Charity Events – Page 2 – Drypigment.net

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 916 – Chicago’s Spanish Ball, a Charity Event in 1915

From the “Chicago Tribune,” 18 Dec 1915 page 17.

In 1915, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We did another society stunt, ‘The Spanish Ball.’ I think we made about $20,000.00 for one evenings entertainment.” In addition to producing stock scenery for various theaters and special scenery for touring productions, these themed events netted the studio thousands of dollars in profit each year. I am curious if the $20,000 amount mentioned by Moses was what the studio netted for the project or his estimation on the charitable donations. Reports indicate that Chicago’s Spanish Ball raised $25,000 for charity.

From the “Chicago Tribune,” 9 Dec 1915 page 13.

On Monday Dec. 13, 1915, the “Day Book” included the article “Women in Red Socks and Red Sashes at Spanish Ball.” The article reported, “No charity ball this winter. Instead, the Spanish ball. By calling it Spanish ball, everybody on it is saved the smell that goes with the word ‘charity’ these days.”

Photograph for the Chicago Daily News, now part of the Chicago History Museum.

The upper echelon of Chicago society gathered on Dec. 17, 1915 to raise funds for the Chicago Lying-In hospital. It opened new building at 51^st Street and Vincennes, and money was needed for plumbing and running expenses. After the funds were raised at the ball, it was anticipated that the water pipe installation would begin.

Of the Lying-In hospital cause, two dispensaries were run with hospital. The previous year 24,764 mothers received medicine, lint and doctor’s advice. The “Day Book” article reported, “Though many mothers are lucky enough to get a bed to lie in at the Lying-in hospital, statement of women at head of it is that ‘hundreds are turned away every year.’ What sort of shacks and shanties the mothers go to when turned away is not stated in any survey taken. Red colors, laughter and a big hoorah are the moors of the Spanish ball. It would be thought a crime and an indecency if somebody should print slips to be stuck onto the dance program giving the statistics of the baby death rate around the Armour, Swift and Morris slaughter houses. University of Chicago survey presented in testimony to U. S. industrial relations commission showed baby death rate in the stockyards district is seven times as high as over on the lake shore in the district where Spanish ball dancers will come from.”

For the Spanish Ball, the First Regiment Armory building was transformed into a replica of the famous streets of Madrid. Arches and pillars of flaming orange and red, relieved by bars of black concealed the walls and formed sort of a continuous façade about the drill fall behind which the spectators sat. According to the “Chicago Examiner” “The pageant will represent all phases of Spanish history, beginning with the Moorish invasion in 800 A.D., which is to include those fascinating and illustrious personages of long ago period, Ferdinand and Isabella. DeSoto, Balboa, Cortez and everybody else connected with the history of those stirring times will be impersonated. There will be an Inquisition group too” (Nov. 7, 1915, Vol. 16, part 4, page 6).

The “Day Book” article anticipated the event; “Next Friday night they pull this Spanish ball in First Regiment armory. Ladies in red sox and red moccasins, topped off with red fabric and ribbons, all a regular chile con carne red pepper red, will be on parade. Spanish music, old fashioned rum-tum-toddles played in Madrid and Barcelona centuries ago, have been searched out by Roy McWilliams.”

The “Evening Star” reported “The managers of the Spanish ball held on Friday night at the 1^st Regiment armory have cause for great satisfaction, for the affair was by all odds the most comprehensive historical pageant as well as the greatest financial success ever staged for charity in Chicago, says the Chicago herald. The setting was effective, with the curving yellow and orange walls of the bullfight ring hung with rich fabrics and rugs, and opposite to the entrance of the picturesque Café del Torero, with its yellow walls and black balconies, against which the various groups seated themselves in a semi-circle as the pageant wound itself about the hall. The pageant was somewhat late in beginning, and it was well after 12 o’clock before the last group had fled past the queen in the person of Mrs. Robert Leatherbee, who sat in a gorgeous palanquin, and alluring picture in Moorish costume of silver cloth, many barbaric jewels and a gorgeous headdress of fan and peacock feathers, After the pageant there was dancing and the gay scenes that began with the blowing of the bugles for the entrance of the bullfight cortege at 11 o’clock did not end until almost dawn” (Washington, D.C., December 26, 1915, page 8).

