Drypigment.net

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We closed a contract with H. Robert Law of New York City for a lot of scenery for the Government Cantonment Theatres.” Yesterday’s post examined Smileage Books for government cantonment theaters during WWI. Today I explore the life of H. Robert Law.

Harry Robert Law, Jr. was born in Toronto, Ont., Canada, on September 20, 1876, but only lived there for the first year of his life. In September 1877, the Laws returned to the Wilmington, North Carolina.

His father, Harry Law Sr. was born in Wilmington, North Carolina.  H. Robert Law’s 1923 passport application notes that his father lived for 63 years, uninterruptedly, in the United States, at Wilmington, N.C. and Baltimore, M.D. Law’s mother was born in New York.

By 1910, New York City Directories list H. Robert Law as an artist, living at 141 Park Hill Ave, Yonkers, NY. In 1914, Law partnered with John H. Young to provide scenery for the William A. Brady production of “Life.” (Boston Globe, 30 Aug. 1914, page 40). In 1915, the younger Law met and married his future wife Lilla Gertrude Batdorf. (b. March 5 1884), in Philadelphia. Lilla was a Chicago native and the daughter of John William Batdorf (b. 1852, Ohio) and Helen Gertrude Tetrick (b. 1858).

WWI draft records described Law’s physical appearance as “tall” and “stout,” with brown hair and brown eyes. “Stout” is subjective, as this simply could have meant big-boned and not morbidly obese. Draft records only give the options for a slender, medium, or stout build.

WWI draft records list Harry Robert Law’s address as 7389 West End Ave., Manhattan, New York. The record lists his present occupation as a “scenic artist” and his employer as “self.” His studio address was 502 West 38 NY, NY. This continued to be the studio address throughout the 1920s.

As a scenic manufacturer, Law was contracted by the United States Government War Department during WWI. He was a well-known individual at this time. On May 21, 1917, the “News-Journal” reported that Law had gained “considerable fame through his spectacular scenic creations” (page 11). 1917 productions that Law designed scenery for included “Molly O’” (May 17, 1916 – Jun 24, 1916) and “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” (May 07, 1917 – Jun 16, 1917). 1918 shows included “Cheer Up” (Aug 23, 1917 – May 11, 1918), “Oh Look”  (Mar 07, 1918 – May 04, 1918) and “Hitchy Koo” (Jun 06, 1918 – Aug 03, 1918).

Law’s 1923 passport application, indicated that he was traveling for business purposes with his wife to France, England and Germany. His occupation was listed as that of a scenic studio manager of H. Robert Law Scenic Studios, still at 502 W. 38^th Street in New York City. Law also listed his permanent residence that year as 1925 7^th Ave., NY, NY.

While researching for additional information about Law, I noticed that he was in court – a lot.  Here are just a few examples of his extensive legal battles:

In 1910, Law was involved with Joseph E. Shea in a contract dispute with D. S. Andrus & Co. (Star-Gazette, Elmira, NY, 14 April, 1910, page 7). In 1911, Law won a case against Sangor Rice Co. and Benjamin Sangor for $477. In 1914 Law sued to recover $75 from T. C. Brown, a local automotive agent for non-payment of a space on an advertising curtain (Asbury Park Press, NJ, 19 June, 1914, page 1). In 1917, Law sued Harry J. Everall and Samuel H. Wallach for non-payment (New York Herald, 22 Oct. 1917, page 14). In 1920, Law sued Daw Producing Co., Inc for $1,063.17 (New York Herald, 30 July 1920, page 13). In 1920, Law sued John Cort about the about “valuable services rendered” in relation to his scenic contribution to “Listen Lester” (Daily News, New York, 1920, page 2).

The most entertaining story, however, was published in the “Buffalo Times” on Dec. 1, 1921 (page 15). The article “Art Show Emporium Fine But Overpriced” noted, “Admits He’s an Artist but the Bill was Too High.” 

Here is the article in its entirety, as it is quite entertaining:

Abe Attell, the artist, is in trouble. An interior decorator wants Abe to pay him some money for decorating the interior of Abes’ shoe shop on Broadway, near the Winter Garden. Abe says he owes the interior decorator some of the money but not all of it, and that he’s going to get his old pal Bill Fallon to take the matter into court and see that his rights are protected.

It’s a fight between artists. Abe explained that as he conducted us through his multi-colored depths of his show shop, pointing out its artistic beauties.

