrence Hill.
This brings us to the central subject on the Forum drop curtain – the Roman Forum.
The central composition of the drop curtain for the Forum. Painted by a Sosman & Landis scenic artist, currently unidentified.
The Subject
The composition is almost identical to the Stefano Donadoni (1844-1911) watercolor painting entitled “Foro Romano.”
It was his red signature (S. Donadoni) in the left corner that caught my eye; a signature with the same color and placement as the Sosman & Landis signature on the 1897 Forum Drop Curtain.
Red signature by Stefano Donadoni.
Sosman & Landis signature on drop curtain and The Forum (left). Sosman & Landis signature on drop curtain for the opera house in Lisbon, North Dakota. This is the first Sosman & Landis signature that I have encountered in red.
This Donadoni watercolor painting has been repeatedly sold at auction over the past few decades. However, I found that in 2007, it sold as part of a pain.
Painting listed a Bonhams when sold as part of a pair in 2007. More recent auctions took place in Florida.
I located mention of an “S. Donadoni” painting titled, “The Forum, Rome,” as part of the Bath and West England Exhibition at St. Alban’s (Bathe Chronicle 4 June 1896, p. 6). I have yet to find an exact date for the painting. Nor do I have any indication of how many Donadoni paintings depicted the Roman Forum. However, Donadoni watercolor paintings are listed as part of exhibitions in English newspapers as early as 1893 (Western Morning News, Exeter, 25 Aug 1893, p.3).
Donadoni’s work was also known in the United States, kept in both private and public collections. For example. Donadoni’s “Castle of St. Angelo and St. Peter at Rome” was even listed for as part of an exhibition (the Wilbur Collection) at the Morgan Building in Buffalo, New York (The Buffalo Commercial 24 April 1900, p. 10 and The Buffalo Review 21 April 1900., p. 4).
As mentioned above, nineteenth-century scenic artists used illustrations, photographs and prints when replicating subjects for drop curtain composition. I have yet to find any concrete evidence of a scenic artist using an original fine art piece as a source during the scene painting. Part of this has to do with liability. Painting near an original artwork is also risky, for fear of platter damaging the work.
As with Donadoni’s watercolor painting, the Sosman & Landis drop curtain depicts the Roman Forum with several figures to for scale. The addition of figures in any composition helps the viewer understand the scope of a landscape or the height of a building. Such is the case with the Forum drop curtain.
Of the ten figures, four are located on Via Sacra (Sacred Street), the large main street of ancient Rome that led from the top of Capitoline Hill to the Colosseum, passing through religious sites and the Forum. Four are positioned in front of the Temple of Saturn (colonnade): one is looking back toward the Via Sacra; and three are gazing at the Basilica Julia ruins. It is extremely unlikely would be pointing to something outside of the picture. It is very telling that he is indication to the ruins of a public building that once housed meetings, shops, and hosted civil court cases.
What is truly remarkable about this active group is that they are not all white. This is the first time that I have ever encountered a grouping of black people on an extant drop curtain. After closely examining the paint application, finish, placement, shadow work and the surrounding area, the inclusion of these three individuals appears to be original. I don’t believe that any of the figures were added after the painting was delivered.
These figures are so small that their race would not be discernable from more than ten feet away.
My hand next to the figures for scale.
Detail of figure.
Detail of figures on Via Sacra railing.
Detail of figures on beyond the Temple of Saturn .
Detail of figures on Via Sacra railing.
From another historical perspective, the Forum was the center of daily life in Rome for centuries. This was the setting for speeches, processionals, public trials, and gladiatorial events. It is now surrounded by the ruins of several government buildings. For many, this iconic space is the most celebrated meeting place in the world. In many ways, Forum Hall shared a similar function, with the drop curtain solidifying this connection. There is no mistaking that the subject matter for the curtain was based on past and present notions of “Forum” in 1897.
Forum Clubs were quite popular in 1897. Some were debate teams attached to colleges and universities. Others were literary organizations with guest lecturers. Other Forum Clubs were formed to discuss the state of inequality.
For example, on Saturday, Dec. 25, The Appeal in St. Paul, Minnesota published the following announcement:
“Prof. O. M. Woods in his report to the Forum Club, reviewed the ‘criminal status of the Negro race.’ He scored the convict system of the South, and cited facts and statistics showing the comparative length of terms served by white and Afro-American criminals for the same offense, and the alleged manner in which the entire administration of justice was so warped to the prejudice of the Afro-Americans that their condition in many states was rendered but little better than that of the slaves of ante-bellum days” (p. 2).
In 1897, there was also a Forum Club that met in Forum Hall. Purportedly it was a dancing organization, but I am suspect. On Sept. 12, 1897, The Chicago Chronicle announced “A new dancing organization, the Forum Club, has been organized on the south side, and will give its opening party at the Forum hall, Calumet avenue and Forty-third street, Wednesday, Sept. 29: (p. 40). Another announcement appeared later that month, providing a little more information about this new social organization. On Sept. 29, 1897, in the Inter Ocean announced:
“The Forum club, a new social organization of about 100 young men of the neighborhood, will give here a series of parties this season. Officers have yet to be chosen, and thirty more members will be elected.”
This Forum Club was an all-male organization with limited membership and elected officers, like any business or fraternal organization at this time. It is possible that the Forum Club was meeting for reasons other than dancing. However, advertising and meeting as a “dancing club” allows a large group of 100 young men to not only gather, but also publicly announce their gatherings without any repercussions.
When Forum Hall was built in 1897, there are several other aspects of American history to consider. I’m going to start with the use of the word “Forum” in in the establishment of organizations dating from 1897.
The Forum Club of St. Louis
I am going to pause for a moment and look at the Forum Club of St. Louis, as it provides context withing the framework of American history in 1897-1898. At the time, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat described the organization’s membership as “leading business and professional men of the negro race” (13 Dec 1897, p. 10).
As noted in the 1897 Chicago Tribune newspaper article: “The Civic League will stand for good citizenship and be based somewhat on the Forum Club of St. Louis.”