Queen Isabella at the Spanish Ball, from the “Chicago Tribune,” 12 Dec 1915 page 54.

The Charity ball raised $25,000. Over 4,000 donned their best costumes and emptied their pockets for the event intended to replenish the coffers of those in need. The majority of visitors were simply spectators as gazed from a balcony at the events below. The “Chicago Tribune” reported, “While the majority looked on from the boxes and balconies 300 men and women staged the long-a-waited Spanish ball, which compromised a pageant rich, in color, a series of performance by professional dancers and singers, and a mock bullfight which was greeted with shouts of laughter. Then everybody danced” (18 Dec. 1915, page 17).

The “Lincoln Journal Star,” reported “Chicago’s ‘400’ yawned sleepily today and voted the Spanish ball a weird success. Dowagers, cotillion leader, debutants and just ordinary folk who make one splurge a year decked themselves in a collection of disguises that added $100,000 to the bank rolls of modistes and tailors. Some of them rode donkeys to enhance the illusion of a Moorish scene. The ball, the annual charity event of Chicago, netted about $25,000 for the Chicago lying-in hospital. Mrs. Potter Palmer, the ‘400’s’ leader had as her guests former Ambassador and Mrs. Myron T. Herrick” (18 Dec., 1915, page 1).

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 882 – “Daddy Long Legs” Dolls and the War Effort, 1914-1915

I came across an interesting article about the sale of “Daddy Long Legs” dolls while looking for information about the production’s scenery by Thomas G. Moses. The manufacture and sale of Judy dolls were part of a nation-wide charitable endeavor benefitting orphaned children and those in need both in the United States and over seas.

From the “Los Angeles Times,” 31 Jan 1915, page 11.

Although the United States would not officially enter WWI until 1917, the conflict was continually covered in the newspapers. That fall, “Daddy Long Legs” was playing in New York as France and Britain battled Germany, ravaging Belgium. Although the United States government remained neutral, individuals and organizations in the United immediately began to lend financial support to those devastated by the war.

In 1914, Ruth Chatteron, Jean Webster and the cast of “Daddy Long Legs” became involved in a series of charity events that benefitted orphaned children, especially those in Belgium. Throughout the fall of 1914 and into the spring of 1915, Chatternon and Webster appeared publically at many fundraisers where “Judy” dolls and other souvenirs from the play were sold to raise charitable donations. Many of the proceeds went to benefit Belgian children and others little ones overseas.

From the “Los Angeles Times,” 4 Feb 1915, page 15.

On Nov. 30, 1914, the “New York Tribune” published an article, “Santa Claus Calls Louder Than War. Daddy Long Legs Dolls and Money for Children in Stricken Battle Zone” (page 9). The article continued, “War and hard times may rule the world, but still a few people have time to plan for a little Christmas merriment for the children, both in this country and in Europe. The State Charities Aid Association announces that, beginning to-day, one thousand Daddy Long-Legs dolls will be distributed to individuals and clubs. The dolls will be dressed by them and then sold in shops and privately to get money to use for the 35,000 children whom the association looks out for in institutions and boarding homes in this state.

There are to be boy dolls and girls, if dressed accordingly to the design made by Miss Jean Webster, who wrote the play “Daddy Long-Legs,” will be in bright blue ginghams, just like Judy Abbott in the play.” The Daddy Long Legs dolls were part of a larger event. The article continued,

“Dolls of all nations will be on view and on sale at the
bazaar which is to be held by the International Institute for Young Women, at
113 East 34^th St., from to-day to December 3. The proceeds will be
used to help foreign girls who are stranded in New York, but the dolls, which
include Russian princesses, German peasants, Italian cantadinas, Roman matrons, English babies and Scotch Highlanders, as so fascinating that the child who finds one in her Christmas stocking will have a joyous holiday. The committee of the institute includes Mrs. W. C. Potter, Mrs. William Fellows Morgan, Mrs. Elihu Root, Jr., Mrs. Charles H. Ferry, Mrs. Edward S. Harkness and Miss Charlotte Stillman. Members of the committee will preside at the bazaar and serve tea.