“This shop is for ladies,” said Abe. Then he paused and said, “LADIES.”

We got him right off the bat.

“Ain’t this a grand place,” said Abe, with a wave of his hand that took in the combination of Swiss and Japanese sunset effect.

Grand doesn’t describe it. It’s magnificent. It’s elegant. It’s sumptuous. It’s palatial. It looks more like 51^st Street and Broadway than 51^st Street and Broadway ever dared to look.

The color scheme is yellow, rose, vermillion, gray, blue, brown, a touch of saffron, a hint of turquoise, a dash of raspberry, a slice of mauve, a streak of green, a flare of purple and a mere suggestion of gold and ecru and silver.

The walls are gilded, and over the gilt have been painted Japanese hoochie-koochie girls in pink mother hubbards playing hide and seek in a bamboo forest. Chinese red has been worked into the effect, to say nothing of the black lacquered panels.  The chandelier and wall lights are concealed by silk shades, yellow as the streak down a welcher’s back. The chairs are carved teakwood.

When LADIES have their shoes tried on they place their silk stockinged feet on red plush cushions with long gold tassels. A miniature Japanese fountain bubbles in the center of the room. On the level, it’s scrumptious.

Abe says he picked up his ideas of art while he was on the stage and out in Chinatown in Frisco. “Of course you not bein’ an artist,” said Abe, “you can’t appreciate what this difference of opinion is about. They say I owe ‘em 728 bucks and I says right back I’ll pay ‘em all except 250 bucks, which they ain’t entitled to.” Abe was served with a Municipal Court summons by Wise & Otfenberg, attorneys for H. Robert Law Scenic Studios who executed Abes’ ideas of art. “I ain’t woryin’,” said Abe. “Bill Fallon’ll take care o’ my end of it. You got to be an artist to see what I mean.”

I have not been able to locate the ruling of the case.

In 1925, the “Bridgeport Telegram” reported on another Law court case: “The ‘Three Morin Sisters,’ singers and dancers on the vaudeville stage, and who recently appeared at the Palace theatre have been named defendants in an action brought against them by H. Robert Law, a producer and scenic artist of New York city, who seeks damages of $1,250” (Bridgeport, CT, Sept, 4, 1925). The basis of the suit is that the plaintiff was not paid his commission for perfecting their specialty act, or providing their scenery and their booking. And there were many, many more cases in court for Law. I had to wonder if Law’s lawyers worked for him full-time.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We closed a contract with H. Robert Law of New York City for a lot of scenery for the Government Cantonment Theatres.  First contract was $12,600.00, second $3,600.00, third $980.00 for installing one job.  All to be completed November 7^th – some hustling.  I went down to the studio on five Sundays – something I haven’t done in fifteen years, and every night until 8:30.  Some of the boys slept in the studio.  Everyone hustled.  We completed the work on the day set and inside of a week it was all out of the studio.” This was a project to help the war effort; a big one that brought in $17,180 in a short period of time. That is the monetary equivalent of $364,438.00 today.

In 1917, the War Department Commission acknowledged that it was important to keep American troops entertained as they trained for combat. This stance resulted in a new entertainment program implemented across the country.

“The Salina Daily Union” described the program, reporting, “The government has made arrangements whereby the best Broadway attractions will be staged at cantonments with a nominal admission to soldiers. Lectures and other entertainment of high class are also being arranged for. The object of the ‘Smileage’ campaign is the sale of coupon books, from one dollar up. The coupons are admission tickets to the government cantonment theatres. Citizens will be asked to purchase coupons books for the soldiers” (28 Jan 1918, page 8).

Smileage books were produced by the Globe Ticket Co. and purchased for loved ones in the military. Books were sold, containing either one dollar or five dollars worth of admissions. Soldiers could use tickets in the books for scheduled events at Government Cantonment Theatres.

The Smileage Books noted. “The coupons in this book will be accepted in purchase of admission and seat tickets at Liberty Theatres, Liberty Tents and auditoriums under the management of the commission on training camp activities in National Army Cantonments and National Guard Camps.