The Forum Club of St. Louis was described in St. Louis Globe-Democrat on Jun 15, 1896, published an article entitled, “The Colored Contingent,” reporting “The Forum Club, a Republican organization, composed of over 1500 colored business and professional men of this city” (p. 9). This was a gathering of African-American delegates for the National Republican Convention in St. Louis. Representatives from all over the country attended the event, including Hon. George W. Murray, described as “the only negro Congressman in the present House of Representatives.” On May 25, 1896, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch “The Forum Club, an organization of the leading colored citizens of the city, is making a special effort to properly entertain the colored delegates to the National Republican Convention” (p. 8).
This stain on our democracy should never be forgotten.
The Forum Club of St. Louis responded to the tragedy. Newspapers across the country reported on their response. On Nov. 25, 1898, The Clinton Register of Clinton, Illinois, reported, “The Forum club of St. Louis has compiled as address to President McKinley asking him to recommend to congress such legislation as will do away with the massacre of negroes in the south” (p. 8). Here is the link to the “Address of the Forum Club, of St. Louis, Missouri, to Hon. William McKinley, President of the United States, November 1898” at the Harvard Libraries: https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/slavery-abolition-emancipation-and-freedom/catalog/74-990012311570203941
The Forum Club of St. Louis as a Model for The Civic League in Chicago, 1897
The founders of the Civic League in Chicago were from the city’s south side.
On Jan. 22, 1897, the Chicago Tribune published an article about the formation of an organization modeled after the Forum Club in St. Louis, Missouri (page 7). The article was entitled, “To Lift Up the African”, with subheadings “Chicago Colored Men will Organize the ‘Civic League.’ Body will make war on crime and degradation with the especial object of improving socially and politically the Black Race – Forum Club of St. Louis suggests the foundation lines – Dr. George C. Hall on a meeting for Sunday.”
The article continued:
“Representative colored men of Chicago are banding together for a war on crime and for the advancement, in all legitimate ways, of reputable representatives of the negro race. The organization, which will be formed next Sunday at No. 2718 State street will be known as ‘The Civic League.’ It’s president will be Dr. George C. Hall of No. 533 State street.
Interested with Dr. Hall in the new organization are T. W. Jones, W. W. Lytle, George Allen, Hannibal Carter, Dr. G. M. Crissup, Dr. A. M. Curtis, Dr. E. E. Barr, W. F. Taylor, and others. These men recently at No. 2718 State street and entered into a full and elaborate discussion of the negro problem.”
[I am going to pause here to mention that 2718 State Street was a building with retail space below and apartments above. In the early 1890s the retail spaces had included as saloon. The address was also listed as a 4th Ward polling place, and continued to be listed as such in 1908]
The article continues:
“As a step in the direction of settling it, it was decided to form ‘The Civic League.’ Dr. George Allen, T. W. Jones, W. W. Lytle, and T. J. Bowers were appointed a Committee on Constitution and By-Laws, and will report next Sunday. Discussing the aims and purposes of the proposed league, Dr. Hall said last night: ‘To the fact that the American negro has entered upon the second quarter of a century of his emancipation without having obtained full measure of American citizenship decreed to him by the Constitution it is unnecessary to give more than passing attention. Self-evident truths need no argumentative demonstration. What we mean to do is simply this: To take a survey of the relative position and importance of the negro citizen as compared with other citizens of this community in which he lives; and when we find two classes of citizens, under the same auspices, with equal civil advantages, the one rising to a degree of almost unexampled power and eminence and the other sinking into a state of comparative obscurity, it is our determination to trace out the causes which have led to the elevation of one class and the depression of the other, and to use our most earnest endeavors to utterly extirpate whatever opposes the program and prosperity of any class of citizens in this country.
‘This survey we have casually made. We do not complain that our liberties are few, but that in this land of boasted freedom, where ability and good citizenship are the standards by which all the competitions of life are governed, the negro’s tenure of almost every public right is somewhat mutilated by arbitrary discriminations against him. In fact, in every race in which he enters he is first declared an inferior competitor and then handicapped and hobbled by an unjust race prejudice.
‘It must be recognized that the better the negro citizen can be, the better it will be for all classes of citizens. The negro’s grievance is that the better public citizen’s he tries to be these discriminations that are made against him are the most unbearable from the fact that they act as impediments not to his lower nature but to the aspirations of his higher nature.
‘As long as the negro is content to be a ragamuffin and a bootblack, frequent the vilest and lowest places of amusement, hang about the streets, shun all public places designed for the intellectual and moral welfare of the citizens, shun schools and colleges, keep out of professions and trades, no white man on earth could be much more free than he finds himself. But the moment he attempts to rise above such a life as this he is galled and tormented with ignominious discrimination against him as a public citizen, both by custom and (in some States) by law; and finally his mother, wife, his sister, and his daughter are encouraged to lead ignoble and are discouraged to lead nobler lives.
‘Many white men have had the honesty and boldness to step forward and proclaim the truth, while others have willfully traduced the negro, who proposes to stay in this country and is eager to be a citizen without any special rights or restrictions.
‘The Civic League is going to help the negro if it can, but not by pulling down the white man. It will make a feature of suppressing crime, and will act in full harmony with any existing organization which has for its objects the betterment of the whole people. Only by these means can the standard be raised.
‘We shall not demand anything, while we may respectfully request a number of things. We would like representation where labor of all kinds is employed, but we will leave it optional with the employer who he hires, contenting ourselves with giving endorsement of the league to a man we may decide is worthy to represent our race.
‘The Civic League will stand for good citizenship, and be based somewhat on the Forum Club of St. Louis. It’s officers will be business-men who can live without politics. If we cannot stop crime, we can locate the blame and fight that.”
On Jan. 25, 1897, The Chicago Chronicle announced,
“Civic League of Illinois
Colored Citizens Organize.
