Drypigment.net

For well over a year I have posted a historic stage setting every day to my Facebook group “Dry Pigment.” This post is then shared with other groups for digital dissemination, but not here. I often group stage compositions on a theme, posting one version after another over the course of a week. In the past I have covered landscapes, seascapes, palaces, dungeons, hell scenes, cathedrals, and much more. The images are often from scenery evaluations that I completed over the past few decades while traveling throughout the United States of America.

While I take a break from the life and time of Thomas G. Moses until November 11, 2019, I am going to share my Dry Pigment FB Group posts. It helps illustrated the scenic aesthetic that I have been writing about for over three years.

I primarily post daily pictures of historic backdrops each day for my fellow scenic artists, many of whom were not exposed to this history during , or friends who are completely unfamiliar with this form of American popular entertainment. I always hope that this small and consistent gesture will help others with their future projects and research.

Today’s Dry Pigment post depicts an asbestos curtain produced by a the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the opera house in Virginia, Minnesota.

Have a great day! – Wendy

For well over a year I have posted a historic stage setting every day to my Facebook group “Dry Pigment.” This post is then shared with other groups for digital dissemination, but not here. I often group stage compositions on a theme, posting one version after another over the course of a week. In the past I have covered landscapes, seascapes, palaces, dungeons, hell scenes, cathedrals, and much more. The images are often from scenery evaluations that I completed over the past few decades while traveling throughout the United States of America.

While I take a break from the life and time of Thomas G. Moses until November 11, 2019, I am going to share my Dry Pigment FB Group posts. It helps illustrated the scenic aesthetic that I have been writing about for over three years.

I primarily post daily pictures of historic backdrops each day for my fellow scenic artists, many of whom were not exposed to this history during their training, or friends who are completely unfamiliar with this form of American popular entertainment. I always hope that this small and consistent gesture will help others with their future projects and research.  

Today’s Dry Pigment post depicts a palace interior produced by a the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

For well over a year I have posted a historic stage setting every day to my Facebook group “Dry Pigment.” This post is then shared with other groups for digital dissemination, but not here. I often group stage compositions on a theme, posting one version after another over the course of a week. In the past I have covered landscapes, seascapes, palaces, dungeons, hell scenes, cathedrals, and much more. The images are often from scenery evaluations that I completed over the past few decades while traveling throughout the United States of America.

While I take a break from the life and time of Thomas G. Moses until November 11, 2019, I am going to share my Dry Pigment FB Group posts. It helps illustrated the scenic aesthetic that I have been writing about for over three years.

I primarily post daily pictures of historic backdrops each day for my fellow scenic artists, many of whom were not exposed to this history during , or friends who are completely unfamiliar with this form of American popular entertainment. I always hope that this small and consistent gesture will help others with their future projects and research.  

Today’s Dry Pigment post depicted a landscape produced by a Minneapolis Scenic studio that also had regional branches in other cities, such as Detroit, Michigan.

Have a great day!

I transfer planes in Detroit today on my way to teach at Cobalt Studios in White Lake, New York. It seems an appropriate time to include this particular post about Thomas G. Moses before taking a week off from writing. I will return to the life and times of Thomas G. Moses on Monday, November 10, 2019.

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Detroit again. New contract with Temple Theatre Company.” Sosman & Landis first delivered scenery to Detroit’s Temple theatre in 1908. The Elks Temple and Temple Theatre originally opened on Dec. 23, 190, and was next door to the Detroit opera house. Located on the north side of Monroe Street in the Campus Martius area, the building boasted a 1500-seat theater designed by Col. J.M. Wood. The Temple Theatre originally hosted the Wonderland Theatre Company and curiosity museum of oddities before the 1908 renovation. Sosman & Landis painted a drop curtain as part of an extensive renovation.