Sunday schools all over the country are sending in contributions to the War Children’s Christmas Fun, of which Mrs. John Hays Hammond is national chairman. The gifts of the Sunday Schools have aggregated $1,000 a day recently. The fund has received to date $12,398. Twenty-five tons of clothing and candy have been shipped to England for English and Belgian children. Money equal in value will be sent to United States ambassadors in Russia, Germany and France to buy a little Christmas for the children whose fathers are one the front.”

For a brief period of time, orphaned children took center stage and there was a public outpouring of support. For example, the Children’s Home Society of California started a campaign to “make unique toys for the benefit and succor of hundreds of homeless fatherless and motherless little ones,” especially featuring Daddy Long Legs dolls (Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan 1915, page 11). Newspapers across the country posed the question, “Will you please buy a Daddy Long-Legs doll, mister?” Judy dolls were featured as the perfect Christmas gift that also contributed to a good cause. Newspaper pictures included the “Daddy Long-Legs” cast, stage orphans, making their appeal to the charitable, a cause that would support “their really unfortunate brothers and sisters.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 850 – Father McCann of Elgin, 1913

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I got $3,000.00 contract from Father McCann of Elgin, for a scenic decoration for their Coliseum. This represented a tropical island and was very effective, and the Bazaar that was given with the decoration was a very wonderfully successful one, netting $6,000.00.” To put this project in financial perspective, $6000 in 1913 is the equivalent of approximately $155,000 today. That is a lot of money for a church to spend on a bazaar. Father McCann at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, however, was a poet, lover of the arts, and tango enthusiast. The 1913 church bazaar was set in the Elgin Coliseum, a venue with a seating capacity of 4,000. The tropical theme in 1913 supported a variety of performances, including the controversial dance. For a little perspective, by 1913 dance instructors who taught the tango in Paris were banished from the city due to the sexual overtones. It is understandable why McCann had to defend the dance in the regional papers, as he was certainly pushing the envelope of social acceptability at the time.

The church bazaar was mentioned in the “Joliet Evening Herald-News” article:

“TANGO O.K. SAYS ELGIN PRIEST” (29 Sept 1913, page 2).

Here is the article, as it provides a little more background about this quirky clergy member:

“Elgin, Ill., Sept 29.- Father John J. McCann, pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic church, wants everyone to learn and dance the tango in its appeared form, which he highly endorsed. He announced today that an exhibition of the new dance by three children couples under supervision of a professional teacher will be the feature of the church bazaar next month. His first idea was to have the teacher instruct adults at the bazaar, but she said improper steps would creep in unless there had been careful training beforehand, He expects to throw the dance opinion to all at the next bazaar.”

Moses previously worked for the McCann in 1912, writing, “Went to Elgin to see Father McCann about a show for their Coliseum – a big street effect.” Sosman & Landis did another big contract for a pained street scene for the event. This was another substantial project for the firm that brought in significant income. Unfortunately, McCann would not remain in Elgin.

Father McCann’s dismissal from St. Mary’s, published in the ” Chicago Tribune,” 18 March 1918, 1-10

Only a few years later, McCann’s career turned south, after a conflict with Bishop Peter J. Muldoon that dramatically escalated. McCann was even taken into custody after a police standoff from inside St. Mary’s Church in Elgin (see past post # 811 for the sordid details). However, in 1913 McCann was still poplar with the public and flush with funds, even purchasing fine artworks from Moses at his 1913 Palette & Chisel Club art exhibition. Moses recorded that McCann bought one canvas for $200.00 and another for $100.00, “starting the sale in good shape.”