The Civic League of the state of Illinois was formally brought into existence yesterday afternoon at a meeting of colored persons held at 2718 State street. Thirty-two men in business and professional occupations discussed the methods to be employed by the new organization under the presidency of George C. Hall and voted on a constitution and by-laws and elected officers. The object of the league is to get the moral support of the north to enable the league to educate its kindred in the south and to endeavor to get trades unions to raise the bar they have placed against the admission of colored men” (page 7).
The same day, an announcement was made in the Inter Ocean published an article entitled, “To Educate Colored People” (page 8). It reported:
“The Civic League of the State of Illinois was formally brought into existence yesterday afternoon at a meeting of colored people held at No. 2718 State Street [3rd Ward]. Thirty-two men in business and professional occupations discussed the methods to be employed by the new organization under the presidency of George C. Hall, voted on a constitution and by-laws, and elected officers. The object of the league is to get the moral support of the North, to enable the league to educate its kindred in the South, and to endeavor to get trades unions to raise the bar they have placed against the admission of colored men. The league also expects to make the members of the race rejected by the white people in the communities in which they live. The following officers were elected: President Dr. George C. Hall; first vice-president, Hannibal C. Carter; secretary, Dr. G. M. Crissup; treasurer, T. W. Taylor. The board of directors will be selected at a future meeting, but it was determined to apply for a charter at once. The purposes of the league, as pronounced in its constitutions, are to foster and promote by every lawful use of the pen, the press, the mail, the law, the courts, by public assemblage and petitions, and by all proper stimulation of public sentiment, the legal and conventional recognition, establishment, and protection of all men in the common right of humanity, and of all citizens of the State of Illinois in the free enjoyment of every civic right, without distinction on account of birth, race, or private social status.
President Hall was very enthusiastic in his belief that the league would meet with success in its efforts. He said that it would not be allied in any manner in politics, except in the highest sense, and that the organization would aim to help the colored man in every possible manner. The roll members admitted yesterday contain the following names: J. E. Brown, George W. Lytle, Dr. SA. M. Curtis, S. J. Evanz, H. J. Bowers, H. S. Sanderson, R. W. Lacey, James H. Tillman, George D. Allen, E. J. Alexander, A. S. Cooper, H. M. Gibson, R. B. Cabell, and W. F. Tyler.”
Dr. George C. Hall, The Civic League’s first president
Dr. George C. Hall lived in Chicago’s 4th Ward
I am going to take a moment and examine Civic League’s first president, Dr. George C. Hall. He, and vice-president Hannibal C. Carter, both lived in Chicago’s 4th Ward; Hall at 3616 Dearborn and Carter at 3236 Dearborn. Although the ward’s boundaries continued to shift since formation in 1837, in 1887 the 4th Ward was bounded by Lake Michigan, 33rd and 39th streets and Stewart Avenue. Here is a map of the 4th Ward in 1900 when both Hall and Carter were counted in the census. Keep in mind that The Forum was immediately below the 4th Ward, in the top section of the 32nd Ward.
Image of Chicago’s 3rd and 4th ward in 1900. Image from Chicagology.com
In 1901 the ward was extended west to the Chicago River, where it would remain until 1923 when the City was divided into 50 modern wards.
Dr. George Cleveland Hall was born on Feb. 22, 1864, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, the son of John Ward Hall and Romelia Buck Hall. His father was a Baptist minister and the family moved to Chicago where Hall attended public schools. He matriculated at the Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University, graduating in 1886. He returned to Chicago where he received medical training at Bennett Medical College, graduating in 1888. In 1896 he graduated from Chicago’s Harvey Medical college, assisting in gynecology the nation’s first black-owned and managed hospital, Provident Hospital. The following year, he became president of the Chicago Civic League. His accomplishments are remarkable, and Hall is remembered for his many civic activities, including the founding of the association for the ASALH at the Wabash YMCA in Bronzeville with educators Carter G. Woodson, William B. Hartgrove. A. L. Jackson, and James E. Stamps. This later became the largest organization of black professional and public historians. From a medical standpoint, Hall remained active with Provident Hospital as a surgeon, trustee, chief-of-staff, and organizer of the first postgraduate courses. Hall also founded the Cook County Physician’s Association of Chicago, an organization of black doctors. This list of his accomplishments goes on and on.
Hannibal C. Carter, The Civic League’s first vice-president
H. C. Carter. His portrait was attached to his obituary in many newspapers, included “The Appeal” of St. Paul, Minnesota, on 11 June 1904, p. 4.
Here is a little information about this remarkable man. There are several biographies floating about with conflicting information. Here is what I have gathered from historic records and newspaper accounts. Keep in mind there were a few men living with the same name at the same time.
Capt. Hannibal Caesar Carter was born in February 1835 in New Albany, Indiana, the son of George Washington Carter and Ann Hill Carter. Although his family briefly moved to Canada, between 1837 and 1839, where two children were born, they returned to New Albany by 1840 where they were counted in the census. They were again listed in the 1850 census report for New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana. Interesting, in this census the occupation for Carter’s father was listed as “digging gold Cal.” In 1862, military records list Carter as a Captain in the 74th Regiment US Colored Infantry (Companies C and H). More information about his military history was detailed in The Appeal on July 25, 1891, “With his father he was on the Mississippi Steamer Vicksburg when the war broke out. This steamer ran on the lower Mississippi and a few days after Nutler occupied New Orleans, Carter, and his brother Edward made their way to him in safety. Shortly after they arrived, they petitioned General Butler to allow them to raise a regiment of Colored troops. This request was granted, and in October 1862, was mustered into the service….He was captain in the Second regiment Louisiana Native Guards, Corps d’Afrique. He assisted in the reconstruction of Tennessee, in 1867, and was elected from the Eighth congressional district in 1868. In 1868 he went to Mississippi and assisted in the reconstruction there. He represented Warren County, Miss., in the state legislature three times and was twice appointed secretary of the state. He was a candidate for congress in the famous district against General J. R, Chalmers …He removed from Vicksburg ten years ago and assigns as a reason that it ceased to be a healthy locality for a free man” (p.3). When Carter moved to Chicago, he was initially listed in directories as a clerk and notary. His 1906 obituary remembered, “He has resided in Chicago for over twenty years, and has taken a great interest in politics, and was quite an orator and political worker” (The Appeal, 11 June 1906, p. 4).