There is a lovely article in “The New York Age” from Dec. 22, 1917 (page 6):

“New names and phrases galore are being coined incident to the world war, and latest word to attract general attention in America is ‘SMILEAGE.’ The Military Entertainment Service working under the direction of the War Department Commission and Training Camp Activities, in a pamphlet just issued, entitled ‘SMILEAGE,’ gives the following definition for the most recent wartime terms added to our vocabulary: ‘Mileage means a stretch of miles; smileage means a span of smiles.’ Additional information in the pamphlet as to the mission of the newly-coined word reads: Smileage Books are books that contain transportation for the soldier from gloom and homesickness to smiles and gladness. The world war has created the necessity for a new age of man – one that is applicable to present conditions – a ‘Smile-age.’ So to alleviate gloom and sorrow, the new age is beginning to see the light of day. In each cantonment a theatre has been erected. In these theatres from time to time will be given the very best of entertainment – the kind that is clean and wholesome, furnished by famous stars of the stage. The price for this entertainment will be very nominal. SMILEAGE BOOKS contain coupons that are exchangeable for admission to any entertainment given at these Liberty theatres. Don’t make your boy ask you for comforts. Think of them first and send them to him. Send them to the boys who have no friends, no home to turn to for these little luxuries. Perhaps you have a boy of your own in training. Buy him a SMILEAGE BOOK. Put in the next letter you send him. Otherwise he will have to stand on the outside and envy the other fellows whose folks remembered them.” This is the appeal being made by Raymond B. Fosdick, chairman of the War Department Commission for Training Camp Activities, and Marc Klaw, head of Military Entertainment Service, on behalf of draftees who crave for a little wholesome entertainment while undergoing a rigid course of training preparatory to going to Europe to help make this world safe for democracy. Our draftees are not hungry for food. They are not compelled to worry over the scarcity of food stuffs, for Uncle Sam sees to it that the boys in khaki are provided with plenty of good, substantial eats. But many a drafted man may be found who is hungry – starving for the proper kind of entertainment to drive away dull care. The soldier boy is like the rest of us – intensely human. He tires of constantly reading, writing, listening to the phonograph and playing checkers the same as those in civil life. For this reason Liberty theatres have been erected in each cantonment, and Broadway stars will appear at these playhouses in the latest productions. Provisions have been made to charge a nominal sum as price of admission. Some smileage books contain one hundred tickets and are sold for $5, while others contain twenty tickets and cost $1. On each ticket appears the signature of the Secretary of War Baker, who realizes that the gloom and homesickness in camp should be dissipated by furnishing the drafted men entertainment of the right sort. The work of transporting the boy many miles from home to ‘Smileland’ has become one of the most important functions of the War Department. The New York office of that branch of the War Department which is engaged in arranging the proper entertainment for the soldiers is located at 15 Broadway, and is in charge of Hollis Cooley, a showman of ripe experience and who stands high in the theatrical world. Mr. Cooley and his assistants are being kept busy at this time supplying smileage books to relatives and friends of soldier boys who regard the giving of a book containing ‘transportation for the holder from gloom and homesickness to smiles and gladness’ as a most appropriate Christmas gift. Banks, department store and secret societies are among the institutions to take an active interest in the campaign just begun to create a new age of man – a ‘Smile-Age.’”

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Attended the installation of the new Pastor, Mr. Van deMulian at the Presbyterian Church.  He is from Louisville, Ky.” Moses and his wife were Presbyterians; he attended church whenever he wasn’t on the road. Over the years, he also worked for a variety of religious denominations.

In 1931, Moses added a comment to an 1879 diary entry: “My experience with Church Committees, of all denominations was such that I almost promised myself never to enter another Church.  I found a lot of dishonest men that were pillars of the church and naturally I looked upon them as good Christians, and their word should have been as good as their bond.” Let’s look at some of Moses’ church projects that helped shaped his opinion. The first mention of Moses working for churches was in 1875. He was nineteen years old and an artist with limited options. Like many in his profession, he accepted any artistic work that came his way, such as decorative painting projects.

In 1875, Moses wrote, “Very early in the year I packed up and went to Sterling [Illinois] and found a few small halls and churches to decorate.  I barely made enough to pay my board at home.  I was looked upon at home as a failure and I was anxious to get away – a long way off so I could get into scenic painting.”  Sterling was Moses’ hometown and his father greatly disapproved of his career choice. Parental disapproval, however, did not change Moses’ mind and he continued to seek employment as an artist.