In 1908, the Temple Theatre closed for three weeks during July to complete the renovation of the theater space.  On July 2, 1908, the “Detroit Free Press” reported, “Sosman & Landis, the scene painters of Chicago, are in consultation with the William Wright artists carry out in the new drop curtain, to cost $1,000.” The same newspaper further described the new drop curtain on July 26, 1908: “Beyond all this the proscenium arch a mass of burnished gold and set within like a picture in its frame is the new drop curtain – a splendid thing the product of Sosman & Landis scenic studios in Chicago.  It pictures an old Italian garden, the spirit of the joy-seeking Renaissance caught here in every other part of the theater.  Here too the predominating note is blue with only the suggestion of green in the foliage and a hint of old rose in the costumes of the grand dames, which lend the desired touch of life to the stately old garden.  It’s all brightly beautiful and happy thought and ideal as a playhouse should be, and proves with subtle insistence that those responsible for it are artists in a very substantial and satisfying sense” (page 7).

In 1909 and 1910, Sosman & Landis again completed a large scenery projects for Detroit’s Temple Theatre, as the venue hosted touring productions. Much of the firm’s success was based on repeat customers, the return of satisfied customers who ordered additional scenery over the years.  Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio was a well-known entity by the first decade of the twentieth century. The fact that the Temple Theatre ordered more scenery in 1913 is not a surprise, especially with Sosman & Landis’ continued work in the city at various venues.

From the very beginning of Moses’ scenic art career, he had completed many projects in Detroit. Later in 1913, Moses reminisced, “I made a business trip to Detroit and Cleveland in July.  I left Detroit for Cleveland by the night boat.  As I sat on the upper forward deck enjoying a good cigar, my thoughts ran back to 1875, when I was in Detroit broke with no place to go, nothing to do.  I sat down on the dock, just below where I was now sitting and wondered if I would be missed and forgiven for falling off the dock.  I was either too much of a coward or had a sudden change of heart, for I went on the road very soon afterwards as a ‘butcher’ another name for candy or newsboy on the railroad.  A young man was sitting near me and to open the conversation for the evening, I told him the above.  He was very much interested, and I found that he knew some of my Oak Park friends, so we put in a very pleasant evening as we sailed or steamed towards Cleveland.”

Our minds often wander back to trying times, whether past events, places or friends. Past obstacles that seemed unbearable became our defining moments. Challenges can provide an opportunity for growth.  In 1875, Moses made a choice; he refused to give up and end it all on the docks of Detroit. Thirty-eight years later, he recognized that moment as a defining one in his life.

When I read this passage as a young college student, it shaped my perspective for many future trials. I was nineteen years old and constantly working in between classes.  Reading of Moses’ continued struggles made any of my own problems pale in comparison.  Although there was that brief period where I lived out of my car and solely ate ramen noodles, I could always return home if I really needed help. Moses could not, yet persevered anyway. I also recognize that some people cannot overcome some obstacles, regardless of a support network.

I made a conscious choice to succeed, regardless of what life threw at me. For me success was never defined by acquiring a large fortune or living in a fancy house, but how I could make myself better and how I could clear the path for those who came after me. That is one of the reasons that I post so many pictures of historic scenes every day, for my fellow scenic artists who may have never been exposed to this history. I hope that this small and consistent gesture will help my colleagues.  

To be continued…

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses recorded that Sosman & Landis delivered scenery for Moss and Brills’ new theatre in New York. Moss & Brill had two theaters in New York, the Eighty-sixth Street and the DeKalb.  The theatrical management firm also opened two theaters during January 1913. Both were combination houses, bringing the total number of theaters owned by Moss & Brill up to five, according to newspapers.

The Hamilton Theatre opened on January 23 and the Jefferson theatre opened on January 25. On January 24, 1913, the “Brooklyn Citizen” included an article about Moss & Brill’s new Hamilton Theatre:

“THE HAMILTON OPENS.

Moss and Brill’s new Hamilton Theatre, which is located at 146^th street and Broadway, Manhattan, had its opening last night. A fine program consisting of eight vaudeville numbers was presented. At the conclusion there were calls for the management, but the demands for a speech were not answered. The new institution is a handsome building, seating about two thousand persons, and will be devoted to vaudeville at popular prices. Friends of those interested in the new enterprise expressed their feelings by sending numerous large bouquets. A handsome souvenir programme was distributed.”