In 1913, McCann made headlines again in the “Herald” newspaper article “Priest Named in Elgin Case” (Crystal Lake, 13 Oct. 1913, page 7). I think that this was the beginning of the end for Father McCann. Here is the article:

“Elgin.- On the witness stand before Police Magistrate Thompson, William J. Peer, manager of the Chicago Motor Cab company, testified that the automobile in which Joe Connor made his escape from the Elgin State hospital, July 25, was ordered by Father John J. McCann, pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic church, Elgin.” Oh my. It had to have been hard to explain that to Bishop Muldoon.

In 1914, Moses wrote, “The Elgin Coliseum that we started in the fall was put up in February and it was very effective; good lighting. The committee was well pleased with it. The Palette and Chisel Club loaned some pictures. I took up half a dozen and we made a little Art Gallery, and I think we put our name on the map, if nothing else. ”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 836 – The Arabian Nights Ball at the Armory, 1913

Program from the Arabian Nights Ball. Image from online auction of the item.

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.

Article about the Arabian Nights Ball in the “Chicago Tribune,” 9 Jan 1913, page 5.

Attendee at the Arabian Nights Ball, from he “Chicago Tribune,” 9 Jan 1913, page 5.

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.

Attendees at the Arabian Nights Ball from the “Chicago Tribune,” 9 Jan 1913, page 5.

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…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 811 – Father McCann of Elgin, 1912

In 1912, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Went to Elgin to see Father McCann about a show for their Coliseum – a big street effect.”

Father McCann pictured in an article from the “Chicago Tribune,” 18 March 1918, 1-10.

Moses was referring to the Elgin Coliseum and Father John J. McCann of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Elgin, Illinois. The Elgin Coliseum had a seating capacity of 4,000 people, large enough to host a sizeable church event. It is likely that the big street effect was for the State Sunday School convention that summer.

St. Mary’
St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Elgin, Illinois.

On May 24, 1912, the “Joliet Evening Herald-News” advertised the upcoming State Sunday School Convention at the Elgin Coliseum, drawing in thousands of church people over Memorial Day weekend (page 17). The three-day event included celebrity appearances and special programming pertaining to the instruction of children. The “Joliet Evening Herald-News” reported, “Special effort will be made to bring out features interesting to men and women both. The instruction of children of both sexes in matters that pertain to their future will be one feature of the convention.” The convention closed with a parade of Sunday School Workers on Memorial Day night. There were several bass bands and a chorus of several thousand children in attendance. For the parade, 5,000 Sunday school workers from all parts of the state took part in the march.

Father McCann was quite an interesting individual and somewhat of a controversial character by 1918. Much of the later drama surrounding Father McCann had to do with Bishop Muldoon.

In 1909 the “Joliet Evening – Herald News” included an article about Bishop Muldoon’s visit to Elgin, reporting, “Bishop Peter J. Muldoon of the Roman Catholic diocese of Rockford, was given an elaborate reception on his first official visit to the city. A parade of 1,000 persons, headed by a band, met the bishop at the station and escorted him to St. Joseph’s church where an informal reception was held, and then to St. Mary’s parish, where he was the guest of Father J. McCann until evening. At 8 p.m., the bishop addressed a public gathering at the Coliseum at which Mayor Fehrman, Representative Price, and others spoke” (9 May 1909, page 3). Quite the reception.

In 1918, however, Father McCann would make the news in regard to his defiance to the Bishop. It all started when newly appointed church trustees were refused access to the financial records. These same Trustees later called on Father McCann and demand that he relinquish all church records and property. They were driven off when shots were fired from the second story of his residence. Two days later, and injunction was announced, but Father McCann could not be found, as he and his brother were in Chicago. Bishop Muldoon then suspended Father McCann and announced that Rev. T. Gilbert Flynn would succeed him immediately, conducting the St. Patrick Day Service. A guard was even posted in the church on Saturday night to prevent Father McCann from conducting the service the next day. Father McCann’s response was to chase away the guard and barricade himself and his brother in the church.