By 1876 Moses was working as a decorative painter in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Of the city, he wrote, “[the] Centennial Year found me with a lot of work on hand.  Early in the Spring I had established myself as a decorator of fine homes.  In July I was very fortunate to receive a contract for doing the decoration on the big Arch on Pearl Street.  While doing this work I met a Frenchman named Wardus, who was decorating the St. James Catholic Church.  He needed me.  I went to work for him, taking charge of the whole job.  We had Stations of the Cross, the Christian Martyrs and the Apostles to paint on canvas – these to be mounted on the walls.” In the end, Moses completed the project with and English artists named Tom Brown John H. Young.  Of the trio, Moses wrote, “We three, the same age, roomed and chummed together and we had a fine time.  And, as I remember, we did some pretty good work.  At any rate, this job secured another big church at Jackson, Michigan.  Around Christmas found us in that railroad town, busy as bees.  We had been advertised by Mr. Wardus as ‘Three young Roman Artists.’  We didn’t look it – we were all quartered at a cheap hotel and we met a great many young people.” The church project in Jackson lasted until the spring of 1877.  In the end, the three were not paid several weeks of work and they were stranded, penniless.

Regardless of this unfortunate experience, Moses still continued to contract painting projects for small halls and churches throughout 1878, so plentiful was the work. By 1879 Moses secured a contract for a church at Tampico, Illinois. He recorded that the new structure was on the same foundation from which another building had been blown by a terrific tornado. 

In 1880, Moses decorated the Presbyterian Church in Dixon, Illinois.  Of the project, Moses wrote, “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.” This seems to have been the final straw that caused Moses to walk away from working for other many other religious groups. He mentions less than a handful after this.  

It was not until 1915 that Moses accepted a few church projects. One was for his hometown of Sterling. Shortly after this project, he secured two other contracts for churches in Youngstown and Akron, Ohio. Then another decade would lapse.

It would be more that a decade later that Moses recorded his final church project. In 1926, he delivered scenery for the new First Presbyterian Church auditorium in Evanston, Illinois.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Another ‘Katz’ show, $1,050.00, and one vaudeville act from Brazee $300.00, and one from Banda Rosa for $445.00, a big act.”

Yesterday, I explored J. C. Brazee’s production of “The Honey Bees” with scenery by Sosman & Landis. Today I am looking at “Banda Rosa.” Moses was referring to  Signor Guiseppe Sirignano’s “Banda Roma” that toured the country with thirty-five musician and soloists during the early twentieth century.

Sirignano was later noted as “the former musical dramatizer of Ziegfeld and Fine-Arts Theatres, Chicago, and of the Banda Roma” (Des Moines Register, 9 Oct. 1918, page 10). Sirignano’s Banda Roma also performed music for silent films. For “Cleopatra,” his 15-piece orchestra played a special overture.

This brings up another type of client for Sosman & Landis – musicians. Many musical acts ordered decorative and distinct scenery for their touring productions.  This demand also drove a new aesthetic for the stage during the second and third decade of the twentieth century.  There was no need to have traditional scenic art provide the backing for a band, or musical vaudeville act.

Decorative painting of specialty fabrics became increasingly popular. Instead of providing a series of painted layers on cotton sheeting that suggested an exterior or interior setting, musical acts used a series of decorative layers that simply suggested a subject, and not realistically represented. There were no cumbersome bottom battens that stretched scenes taut, just fabric suspended from any system. In many ways, this type of painting was intended to work with fabric that would bunch.

The painting of fabric was popular at many new firms, such as the Service Studios, the Fabric Studios and Acme Studios in Chicago.  Studio sales books began to include an increasing number of these decorative scenes for clients. The use of stencils created an interpretive view for both exteriors and interiors.  These soft goods were easy to transport and hang. Many were even interchangeable. 

The downside was that this type of painting was that it altered the type of labor required to staff a shop; these projects did not require the same skill set as those realistically painting a subject.  The use of repetitive patterns and stencil work was quickly taught and did not necessitate years of study or training. Aspects of the scenic industry became a craft, with many projects requiring artists with minimal skill sets.

I look at some of the curtains with stylized donut-shaped flowers, hundreds of them throughout compositions, thinking about the basic instruction:

“Bob, they don’t need to be perfect, they just need to be little circles with dots in the center. Just do your best and paint as many as possible. Remember, it ships tomorrow.”

Foliage painting for stylistic scenes demanded very little from an artist. Instead of building up mass on a branch, there was just repetitive pattern. What once destroyed scenic illusion was now popular.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Another ‘Katz’ show, $1,050.00, and one vaudeville act from Brazee $300.00, and from Banda Rosa for $445.00, a big act.” There were hundreds of projects that filtered thru the Sosman & Landis shops during 1917. We may have entered a war, but the theatrical business was still booming, having yet to feel the full effects.  The three projects mentioned by Moses all hit the shops simultaneously that spring. Each project brought in a little more income to keep the stockholders happy.