Here is a link for more information about the Corps d’Afrique: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1st-louisiana-native-guard-usa-corps-d-afrique-1862-1863/
It is sometimes difficult to track down individuals who served with multiple regiments or those that were consolidated. For the record, in April 1864, the three Native Guard regiments (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Corps d’Afrique) were dissolved, and its members were placed in the newly organized 73rd and 74th Regiments of the United States Colored Troops. By the end of the war, there were 175 USCT regiments, constituting about -one-tenth of the army’s manpower.
I am going to briefly pause here and make a connection. Sosman & Landis were founded by Joseph Sosman (1846-1915) and Perry Landis (1848-1904), both Civil War veterans who fought with the Union Army. Sosman’s older brother, Capt. William Sosman fought in the war for several years; his final commission being second lieutenant in the 106th regiment, U. S. Colored troops. Capt. Sosman’s son, worked as a scenic artist at Sosman & Landis during the 1890s. At one time most Sosman & Landis employees had fought in the Civil War. I have yet to locate any of their staff who were members of the Confederacy.
Joseph S. Sosman (top left) and Perry Landis (lower right) pictured in their 1889 catalogue.
Albert Emmet Kent
On April 7, 1897, The Chicago Chronicle announced “S. A. treat has designed a two-story store and hall building which A. E. Kent proposes to erect at Forty-third Street and Calumet avenue. It will be 130×83 feet. The hall will have a seating capacity of 700 and the building will be furnished in the modern style at a total cost of about $20,000” (page 21). A. E. Kent was Albert Emmet Kent (1830-1901), a well-known businessman who many considered to be the founder of the Chicago’s great meat packing industry. As remembered in his 1901 obituary, “Thirty years ago Mr. Kent was one of the leaders in the commercial life of this city. He was one of the organizers of the Corn Exchange and old Third National banks, and of the board of trade. He was also the originator of the optional system of trading, without which boards of trade would be impossible. But his greatest achievement lay in the founding of the great packing industries which have made Chicago famous the world over” (The Inter Ocean 9 Jan 1901, p. 3). His story is quite something.
For health reasons, Kent moved with his family to San Raphael, California, in 1871. By the way, he moved prior to the fire. Although he remained in the West Coast, his name continued to be listed in dozens of Chicago real estate transaction and building projects. His only surviving child, William Kent, had long charge of his father’s great real estate interests. In 1890, William became a partner in the real estate firm, A. E. Kent & Son, Co. Although A. E. Kent was listed as the owner of the Forum Building, it is highly unlikely that he participated in the planning or décor. This was simply a profitable investment for his real estate firm, intended to be rented to local residents. The demand for popular entertainment and meeting facilities often surpassed the supply theaters. The Kents likely considered another factor when constructing the theatre – transportation. The South Side “L” began making stops at 43rd, 47th and 51st streets in the Grand Boulevard community. The 43rd street stop for the “L” line was right at the Forum Theatre building. There is a fantastic page at the Encyclopedia of Chicago Website that examines the shifting demographic of residents and how Grand Boulevard became the “hub” of “Bronzeville.” Here is the link: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/537.html
Samuel Treat
Now I am going to explore the career of The Forum’s architect, Samuel Atwater Treat (1839-1910), and his connection with Sosman & Landis.
On April 3, 1897, the Forum Building was described in an article for The Economist: A Weekly Financial, Commercial, and Real-estate Newspaper (p. 374):
“Samuel A. Treat, Fisher Building, has prepared plans for the improvement of the northwest corner of Calumet avenue and Forty-third street. The property is owned by A. E. Kent, and the plans show the entire frontage of 130 feet on Forty-third street and 83 feet on Calumet avenue are to be covered with a two-story building to be devoted to stores on the main floor. On the property immediately on the corner above the stores there will be erected a lecture and amusement hall, 61×64 feet. The auditorium will have a seating capacity on the main floor and gallery of about 700. It will be reached by two flights of stairs, the principal one being from the Forty-third street entrance, and the other from Calumet avenue. Dressing rooms for ladies and gentlemen will be provided and also a dining room and kitchen. The interior views show a tasteful and appropriate arrangement of the gallery, proscenium and inglenook. The building throughout will be heated by steam and the auditorium will be ventilated by mechanical devices. It will be lighted by incandescent lights. The cost of the building will be $20,000, and it is to be ready for occupancy September 1. The same architect is making extensive improvements in the building at 51 and 53 Plymouth Place for Mr. Kent.”
When Treat designed The Forum, he was 57 yrs. old.
Born on Dec. 29, 1839, in New Haven, Connecticut, he worked for the architectural firm of Sidney M. Stone after graduating from the Collegiate and Commercial Institute in 1856 (now known as the Russell Military Academy).
This means that as a young man, Treat in the same town as Sosman & Landis scenic artist, David Austin Strong, nine years his senior. (1830-1911) In the 1850s, Strong worked as a sign painter, scenic artist, and stage manager at Homan’s Theatre, located in the Exchange building.
In 1867, Treat relocated to Chicago initially working with the form Randall & Co. After the 1871 Great Chicago fire, he partnered with Fritz Foltz to establish Treat & Foltz. The two worked together for almost two decades. Foltz was extremely connected with the musical scene in Chicago during their time together. From approximately 1890-1910, Treat conducted his own business in Chicago. Less than a year after Treat’s passing, Strong also died.