The second venue opened by Moss & Brill that January was the Jefferson Theatre. The Jefferson Theatre was slightly larger than the Hamilton Theatre, with a 3,000 seating capacity. It was located on the edge of what is now known as the East Village, at 214 E. 14^th Street. The narrow entrance was between two tenement buildings was the entrance, leading to the main auditorium in the back of the building, situated near E. 13^th Street. Over the years The Jefferson Theatre became known as the RKO Jefferson Theatre. It did not survive, however, and was demolished in 2000.

“The New York Times” announced the opening of the venue on 26 Jan. 1913: “The Jefferson Theatre, the second of the new houses to be opened by Moss & Brill vaudeville producers, was opened to the public last night. It is at Fourteenth Street and Third Avenue. George Kiester, architect of the Cohan, Belasco, Astor and Hamilton Theatres, designed the Jefferson. A feature in its construction is the span of 90 feet of balcony and orchestra entirely unobstructed by posts or pillars. The Hamilton Theatre at 146^th Street and Broadway were opened by the same firm on Thursday night. It is a marble building with a frontage of 100 feet on Broadway. It has only one balcony, but is equipped with twenty-four boxes, and will seat approximately 2,500. The color scheme is gold and brown. Both houses will resent continuous performances from 1 to 11 of vaudeville and moving pictures” (page 44):

Both the Hamilton and Jefferson theaters were completed at a cost of $1,000,000 and listed as “popular price” venues. The “Evening World” reported, “With the other Moss & Brill house, the Eighty-sixth Street Theatre, and the Cunningham & Fluegelman theatres, the McKinley Square, in the Bronx, and the DeKalb, in Brooklyn, seating capacity for more than 12,000 persons will be provided and an outlay in buildings and ground of more than $3,000,000 represented” (The Evening World, New York, 18 Jan. 1913, page 6).

The history of Moss & Brill is integral in the establishment of a new theatre circuit that appeared in 1912. That year newspapers announced the establishment of the Consolidated Booking Offices of America.  The new company consolidated the interests of Moss & Brill and Fluegelmen & Cunningham, both of New York, with the Sheehan and Olympia circuits of New England, taking the title Sheedy and Affiliated Vaudeville Circuit.  The company controlled about thirty weeks of vaudeville bookings from New York to Portland, Maine. Two weeks later, the newly formed Sheedy and Affiliated Vaudeville Circuit united their interests with the Theatre Booking Corporation, of Chicago; the Charles H. Miles Circuit of Detroit and Cincinnati, and the Klein & Crawford Circuit that extended from St. Louis to Omaha, to form the Consolidated Booking Offices of America. On August 16, 1912, the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” reported, “Combination of Independent ‘Small-Time’ Vaudeville Gains Ground.” This consolidation of smaller circuits resulted in vaudeville artists being able to secure contracts for fifty-six weeks of solid bookings instead of only thirty, meaning “headliners” from previously bigger circuits, were able to appear for the first time at popular prices.

The Consolidated Booking Offices of America incorporation papers were filed in Albany, New York in 1912 and the new company had a suite of twelve offices in the George M. Cohan Theatre Building in New York City, on Broadway, near Forty-third street. They featured popular-priced vaudeville, thus necessitating the use of venues with large-seating capacities of 2,000 or more to generate significant profits.

The new circuit also landed a major deal with Kinemacolor in De Kalb that year (see past posts #822-823 about Kinemacolor movies). On Feb. 1, 1913, “The Chat” announced “By the purchase of rights in Greater New York to exhibit the kinemacolor photo plays and motion pictures, Messrs. Cunningham and Fluegelman, proprietors of the DeKalb [Theatre], with their partners in the Consolidated Booking Offices, Messrs. Moss and Brill, now own the rights in this city outside of a small strip on Broadway from 34^th street to Columbus Circle” (Brooklyn, New York, page 42). Instead of the current prices for Kinemacolor that ranged from $0.50 to $1.50, the prices at the DeKalb Theatre were $0.25.