I am going to start with Moses’ mention of a vaudeville act setting for J. C. Brazee.

In 1917, Sosman & Landis provided the scenery for Brazee’s production of “The Honey Bees.” The “Spokesman-Review” reported, “Brazee is a great believer not only on adequate but artistic scenery. His big set for ‘Honey Bees,’ for instance, is an interior of the ‘Honey Bee’ seminary with a flower garden in the rear. It is the work of Sosman & Landis, scenic artists of Chicago, and was painted for the act” (Spokane, Washington, 11 Nov. 1917, page 45). “The Victoria Daily Times” commented, “The most elaborate set is an interior view of the ‘Honey Bee Seminary’ with a flower garden in the rear, a scenic masterpiece of Sosman & Landis, of Chicago, which is winning high praise in every city visited”  (4 Dec. 1917, page 8).

J. C. Brazee was a producer for the Pantages Circuit. On Oct. 15, 1917, the “Edmonton Journal” reported, “J. C. Brazee, a standby among producers who builds acts for the Pantages circuit, having sent out ‘Broadway Revue’ and ‘At Ocean Beach,’ both which scored big hits, has a new offering entitled ‘The Honey Bees,” which will headline the Pantages bill for this week. Mr. Brazee’s new offering is said to measure up to the high standard he established in the past as far as comedy and musical numbers go and is claimed to surpass anything of that kind yet offered at the Pantages theater in the way of scenery” (Edmonton, Alberta, page 11). This was likely the vaudeville act with scenery produced by Sosman & Landis that year. The article continued, “‘The Honey Bees’” is a novel introduction of bee titles into a program of a girl act in which the scenery is suggestive of the bee industry and a girl’s school is called the ‘Busy Bee Seminary.’ The chief comedian is styles the ‘King Bee’ the matron of the seminary is called the ‘Drone Bee,’ the prima donna is known as the ‘Queen Bee,’ the Soubrette as ‘Honey Bee,’ and the chorus of girls are ‘Busy Bees.’ The act lends itself to this novelty assignment of names inasmuch as the girls are ‘honies’ and theatregoers insist that if all vaudeville attractions were of equally high merit there would never be complaints of being ‘stung.’”

“The Daily Colonist” reported, “‘Honey Bees’” carries one lone man, completely surrounded by girls. The fortunate individual is Billy Browning, a comedian strange to Victoria, but well known in the East. All Browning has to do in ‘Honey Bees’ is to impersonate a mail carrier, a Swede Janitor, a stuttering ‘boob’ and a Frenchman —  work enough for four men — yet Browning is said to negotiate all the roles without turning a hair” (May 12, 1917).

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Another order for Gatts and Company.”  Gatts and Company was actually Gazzolo, Gatts & Clifford Co., producers of the well-known musical comedy “Katzenjammer Kids.” Moses recorded that Sosman & Landis produced scenery for the show earlier that year.

The production company of Gazzolo, Gatts, and Clifford Inc. formed in the fall of 1916, filing corporation papers on October 6, 1916 in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to the “Katzenjammer Kids” musical, the firm produced an “educational” piece that spring entitled, “Her Unborn Child.”  Registered as a four-act drama by Howard McKent Barnes, the play took a negative position on birth control for women.

Keep in mind that this was in the midst of Margaret Sanger’s continued fight for women’s access to information about basic birth control.  “The Fresno Morning Republican” reported, “”His play tells the truth about birth control and shows the cause and effect of the world’s most serious crime” (Fresno, California, 14 May 1917, page 6). “The Vancouver Sun” added “It tells the truth about birth control, for it is the theory of the author that be the education of the masses the slaughter of innocent unborn babies will stop” (18 Jun 1917, page 8).  Let’s take a moment to contemplate what this man is suggesting; the great crime of women is to not make every egg a viable candidate for fertilization.  Women need to make sure that regardless of their living situation or circumstances they can become pregnant at any point in time, hence they are only a vessel and instantaneously transferring all power to men.

There were four touring productions that carried the message across the country, prompting women to reconsider using any form of birth control.