Strong had moved to Chicago in 1874, working at various Chicago theaters until joining the staff at Sosman & Landis in by 1886, where he remained until his passing in 1911. Strong was extremely well known in the throughout the country, as was his employer. On Feb 28, 1886, an article in the Inter Ocean included his portrait and a short biography: “Among the oldest and best-known scenic artists in Chicago is David A. Strong, whose name adorned Haverly’s bills in the latter’s palmy days, but who is now in the Sosman & Landis establishment. He was born so far back that he skillfully dodges the issue when questioned as to the exact time. His professional career was commenced in Howard’s Atheneum in Boston twenty-five years back, He was then engaged several years stocking the larger New England theaters with scenery. He painted in the National Theatre in Washington for four years during the war. Then went to the Chestnut at Philadelphia, under Len Grover’s management, He then worked in New York at the Olympic and later at Niblo’s. While at the latter place with Marsden he got up the original scenery for the ‘Black Crook.” He then painted the panorama, ‘The Mirror of Ireland,’ famous in the East some time ago, and traveled with it for four and a half years. When Grover and Call opened the old Adelphi in this city, Mr. Strong was induced to come West, and has remained here ever since, working in several of the first-class theaters” (page 9).
David A. Strong pictured in 1886.
Meanwhile, Treat partnered with Fritz Foltz, and the two worked together until 1897. There is much more that can be written about Treat, but I am going to stop here, and 1897 forms another link with the Sosman & Landis Studio.
On Dec. 11, 1897, Treat was listed as an architect for the Western Electric Co. in The Economist (p. 665). The Western Electric Co. Building was located directly across Clinton street from Sosman and Landis Scenic Studio. They had shared a long history with Western Electric erecting its plant in 1883 and Sosman & Landis building their studio three years later. In 1893, Western Electric worked close with the scenic studio on several Columbian Exposition projects, including a large display in the Electricity building.
Western Electric’s Egyptian Temple Pavilion in the Electricity Building, Columbian Exposition, 1893.
The Sosman & Landis studio not only included an electrical department, but the firm’s founders were instrument in establishing and operating the American Reflector & Lighting Company. In fact, Perry’s older brother, Joseph Landis, was the general manager. There is no doubt in my mind that Treat had worked with Sosman & Landis before The Forum project.
Sosman & Landis Scenic Studio, 1897
1897 was a big year for Sosman & Landis. It was their 18th year in Chicago, having first set up shop at 236-238 Clark Street. In 1886, they constructed a scenic studio that was advertised at the largest in the country.
The Sosman & Landis Studio on Clinton Street.
Interior of the Sosman & Landis studio on Clinton Street
Another view of the Sosman & Landis studio on Clinton Street, c. 1910.
By 1894 the firm had delivered scenery to approximately 4,000 theaters throughout North America. By 1902, that number had increased to 6,000. In addition to stock scenery, the firm also painted spectacles for touring shows, grand circus spectacles, amusement park rides, world fair attractions, industrial shows, charity events, and more. I am in the process of writing the book “Sosman & Landis: Shaping the Landscape of American Theatre.”
There was so much work coming into Sosman & Landis during 1897 that they had two studio spaces in Chicago, and several regional branches. The main studio was located on Clinton Street, with a second studio at the Alhambra Theatre. Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934), the firm’s first employee in 1880, oversaw the second studio, often referred to as The Annex. After Sosman passed away in 1915, Moses was elected president of the firm.
1897 projects included stock scenery for the Alhambra Theatre (Chicago, Illinois), the Overland Theatre (Nebraska City, NE), the Pike Theatre (Cincinnati, OH), the Valentine Theatre (Toledo, OH), the Grand Opera House (Columbus, OH), the Opera House (Deadwood, SD), the Opera House (Grand Rapids, Wisconsin), and the Cedar Rapids Highschool (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), to name a few. In addition to delivering painted illusion, draperies, stage machinery and lighting systems, they also painted settings for a variety of 1897 touring productions that included “Booming Town” (Phil W. Peters and James Brown), “Pulse of New York”, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (Davis Bros. Co.); “The Grand Duchess” and Amorita” (Kirkland Calhoun Opera Co.)
In addition to their theatrical supply and manufacturing firm, Sosman & Landis were also heavily invested in theatrical management. In 1897, Sosman & Landis were listed as managers of the Masonic Roof Garden Theatre (Chicago). They were also operating a second theatre agency with David H. Hunt, known as Sosman, Landis & Hunt. They leased the Pike Theatre in Cincinnati and ran a touring stock company, as part of the Western Circuit of Vaudeville Theatres.
Sosman & Landis’s electric scenic theaters at the Masonic Temple Roof Garden were even featured on the front page of “Western Electrician” on June 9, 1894.
Detail of Sosman & Landis’ Electric Scenic Theaters.
This brings us to the question: “Who was the scenic artist for The Forum’s drop curtain?” I am currently in the process of reconstructing the studio staff for each year, having already written biographies for 113 staff members. This is a project that I have been working on for decades. It just takes time.
Opening Forum Hall in 1897
The dedication of The Forum was announced in The Inter Ocean on Sept 29, 1897, reporting: “Opening of the Forum.
New South Side Social Center is Fittingly Dedicated.
The opening night of the Forum, corner of Forty-Third street and Calumet avenue, inaugurated last evening a pleasant addition to the South Side’s social centers. The new hall is large and well appointed, and the Forum club, a new social organization of about 100 young men of the neighborhood, will give here a series of parties this season. Officers have yet to be chosen, and thirty more members will be elected.
A mixed programme of music and recitations was the inaugural feature, and the attendance was quite large, especially of the people of St. Alban’s church, just around the corner on Prairie Avenue. Those contributing the entertainment were from this parish, and the rector, Rev. G. W. Knapp, lent his presence. There was an overture by the Wadner orchestra, a banjo solo by Master Scott Dowd, a song by Mr. G. St. John Knefler, a whistling solo by Miss Raney, a piano duet by Misses Edna Morgan and Maud Lightner, reading by Miss Carolyn Cook, solo by Master Tommy Anderson, and a song by Miss Eugenia Bayard, and at 10:30 came informal dancing. Among those who shared the enjoyable evening were:
Messrs. And Mesdames –
W.M. Speer, Thomas Edwards, J. D. Eaton, Morgan.