Change was in the air for popular entertainment as the moving picture industry continued to gain ground, offering theatre managers with an opportunity.

“The Evening World” answered the question “Why new theatres of this type are needed on January 18, 1913 (page 6): “It is the general opinion that the metropolis is already overstocked with theatre, and just now Broadway and its adjacent territory has more than can be filled. And yet more are being built, while the dramatic field is overstocked. The same may be said of the popular-price houses. There are hundreds of these, including the ‘motion picture’ houses, and one would naturally infer that the field is over worked. But Mr. Moss and Mr. Brill were the first to see the possibilities of building modern fireproof theatres to supply the ever-increasing demand for popular amusement at popular prices.”

To be continued…

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses write, “We did Harris Theatre, Pittsburgh, for New York studio…”

The Harris Theatre in Pittsburgh was a vaudeville house managed by John P. Harris. “The Pittsburgh Press” described Harris as “a pioneer in amusements within reach of the masses, active in the industrial world and a leader in clean sports. He opened and successfully operated Pittsburgh’s first ‘nickelodeon.’ When that form of motion picture entertainment was laying the foundation of the present motion picture business, and later expanded his operations to cater to all classes of cinema entertainment. Mr. Harris was among the first to enter the field in low-priced vaudeville. He provided Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania cities with a chain of theaters. He provided Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania cities with a chain of theaters, featured with low admission prices. Later he entered the higher priced amusement field and became associated with the most important figures in the vaudeville, photoplay and legitimate stage circles. Mr. Harris was vice president of Harry Davis Enterprises Co. and president of the various Harris Amusement companies, operating a chain of theatres throughout western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. These companies included the Harris Amusement Co. of Pittsburgh, the Harris Amusement Co. of Pennsylvania, the Harris Amusement Co. of Michigan and various other associated interests in Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Louisville. He also was vice president and director of the Washington Trust Co. and a director of the Pittsburgh’s baseball club” (27 Jan 1926, page 1). Harris later became a state senator in 1922

The Harris Theatre in Pittsburgh was mentioned in an advertisement published in the “Cincinnati Enquirer” on May 30, 1918. It cited the Harris Theatre as “Pittsburgh’s Leading Playhouse Theatre” (page 16). It described fire safety materials employed during the construction: “It will be noted in the following that the use of THE EDWARDS MANUFACTURING CO.’S CELLULAR STEEL and KEYRIDGE in the construction of this handsome new playhouse will make it one of the most safe and fireproof temples of amusement in the country. Every newspaper remembers with horror the terrible catastrophe, which a few years ago blotted out the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, sacrificing many lives and injuring hundreds. This has caused theatrical managers all over the country to provide again a recurrence of this horror, with the result that CELLULAR STEEL AND KEYRIDGE have been specified in great numbers of edifices where the builder looks to the safety, comfort and absolutely fireproof qualities in his building. The main floor and roof of this new Harris Theatre is a CELLUAR METAL construction, the balcony, galleries and all partitions and suspended ceiling of KEYRIDGE. This material can be used in the building of modern homes, office or flat buildings and for garages.”

To be continued…

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We did a New York Studio job for Atlantic City – a theatre on the pier.” New York Studios was the eastern affiliate of Sosman & Landis, the firm managed by David H. Hunt. Sosman & Landis manufactured the scenery which was then sold by New York Studios to the new theatre on the pier.

B. F. Keith’s Garden Pier Theatre of was located on the 700-foot Garden Pier at the end of New Jersey Avenue, opening in 1913. The pier had formal gardens at the entrance and featured an open-air theatre, hosting theatrical production, exposition and even conventions over the years. The Garden Pier Theatre officially opened on July 19, 1913.

Before the theater’s grand opening, the “Philadelphia Inquirer” published,” Atlantic City, N.J., June 21 – Activity in the theatrical world here is quite pronounced. Playhouses are multiplying at such a rate that it begins to look as though the thing would be overdone. Two new playhouses skirting the Boardwalk are among the most imposing structures in evidence today. These are the New Nixon, at St. Charles place and the theatre on the new pier at New Jersey avenue. (22 June 1913, page 29).  The article continued, “The theatre on the new pier is fast shaping up, the side walls and roof now being in place. But it will be several weeks before it will be anything like condition to invite public attention. It is to be a large house, but just what kind of attractions will it play or who will be the local manager seems to be sill a matter of conjecture.”