In Pennsylvania, the show was performed at the New Academy in Scranton. The “Times-Tribune” reported, “There are four acts and the action takes place within twenty-four hours. The principal characters are a rich widow, a wealthy reformer, Beth Forrester, the beloved one; Ted Livingstone, young and heir; and the family physician. Sensationalism is avoided in the play and the subject is handled in a most dignified manner. Birth control is the vital theme and apparently the author made a deep study into the subject before giving this play to the stage. The mother love depicted in the story makes a strong appeal to an audience, and one of the biggest moments of the play comes when the crisis in the welfare of her family confronts her and she is called upon to make a decision in haste. (28 May 1917, page 15). Matinees were performed for women only. Of the female matinees, the “Calgary Herald” noted, “Because of the sacredness of motherhood and out of the courtesy of the ladies, all matinee performances of ‘Her Unborn Child’ will be reserved exclusively for ladies. Gentlemen will be admitted to all other performances” (29 Sept, 1917, page 8).

On April 4, 1917, the “Buffalo Evening News” reported, “A big play with a serious appeal is the attraction at the Majestic Theater all week, with daily matinees, which are for women exclusively”(page 15). Prominent doctors endorsed the play across the country. The “Oklahoma News” published letters from local doctors addressed to Gazzolo, Gatts & Clifford as an advertisement (25 Oct. 1917, page 2). J. H. Maxwell, M.D. wrote, “Gentlemen: I appreciate very much your performance of ‘Her Unborn Child.” The moral is splendid and timely. I wish that every Father and Mother could have the opportunity of seeing this play, it is clean cut all the way through.” S. A. Dooper, M. D. wrote, “Gentlemen: After having the opportunity of attending a performance of ‘Her Unborn Child,’ I take pleasure in recommending it to the public. I wish every one in the world old enough to understand English could see the performance.”

On April 29, the “Fort-Wayne Journal-Gazette” reported, “So great has the success of ‘Her Unborn Child’ on tour that has been found necessary to organize five companies in order to appease demand from all parts of the country for this sincere and frank portrayal of a topic that is second only in importance to the present hostilities in the battlefield” (29 April 1917, page 48). Really?!? The only second in importance to WWI was birth control?  What about the crimes of rapists, pedophiles, and murderers? 

Like me, not everyone thought the show was fantastic. Lancaster’s “The News-Journal” commented, “The piece neither paints a moral nor adorns a tale, being only a dramatized version of one person’s viewpoint of a much discussed subject. Its dramatic construction is crude, the situations forced, and the final curtain falls on actual absurdity” (25 Oct. 1917, page 5). The newspaper noted, “A few years ago the subject of birth control would not have been discussed in the theatre but with the progress of the playhouses as an educational institution as well as a place of amusement and the desire of the public to be enlightened on subjects which a few years ago they were satisfied to let be known to physicians and those claiming higher education, has made plays like ‘Her Unborn Child’ timely.”

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Closed with Joe Bren for $900.00, first part, and some front drops.”  Joe Bren was a minstrel show performer and producer. His company, the Joe Bren Production Company, was a Chicago-based theatrical company that partnered with fraternities and civic groups to stage fundraising shows. Company representatives traveled from town to town, working with local talent to organize minstrel reviews and other types of follies. They functioned as the producers, directors and performers for each project, providing instruction and all of the technical trappings. In 1917, Sosman & Landis provided scenery for a Joe Bren show that premiered in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

During this period, the company was especially popular with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Kiwanis Clubs, Lions, American Legionnaires, United Commercial Travelers, and Masonic organizations. In 1916 and 1917, Sosman & Landis provided the scenery, so I have explored the Joe Bren Company in 1916; see past post #941, here is the link: https://drypigment.net2020/03/24/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-part-941-the-joe-bren-company-and-minstrel-shows-1916/

The Joe Bren Production Company staff traveled across the country, helping stage shows that featured local talent. In 1917, the “Marion Star” announced that the Joe Bren Producing company was presenting an Elks’ Charity minstrel show that November (Marion, Ohio, 12 Oct. 1917, page 12). The article reported, “The scenery is also new and used for the first time in Kenosha.” The Kenosha Lodge of Elks in Wisconsin presented the “Jollies of 1917” at the Rhode Opera House in October, advertising that is was “no mere minstrel show” (“Kenosha News,” 6 Oct. 1917, page 3). It was to be a “clever mélange of vaudeville, musical comedy and minstrelsy.” The Marion Elk representatives traveled to see the show as guests of Joe Bren. What a smart move on Bren’s part.