Misses – Grace Dodge. Rose Hess, Mable Hess, Bella Waller, Ethel Moody, Nannie Fetterly, Leofoldine Morgan, Edna Morgan, Laura Taylor, Jeanne Wilcox, Mary Webber.
Messrs. – Otto Langbien, John Morgan, Clarence Morgan, C. R. Cole, Ed Fetterly, G. P. Fetterly.
As with all theater openings, not everyone who attended a dedication was counted. Often, there is neither rhyme nor reason to who is included apart from entertainment and social standing.
As the building boasted a seating capacity of 700, I highly doubt that only a few dozen attended the opening. What I am certain of, however, is that this was an event primarily attended by locals.
I was able to track down most individuals listed above, with almost all coming from the 3rd, 4th, and 32nd wards. In fact, most were listed in the 1900 census report. This means that I was able to look at the neighborhoods to see the examine the demographics. Many of the street included both white and black families. This really is a project for someone to sit down and map out; the households from one street to the next. I think of the 2009 publication entitled “Suburban Promised Land: The Emerging Black Community in Oak Park, Illinois, 1880-1980.” There needs to be a book that looks at the emerging black community near the Forum.
Activities at The Forum
The Forum was identified as a “lecture and amusement hall.” When the hall opened in 1897, a variety of groups used the space. Interestingly, newspaper announcements were published by those renting the space, not managing the space. This is a little odd, and I would live to track down who was opening the building and turning the lights on.
I have examined the following events between 1897 and 1901: wedding receptions, evening dance classes, orchestral programs, Calumet Assemblies events, Republicans of the Thirty-second Ward meetings, Thirty-second Ward Democratic Meetings, Political rallies, Violet Club receptions, Progressive Club gatherings, informal dances, lectures, Carter H. Harrison meetings for the Thirty-second Ward, St. Elizabeth Institute receptions, The Young Ladies Guild of Holy Angels Church card party and receptions, Colonial Club elections, De la Salle Alumni association reception and cotillons, the Gibson Informal, and Englewood Union Hospital Alumnæ association receptions. There are likely many more groups that used this space.
Interestingly, the William Kent (son of owner A. E. Kent) was listed as an attendee at a Forum event in 1898. Kent attended a meeting of the Thirty-second ward Republicans who gathered for the denunciation of Allen Law; Kent was listed as an ex-Alderman of the 4th Ward. (Chicago Tribune 2 Jan 1898, p. 10). By the way, here is the link to the William Kent Family Papers in the Yale archives: https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/12/resources/4044 The scope and contents of the collection “document Kent’s career as a municipal reformer in Chicago and Northern California; his interests in conservation, recreation, and public control of water power; his campaigns for election to Congress; his service in the United States House of Representatives and on the United States Tariff Commission; and his business interests in cattle ranches in Nebraska and Nevada. The papers also include materials relating to the activities of Kent’s wife, Elizabeth Thacher Kent, her family, and the Kents’ seven children and grandchildren. Papers of Elizabeth Thacher Kent document her interests in women’s suffrage, the Equal Rights Amendment, and international peace.” This is a rabbit hole that I cannot go down at this time.
Fraternal Activities
I have only located one stage production that took place in 1897. On Nov. 20, 1897, The Inter Ocean described a three-act war drama as as part of Thanksgiving festivities (p. 374). The article reported,
“SONS OF VETEREANS.
Colonel Ellsworth camp, No. 87, will give a grand Thanksgiving entertainment Thursday evening at Forum hall, corner of Forty-third and Calumet avenue, consisting of a three-act war drama and exhibition drill by the Burns Military School cadets. The entertainment will be followed by a dance. The Sons of the Veterans of Austin will visit the camp and G. A. R. post at Oak Park next Thursday evening” (p. 11).
Colonel Ellsworth Camp, No. 87 represented the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Middletown, Pennsylvania. This was an allied order of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), intended to preserve the history and legacy of the veterans who fought during the Civil War. Here is a link for more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sons_of_Union_Veterans_of_the_Civil_War
There was another fraternal activity that caught my eye when I entered the building for the first time – The Elks. There still is a door clearly marked with the Fraternity and C. A. Brown.
Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World at The Forum. This door likely led to the secretary’s office, as in most fraternal buildings.
The Forum also was home to the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World (I.B.P.O.E. of W.). This is not the same as the B.P.O.E. As Prince Hall Freemasonry, it was a fraternal order fueled by racial inequality.
Founded in 1898, the group is now considered the largest Black fraternal organization in the world. In 1906, Chicago Lodge No. 43 was incorporated by W. D. Langford, T. J. Wilson, and R. L. LaCasse (Chicago Tribune 22 Nov 1906, p. 13). I believe that the Lodge is now known as Great Elks Lodge No. 43 and have contacted the fraternity to confirm.
After a little preliminary research, here is what I uncovered about the three gentlemen listed in the 1906 announcement:
W. D. Langford, was listed as a physician listed in the 1907 Chicago Directory, practicing at 500, 39 State Street.
Ralph L. Lacasse (1861-1909) worked as a porter and usher. I was also able to find his will that listed his Prince Hall Masonic association (Garden City Lodge. No. 59) and membership with the Knights of Pythias (Hannibal Lodge). Here is a link to Prince Hall Freemasonry Archives with Garden City folders at the Chicago Public Library: https://www.chipublib.org/fa-prince-hall-freemasonry-archives/
Thomas Jefferson Wilson, Jr. (1877- 1963) worked as a porter for the Pullman company in 1900. That year he roomed with his first wife Anna B. at the Payton family home, 4731 Armour Avenue in 1900. He later worked as a clothing salesman, marrying his second wife Yolanda Charleston.
I remain uncertain as to when the I.B.P.O.E. of W. started meeting in the Forum, but I have located a newspaper article from 1944 that confirms they were situated in the building (Chicago Tribune 26 Aug 1944, p. 8). For more information about this fraternal organization, visit https://www.ibpoew.org/history If you do a little digging, there is a fascinating history out there.