The “Philadelphia Inquirer” later reported, “It has been whispered about during the week that the theatre on the new pier – named the Garden – at New Jersey Avenue, is to be devoted to the Keith style of low-priced vaudeville, and that Ben Harris may be the manager…The theater is not nearly finished yet, and probably will not be for some weeks to come. The front of the pier, however, is in pretty good shape, and it is said that already rentals amounting to nearly sixty thousand dollars have been made. The shops on either side of the big entrance will be mostly of glass and will make a decidedly attractive appearance, giving the keepers unusual advantages in the way of displaying  their wares effectively.  There is a beautiful lawn and flower garden in the centre, which will invite promenaders along the Boardwalk. It is said that there will be no admission charged fro the pier proper, but that a scale of low prices will be made for the theatre. The style of entertainment will be much like that at the Liberty and Keystone in Philadelphia. Mr. J. Fred Zimmerman has signed with the United Booking Offices (Keith) whereby the latter will furnish a majority of the attractions for his varied enterprises in the future. This will give him better facilities than he has hitherto enjoyed” (20 July 1913, page 22).

To be continued…

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Had to go back to Baraboo to get a new contract for more work.  Total $13,695.00.” Today’s equivalent of $13,695.00 in 1913 is $355,183.28.

Later that year, Moses wrote, “When we were setting the Ringling scenery at the Coliseum, the big elephant stampeded and there was some excitement for awhile, but the trainer went after them and brought them back and made them go through all the tricks again.”

From 1905 until Al Ringling’s passing in in 1916, Thomas G. Moses completed several designs for the Ringling Bros. grand circus spectacles.  Al Ringling worked with Moses to design scenery for their grand circus spectacles. The work that Moses mentioned in 1913 was for their Joan of Arc spectacle.

In 1913, newspaper advertisements across the country announced the Ringlings’ “newly added $500,000 spectacle of ‘Joan of Arc”  (The Placer Herald, Rocklin, CA, 23 August 1913, page 3). The attraction was described in hundreds of articles, such as the “Pawnee Rock Herald” (Pawnee, Kansas, 17 July 1913, page 3). The “Pawnee Rock Herald” reported, “Ringling Bros. circus is attracting unusual interest this season because of its many new features and the new aspect given the show by the addition of the great spectacle ‘Joan of Arc”…There will be a new parade in the forenoon three miles in length. The menagerie is practically twice as big as it was last year and contains many specimens of strange animals. Audiences will be entertained by 375 of the greatest of Europe’s circus artists…The great feature of the show of course is the newly added spectacle ‘Joan of Arc,’ with a trainload of special scenery, costumes and stage properties and a cast of 1,200 characters. There is a ballet of 300 dancing girls, a chorus of 400 voices and an orchestra of 100 soloists.”

Of the spectacle, the article continued, “This is the greatest dramatic and spectacular production ever presented in America, enacted on a specially built stage bigger than a hundred ordinary theatres. It is made portable so that it can be erected in the main tent each morning. This great entertainment is given as an introductory to the regular circus performance and entails no extra charge of admission. John of Arc tells a masterful story from French history in a thrilling and dramatic way and with the wonderful illusion of tone of special scenery and stage devices. In the great battle scene the audience is held spellbound by the realism of the scene while the enactment of the coronation of Charles VII is beyond question the most sumptuous and inspiring stage picture ever seen.”