In Kenosha, a hundred members of the Elks Lodge were “drafted” to take part in the program led by Joe Bren and Ralph Hamilton, another company representative (“Kenosha News,” 14 Sept. 1917, page 3). Fifteen young women were included in the second part of the show as guests in the resort hotel scene (Kenosha News, 2 Oct. 1917, page 8). In the big patriotic finale, the United States and the Allies were represented by “gorgeously costumed young men and women.”  It was the introduction of this patriotic element to Bren productions that likely prompted the need for new scenery by Sosman & Landis. Of the painted settings, the “Kenosha News,” reported, “Scenery and costumes will be the finest possible to be turned out by expert scenic artists and costumers in the windy city of Chicago, and they do say that among its three millions there are those who can do ‘some’ turning out of the aforementioned articles” (6 Oct. 1917, page 3).

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “A good contract came in from Youngstown, Ohio, to replace some New York Studios work.” It is difficult to determine which Youngstown theater Sosman & Landis delivered scenery to that year. We know it was not a new theater though, as the contract was to replace scenery previously installed by New York Studios.

New York Studios was the eastern affiliate of Sosman & Landis. Former Sosman & Landis employee, David H. Hunt, established the firm in 1910. What makes Moses’ entry interesting, however, is Moses’ entry about New York Studios the year before. In 1916, he wrote, “Our business relations with the New York Studios are a bit strained, and we have notified them that hereafter there would be no restricted district for us, and we did not care what they did.  Pennsylvania and New York used to be our very best states, and we were going after them again.”  

Sosman & Landis depended on repeat customers, as did most scenic studios, including New York Studios. Therefore, Sosman & Landis targeting a theater with existing New York Studios scenery, especially after Moses notified Hunt that there would be no restricted districts, certainly reinforced his stance.

I have explored New York Studios in many past posts. Here is the most recent post with additional information about Hunt and his studio https://drypigment.net2020/03/11/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-part-928-restricted-districts-and-new-york-studios-1916/

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1917, Thomas G Moses wrote, “Mama and I went to Sterling June 13^th for a few days.  Details of this trip will be found in ‘Back to the Old Town.’”  Moses is referring to his travelogues.  Unfortunately none of these records have survived. Only those tales he published as newspaper or art journals articles remain.

However, on Dec. 28, 1917, “The Pantagraph” (Bloomington, Illinois), published a lovely article that pairs well with his entry. It makes me think of how Sterling initially perceived Moses’ early departure from his hometown:

“Thinks They’ll Come Back.

Editor of Pantagraph: I am informed that a large number of people are intending to leave the vicinity this coming spring. There must have been a tremendous influence brought to bear on the minds of the people to lure so many to decide to leave Old Town, for it has always been known that Old Town was a perfect paradise on earth. Some say it is the original Garden of Eden, and I believe it, for the old apple tree still stands and often bears fruit. Over a dozen of our best neighbors and friends have at some time or another been persuaded to shake the dust of Paradise from their feet and seek homes in the sunny south. We would grieve our eyes out over the loss of so many of our loved ones, if we did not know that they would soon return. Never has anyone left Old Town who did not come back. Those who could not come back pined their lives away and died. Their last sad requests were for their friends to carry them back to Old Town and bury them. We will wait with great anxiety for our friends to return, and when they do return we will received them with cheerful hearts, a loving embrace and a sweet kiss.

A. Bellville, Holder, Ill., Dec. 26.”

In 2019 I visited Moses’ hometown of Sterling, Illinois, driving past on my return from a League of Historic American Theatres conference. He and his wife both grew up there, attending the same one room school house. While passing thru town, I tracked down many of the sites that Moses mentioned in his memoirs, including an early house that the young couple lived in when they briefly returned home for year.

I imagine that  friends and family thought the couple had returned for good, yet Sterling was not a town of solely happy memories for Moses. Even his father eventually left the area, deciding to live near Moses in Chicago. Moses’ father, Lucius Moses, initially gave up the life of a sea captain, traveling inland to Illinois after one child died at sea. His children, however, remained a family of wanderers. In some ways this was conducive to the life of a scenic artist, venturing from one town to another and coming home between projects.

Moses’ memoirs do not reflect a happy childhood. As a young boy in Sterling, he lamented over the loss of his mother at an early age and dreamed of escaping the stench of the tannery. I don’t think that Moses was ever able to really fit in with Sterling social life.