In Summary
There are many historic scenery collections across the country that are important. Extant backdrops that are linked with significant people and events in American history. They connect performance venues to local, regional, and national histories, often allowing us to discover the people who created it, delivered it, manipulated it, performed in front of it, and saved it.
That being said, The Forum drop curtain is one of a kind; there is nothing else like it in North America. It should be used as a forum for discussing the past, present, and future.
Please spread the word that the Forum exists, that it has historic scenery, and that it needs financial support.
This post is long overdue. August, September, and October were a flurry of activity this year. Subsequently, I am a little behind on several projects and events that I promised to share.
Jenny Knott, Wendy Waszut-Barrett, and Monique Corbeil.
Last August, I taught another scene painting workshop for the 2023 CITT/ICTS (Canadian Institute of Theatre Technology/Institut canadien des technologies scénographiques) Rendez-vous.
Before the pandemic, this was an annual master class taught with Jenny Knott, then paint product manager with Rosco. Our classes explored both contemporary and historic scene painting methodologies. Past workshops included: Drapery Painting (St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, 2017), Foliage Painting (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 2018), and Gold! (Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, 2019). This year we tried something new. Instead of contemporary and historical techniques, we decided to try 3D and 2D techniques.
Jenny demonstrated paint application techniques for three-dimensional surfaces, with Pulp Art supplying samples. I demonstrated paint techniques for two-dimensional surfaces, with Historic Stage Services supplying the fabric. Rosco provided the scene paint for the workshop.
My portion of the class included a brief PowerPoint presentation entitled, “Seeing Color: Understanding Strategic Color Combinations.” Most of scenic art has to do with not only paint application techniques, but a strategic combination of color that supports any lighting design. This is basic color theory for scenic art that works for both 2D and 3D surfaces.
Here is an abbreviated version of my CITT presentation. It summarizes my own scenic art process based on extant backdrops. All examples included in my presentation were created with distemper paint (a mixture of pigment paste and diluted hide glue).
I often begin many presentations with showing a basic color wheel with primary (yellow, red, blue) and complimentary colors (orange, purple, green).
Revisiting basic color theory before any scenic art class works in the long run. It places all of the students on an equal playing field. When you understand the basic steps for creating complementary colors, it is much easier to understand variables in creating neutrals.
The metamorphic nature of scenic art is reliant upon neutrals, specifically neutral colors that are integrated into the base-painting. It is incredibly important to understand variations when combining complementary colors.
I repeatedly stress that successful scenic art is reliant upon not only a minimal color palette, but also the contrast of hue and value. Our choices as painters in the mixing and application of colors can help or hurt the lighting designer.
When selecting colors for a base coat, warm, cool, light and dark come into play. As you work up the details, careful placement of wars and cool colors will enhance depth.
The key to painted illusion for the stage is understanding your options. In other words, warm versus cool. Yellow is a good example to use when talking about individual color characteristics. It is much easier for many to see the difference.
We then discussed both understanding and adjusting the value of colors with whiting and Van Dyke Brown. High contrast is very important when painting compositions that are intended to be seen from a distance.
I then shared some historic scenic art examples. Identifying colors and application helps many students understand process.
In short, I try to select examples that are fairly easy to interpret. Adding color swatches, instead of using a laser pointer, has helped many students “see” the color. Here is another example. Identifying color combinations in historic scenic art to understand process.
I also share a contemporary scenic art example. One that I have recently painted for a production. Here is a painted detail from The Sorcerer (Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company, March 2023).
I try to include as many examples as possible, varying the stylistic approaches as they shifted over the decades.
I try to show how this color theory can be applied to other subject matter too, such as metalwork.
This is where I often discuss the selection and interplay for both hue and value.
Both manmade and organic subjects can use the same painting methodology. Foliage is another good example to explore the placement of warm and cool colors.
This greatly helps the painting reflect stage light, allowing the painted composition to transition from a morning to evening scene.
Painting Process Samples
After the presentation, we applied this color theory to brickwork. I made a “process” sample. There are many artists (me included), who have a hard time internalizing process until they see the paint application broken down into colors and steps.
Each of my brick samples used a limited color palette, with specific color identifies on the left. The process was then broken down (right to left), with base coat and charcoal layout on the right and completed brickwork with spatter on left.
Brick sample for workshop.
While doing the samples, I documented the use of tools and techniques. Here are the brushes that I used for detail work – highlight and shadow.
Shadow and highlight brushes.
Second brick sample with limited color palette. The mixing of colors was done on the canvas to make an interesting base. This technique is similar to distemper painting. Pre-mixed scenic paints can be arranged similarly on a palette for floor painting (Continental Method).
On Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, I returned from Chicago with the set for La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina. Less than two weeks later, I loaded in the set of H. M. S. Pinafore for the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Co. (Howard Conn Fine Arts Center in Minneapolis). Although the show had been designed for months, it had yet to go into production. My husband, Dr. Andrew Barrett, took on the role of stage carpenter to help me out.
The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company production of HMS Pinafore.
The set in the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center space.
In fact, I was unable to start painting the show until Monday, Oct. 9. This meant I had less than five days to paint the the show, knowing that the structural pieces and flooring would be painted after load-in. As with other recent productions, I used distemper paint (pigment paste mixed with diluted hide glue) for all of the soft goods. This painting process facilitated the compressed timeline, as I spent less time mixing color, washing brushes, and cleaning buckets; the list goes on. Also, with painting on a vertical frame, and not the floor, everything dries faster.
Dry pigment paste is combined with diluted hide glue during the distemper painting process.
View from the aisle, house right. Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company’s production of H.M.S. Pinafore, 11 November,2023.
Painted details. behind the helm.
My painting schedule was as follows:
Monday, Oct. 9 – Load in all painting supplies to Hamline University, set up palettes, make glue, attach fabric to frame, and size.