An article in the “Great Bend Tribune” announced the arrival of the advance men (Great Bend, Kansas, 5 July 1913, page 1): “Thursday night a huge eighty-foot car pulled into the Santa Fe station with a coat of bright red paint, it announced in blazing letters of gold, ‘Ringling Bros.’ World’s Greatest Shows Advertising Car No. 1’…Ringling Bros. have three advance cars, following one another a week apart. The no. 1 car goes to each town three weeks before the circus is due to appear. It carries twenty-seven men, consisting of twenty billposters and six lithographers, in charge of the veteran car manager, George Goodhart. A steam machine for making paste is carried on the car and every night the porter makes twelve barrels for use the following day. The head lithographer sees the dates are pasted on the lithos and the car manager lays out the work for each man to do. At 5:30 a.m. the men are called, breakfast is served at 6 o’clock, and at 6:30 the local livery teams are at the car ready to take the billposters to the outlying towns and through the city itself to plaster the billboards. The lithographers start with their bundles of lithos (in circus parlance called ‘hods’) to decorate the store windows, and by the time the supper hour arrives everybody knows the big circus is coming and enthusiastic and excited youngsters are busily engaged in planning a touch on ‘daddie’ for the price of a circus ticket. The men who do the country work also carry the show heralds for distribution. The next car is the excursion car. The No. 3 car will do the local work.”

As the Ringing Bros. trains crossed Kansas, the “Topeka Daily News” announced, “While numerous alarm clocks were tinkling under pillows of small boys throughout the city this morning, there arrived in the yards of the Rock Island Railroad four long trains, composed of 86 cars bearing the Ringling Brother’s circus” (“Topeka Daily News, “July 24, 1913),

One-half of an entire train was used for the costumes and scenery of the spectacle of “Joan of Arc.” Of the show, the article continued, “This spectacle, in a series of brilliant pantomime pictures, tells the dramatic story of the Maid of Orleans, the simple peasant girl who led an army to battle and restored Charles VII to the throne of France. The costumes and scenery are the most gorgeous and costly every used in a production of this kind, either under canvas or in a theater” (page 7).

The production was further described in the “Hartford Courant:”

“The play begins when Joan, just 16 years old, comes from her father’s pasture at Domremy at the command of the Archangel St. Michael to the court of Charles VII, at Chinon. In the light of a thousand torches she is brought into the presence of the King in the great palace which throngs with the nobles of France. The reception which the King gives to the peasant girl is filled with impressiveness and suspense. The second climax of the great spectacle is reached when Joan, dressed in armor, crossed the river of Orleans, and rides at the head if the French army into the gates of the beleaguered city. One of her heralds presents himself at the English camp. Respect to the messenger is sent to defy Talbot, and to declare from the girl that is any harm is done him it shall be retaliation on the English prisoners. Joan in shining armor appears on a tower facing the Tournelles, bidding the soldiers of Suffolk and Talbot to depart. This they refuse to do. At the head of the French knights and archers Joan rides between the towers of the besiegers and followed by the villagers who look on in wonder at the sight of a mere girl leading the armies of France. The stage version ends with the introduction of a great ballet of 300 beautiful dancing girls, a grand opera chorus, 600 horses and an ensemble o 1,200 people. The closing chapter of Joan’s life is too sad for this drama of gladness, through her capture, her imprisonment and her execution are told n a series of thrilling tableaus by means of tons of scenery and a great battery of electric mechanism” (17 May 1913, page 16).

To be continued…

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We all went to Mamie’s for New Year’s dinner, and we started the ball rolling in good shape.  One of our first big jobs was the “Arabian Nights Ball” at the Armory.  It was very good.” Moses was referring to the annual dance for charity held in Chicago each January. The beneficiaries of the 1913 event were the Passavant hospital and the Chicago Lying-In hospital.  5,000 people attended the “Arabian Nights Ball,” raising $16,000 on January 10 that year.