It would be the young town of Chicago that welcomed this hopeful artist, providing friends, a new family and lots of opportunities. Moses was able to remake himself as a successful and respected businessman, not the son of a tanner. His return to Sterling in 1917 may have been difficult, especially for those who still believed that he had traded Paradise for success.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Some new work for Harvey D. Orr; quite elaborate.”

Harvey D. Orr was quite an interesting character. Born in Wooster, Ohio, in 1865, both he and his brother Harold entered the theatrical profession. In 1890, he founded the Harvey D. Orr Musical Company. By 1906, he was the director for the School of Opera and Acting at the Bush Temple Conservatory. The Chicago institution was advertised as “the leading school of music, opera, acting and languages,” with fifty teachers of international reputation on staff” (Inter Ocean, 2 Sept. 1906, page 25). By 1907 he Orr managed the Harvey Stock Company. A decade later, he was still working as producer and performer with two extremely popular productions.

The Orr brothers were well known for their 1914 musical comedy success, “The Million Dollar Doll.” By the beginning of 1917, the show was enjoying a successful third season, traveling with a carload of special scenery. Advertised as a big scenic production, the show carried “special electrical effects” and “big novelty scenes” (“Caruthersville Journal, Missouri, 8 March 1917, page 4).

During the spring of 1917, Orr contacted Moses at Sosman & Landis as he planned a new musical, “There She Goes.” On October 18, 1917, the “Dunkirk Evening Observer” reported, “‘There She Goes’ is a mammoth scene spectacle with a whirl of whirling dances and a wonderful chorus of youth and beauty gorgeously costumed. There are two tremendous acts, four glorious scenes and a joyous potpourri of tuneful melodies and truly mirth-provoking comedy situations supplied y the Orr brothers. One of the features is the latest New York craze, a ‘Jazz Orchestra,’ the first to be carries by a road show” Advertised as Orr’s “most amusing musical comedy” and “a mammoth scenic spectacle” (Tomes Herald, New York, 23 Oct., 1917, page 6).

Later, “The York Dispatch” described, “The opening scene is enacted from a setting of a beautiful Long Island Country Club golf course, the second down in Honolulu. The leading action of the play centers around Harvey and Harold Orr, who as Professor Ichabod Simmons, bugologist, with a very absent minded trait, and his lackey Rufus Washington, a colored gentleman of distinction, whose antics are in a large measure the laugh of comedy. ‘There She Goes’ hinges about the love story of Vadentine Van Dyke and Patricia Parmalie, which finally evolves in the marriage of Mr. John Smith and Mary Brown, the latter being the real names of the couple, the former their society dressings. Replete with mirth-making situations, tuneful melodies and really pretty stage effects, ‘There She Goes’ is one of the best popular-priced musical comedies now on tour” (York, Pennsylvania, 28 Dec. 1917, page 3). Advertisements promised, “Beautiful Hawaiian Scenes, including the famous beach at Waikiki” (Oil City Derrick, Pennsylvania, 18 Oct., 1917, page 13). The show was extremely popular across the country, offering a much needed escape from world events.

“The West Virginian Fairmont” reported the production was a “joyous potpourri of tuneful melodies, mirth provoking comedy situations, colorful up-to-date costuming and dazzling surprises. Dramatic scenic magnificence. Twenty-four song hits, a veritable landslide of latest gown and millinery effects, rippling waves of laughter and bevies of fascinating beauties in the chorus as well as among the principal” (Fairmont, West Virginia, 26 Sept, 1917, page 6).

 “The Reading Times” announced, “Scenic magnificence, many song hits, a veritable landslide of latest gowns and military effects, rippling waves of laughter and bevies of fascinating beauties in the chorus as well as among the principals, all contribute to the success of the elaborate production” (20 Dec. 1917, page 6). The “Lima News” noted, “Dreamy waltzes, lively one-steps, tantalizing tangoes, whirling eccentric dance tunes and modern ballads, all blended into a carefully arranged mélange to please from start to finish” (8 Sept, 1917, page 8). The performers included the Polo Girls, the Imperial Quartet, as well as the jazz orchestra, Songs included “When You’re Twenty-one,” “In Honolulu Town,” “Am Absent Minded Man,” “Some Girl in the Summertime,” “Hawaiian Moon,” “I Fell for You in the Old Fall River,” “The Seaside Rag,” and “Sometime if Dreams Come True.”

To be continued…