Tuesday, Oct. 10 – Base paint ship pieces, draw out composition and finish.
Wednesday, Oct. 10 – Remove ship pieces from frame, attach cloud/water pieces and size.
Thursday, Oct. 11 – Paint cloud/water pieces and cannons.
Friday, Oct. 12 – Remove all painted pieces from frame and load out of Hamline University.
Saturday, Oct. 13 – Finish set construction.
Sunday, Oct. 14 – Load into space.
A partially-constructed set during load-in, Oct. 15, 2023.
Under work lights before the floor is painted.
Painting the floor during tech week. I ran tape to save time, and used the existing “black floor” as the crevices.This meant I was able to paint the floor all by myself in only an hour. The “key” to this process is to let the floor fully dry before pulling up the tape.
After painting the floor and railings.
Before the remaining ropes and seagulls are added for “character.”
My favorite seagull.
The final painted “bits” stage right- seagulls and belaying pins.
The final painted “bits” stage left- seagulls and belaying pins.
The speed at which I was able to paint also really relied upon the subject matter and my own skill set. I have always loved painting skies, water, wood, draperies, and foliage. Getting to paint three out of your five favorites, isn’t bad.
It also helped that I was the scene designer. It gives me a little wiggle room.
On-site “touch-up” with distemper paint also means every color is instantaneously available without having to store of unpack a “touch-up kit.”
My “warm” distemper palette for on-site touch-up.
The new thing that I tried during the painting process this time was positioning the seascape compositions sideways. Why? Because it fit better on the frame and made running the long horizon lines easier.
Painting water and sky scenes SIDEWAYS to fit on the paint frame at Hamline University. Notice how the distemper paint dries from dark to light.
Another view of the process.
Running the horizon line on a motorized paint frame without a lining stick
You do have to pay VERY close attention to what you are doing. However, I would choose this orientation again, as running the horizon line was substantially easier. No lining stick needed when you have a steady hand and motorized paint frame. This is also why painting vertical folds in draperies is also stream-lined on a motorized paint frame.
Waiting for canon flats and doors to dry.
Recycling portions of an existing stencil to save time.
Here are a few process shots from tech week and the final production.
The set with pre-show lighting.
The scenery under cool lights.
How the colors can shift. Distemper paint reflects color so much better than contemporary (pre-mixed) scenic paints.
The show runs for one more weekend! There are some absolutely lovely voices in this production. It is a very fun show directed by Gary Briggle, with musical direction by Dr. Randall Buikema.
The added bonus this time is that our son is playing accordion in the pit orchestra!
The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company Orchestra under the baton of Dr. Randall Buikema.
On Sept. 20, 2023, my plane touched down at the Minneapolis International Airport. I had just returned from a twelve-day trip in the UK, presenting a paper and touring historic theaters in England, Scotland and the Isle of Man. 48 hours later, I was packing a trailer of scenery for Haymarket Opera Company’s production of La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina. The show loaded in on Saturday, Sept. 23.
This was my fourth show with the same design team: Brian Schneider (Lighting), Stephanie Cluggish (Costumes) and Megan Pirtle (Wigs and Make-up). They are all remarkable individuals to work with!
Stephanie Cluggish (Costumer), Sarah Edgars (Director) and Brian Schnieder (Lighting Designer) with model. I handed off the La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina model during tech week for Marc’antonio e Cleopatra.
This spring we were tackling two shows in a compressed timeframe. Marc’antonio e Cleopatra, (June 2023) and La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina (Sept. 2024). The first opera was very straightforward; two static scenes in Egypt, consisting of painted panels and a few profile pieces.
La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina is the only surviving opera by female composer, Francesca Caccini, dating back to 1625. It included sea nymphs, entrances on dolphins and orca-bone boats, sea monsters, magical plants, and so forth. The plot posed a few challenges, as did the performance space. There is no fly tower or wing space at the Jarvis Opera Hall. From a logistical standpoint, there is not enough room to store large scenic elements anywhere off stage.
One of the ideas that I repeatedly tossed out at the beginning of the design process was creating a small-scale Baroque stage. This “stage-with-a-stage” meant that everything could be self-contained and easily accessible. In the end, my set consisted of a 16’x16’ platform, 8 step units, and a 28-ft. theatre façade, 8’-0” x8’-0” proscenium opening, and two doorways.
Set with jungle scene.
My small stage house had both upper and lower grooves for wings and shutters. The scenery consisted of a drop curtain (roll drop), scrim (roll drop), Jungle scene (roll drop), 2 jungle wings, ocean drop, 2 ocean wings, 3 water ground rows, 2 jungle shutters, 2 jungle wings, a dolphin profile, an orca boat profile.
Photograph by Elliot Mandel
Photograph by Elliot Mandel.
Painted detail from drop curtain.
Photograph by Elliot Mandel.
Painted detail from the jungle scene.
Painted detail from jungle scene.
Magical plants. Photograph by Elliot Mandel.
Ocean scene. Photograph by Elliot Mandel.
The Siren. Photograph by Elliot Mandel.
Water detail.
Photograph by Elliot Mandel.
Orca bones boat and dolphin on paint frame.
Sea monsters behind the scrim. Photograph by Elliot Mandel.
All of the scenic elements were painted simultaneously on a motorized paint frame. This meant that there were fewer staples and I was able to hop from one painted composition to another. This also helps unify all of the painted elements without having to repeatedly mix the same color as I would progress from one piece to the next.
The paint frame at Hamline University with my parents for scale.
The entire set was painted with distemper paint. In addition to setting up may standard palette, I built two new distemper palettes; one for warm colors and one for cool colors. It greatly helped for all of the foliage painting. Taking a 2’-0” x 2’-0” square of ¾” ply for the base, I covered it with canvas then painted it white. I drilled 2” holes around three sides of the palette to hold my containers of dry pigment paste. When not using a color, it remained capped. This meant that my pigments did not dry out and could easily change position. Not having to scrape off the palette, or reconstitute the paste, saves time in the long run.