Sosman & Landis scenery helped transform the armory into a Turkish courtyard. Hundreds of electrical lights were hung from the vaulted ceiling to suggest an exotic eastern sky.  The “Inter Ocean” reported, “A Reinhardt effect, with all the mysticism and magic of ‘Sumurun’ and with just a touch of Oriental color and beauty which made ‘Kismet’ such a joy to the eye, is what is promised the onlookers at the Arabian Nights ball” (5 Jan 1913, page 5). The article described the sumptuous décor, elaborating, “Your first feeling is that you have entered a mosque. All around the edge of the big hall boxes have been built. Shoulder high in front of them runs a wall of pink and black horizontal stripes, deep black and bright, clear Oriental pink. Each box is framed in a dome shaped pink and black top and behind it the wall colored deep orange. Seated in the boxes will be men and women in costumes that suggest only the romantic and beautiful. It will be well nigh impossible to believe that they are really citizens of America.” Turquoise steps led up to the pink and black boxes. The lining of each box was white with lemon yellow draperies ornately framing each alcove. The “Inter Ocean” reported that the floors were strewn with magnificent cushions and oriental rugs, suggesting the palace of an Eastern potentate (11 Jan 1913, page 4). Opposite of the entrance were red lacquer pillars, framing famous socialites made up as Egyptian princesses.

Of the decorations, the “Chicago Tribune” later noted “Its daring Moorish decorations, designed by Mrs. John Carpenter and carried out by her, with Hugh [G. M.] Gordon’s aid, were written up in London and Paris papers, and the famous Chelsea Art Club sent for pictures of the hall and the costumes when they planned an oriental fête. Mrs. John [Alden] Carpenter is to have charge of the ‘mis en scene’ of the artists’ ball, so original and wonderful things may well be expected” (23 Nov 1913, page 30). Carpenter (1876-1951) was a well-known American composer, educated at Harvard and studied under John Knowles Paine.

The next day, Chicago Tribune published “With the sounding of trumpets, the brilliancy of golden lights, the shimmer of satins and the dazzling splendor of priceless jewels, the Arabian Nights ball began in a blaze of glory at the First Regiment armory last evening. Society matrons and maids and the brave knights of today adorned in alluring and mysterious costumes of the Far East, danced till their feet were as heavy as their hearts were light” (Jan. 11, 1913page 4).

Rosina Gaill of the Chicago Opera Company reigned as queen of the event with Eleanora de Claneros serenading the crowds, singing selections from “Sampson and Delilah.” At the entrance to the courtyard, fifty musicians under the direction of Johnny hand played melodies for the guests.

The event began with a grand march, described as “a triumphal procession the beauty and wealth of which has never been seen in the festivities of the world. Following the trumpeters from ‘Aida’ came scores of torch bearers whose blazing torches threw a weird and flickering light over the gay throng.” (Inter Ocean, 11 Jan 1913, page 4).

Themed public events provided great opportunities for Sosman & Landis, affording the firm not only a stead income, but also public exposure.   

To be continued…

There were many projects completed at Sosman & Landis that were not mentioned by Thomas G. Moses in his memoirs. In 1912, Sosman & Landis delivered scenery for “The Little Homestead.” The “Idaho Republican” described, “The entire production is the work of those famous artists, Sosman & Landis of Chicago” (Blackfoot, Idaho, 12 Jan. 1912, page 8). “The electrical effects for the production were provided by the General Electric Co. of Pittsburg, Pa.”

As W. B. Patton’s play toured the United States, advertisements promised “A Big Scenic Production. SEE the Famous Old Southern Mansion. SEE the Black Gorge of Virginia. SEE the James River in Winter. See the Great Fields of Ice” (“Daily Appeal,” 5 Feb. 1912, page 4). The production was a southern play about old Virginia, staged in picturesque settings. The “Montpelier Examiner” reported, “There are four big acts in this production, showing some of the most beautiful scenery, such as Old Black top mountain of Virginia in winter; the famous James River as it flows down from the mountains with its great fields of ice; the great black gorge where lies “Little Homestead;” Colonel Fairfax’s grand old southern mansion near Richmond, Virginia; and the battlefields of old Virginia (12 Jan 1912, page 5).

The “Oakdale Leader” commented, “This play has been the rage in the eastern states for the past three years and produced for the first time in the west by Messrs. Droffops & Jack. The management guarantees this to be a strictly first class production in every respect, a mammoth scenic production. The play ran for over 300 nights in Chicago and 200 nights in Boston”” (15 Feb 1912, page 1).

To be continued…