The “Chicago Tribune” headline read. “Ram Door In, Seize Priest After Battle.” (Chicago Tribune, 18 March 1918, page 1 and 10).

The article about Father McCann in the “Chicago Tribune,” 18 March 1918, page 10.

The twenty-four hour siege of St. Mary’ Catholic Church ended when a dozen policemen and deputies forced the church doors open with a crowbar. Nine bullets, fired by the McCanns at the police, were later found embedded in the church door. When the police finally entered the church, Father McCann was in his vestments, kneeling in prayer while his brother stood guard. In the article, Father McCann claimed that he was a victim of personal spite on the part of a high church official, saying, ‘Muldoon will lose his purple before I lose my position” and he promised to sue for false arrest and trespass.

On March 19, 1918, the “Philadelphia Inquirer” reported:

“PRIEST DEFIES BISHOP

Elgin, Ill., Minister Refuses to Give Up Catholic Parish.

ELGIN, Ill., March 18 – “This Parish is worth $100,000 to me. It pays me $4,000 a year, or at a rate of 4 percent on $100,000. I won’t give that up without a fight. I am fighting for my life and shall defend myself to the finish.”

Defiance sparkled in Father John J. McCann, pastor of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, as he announced his ultimatum to Bishop J. Muldoon, of the Rockford diocese today. The archbishop has been trying to oust Father McCann for some time as incompetent.

“I have been pastor at St. Mary’s for twenty years and up to two years ago was considered a friend to Bishop Muldoon,” continued Father McCann. “Envy is back of this.”

It is alleged that when officers appeared with a summons for Father McCann yesterday the former were driven away with shots. Father McCann said:
“I had no revolver and did not see one.”

The priest is to appear be in the police court here Wednesday on a warrant charging assaults and threats of bodily injury obtained by Rev. T. Gilbert Flynn, appointed as temporary pastor of the parish.”

The story and trial caused quite a sensation, with Chicago priests firmly on the side of McCann. Father McCann was charged with many things, from embezzlement to kidnapping and a secret marriage. One thing for sure, Father McCann was a poet who published under the pen name of Leo Gregory. In the volume, “The Kaiser and Other Poems,” issued in 1902, the following verses were from McCann’s “Not Hypocrite, but Human.”

“I have done wrong. Who has not?

But I have done some good;

And more of good than ill, I trust;

I did the best I could.

Was good I did the less sincere,

Because I failed in part?

Not hyprocrite, but human, friend,

Described the erring heart.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar: Part 782: George L. Schrieber, 1911

While looking for additional information pertaining to Thomas G. Moses’ Kansas exhibit at the 1911 Chicago Land Show, I came across an interesting article about a panorama painted for the Omaha Land show that opened in the Omaha Coliseum on October 16, 1911. It was the artist that caught my eye, a new name for me. As I researched his history and artistic philosophy, it prompted me to include him in the storyline. Arts education for children and its benefits for society are not a new concept, individuals have been fighting for the inclusion of art classes in American public schools for over a century. What my generation once took for granted, daily arts classes, metallurgy, or woodworking, is not necessarily part of out children’s academic experience anymore.

Here is the article published in the “Daily Bee” that initially brought George L. Schreiber to my attention (“Vale depicted in Panorama,” Omaha, Nebraska, 11 October 1911, page 5):

“One of the first big exhibits for the Omaha Land Show which opens in the Coliseum next Monday arrived from Salem, Ore. The displays are representative of eight counties in the Willamette valley.

A novel and interesting feature will be the panoramic painting depicting the characteristics of the fertile land in the valley. The panorama was painted by George L. Schrieber, who is already here to install the big canvas. As a painting it is a work of art and it is bound to attract much attention. Electrical effects to show the variation of the light from the break of day until sundown will make the canvas all the more realistic. W. T. Groves, who will have charge of the soil products display from Willamette valley, has arrived in Omaha and is awaiting the arrival of the exhibit. He will display fruits, grasses, forage and garden products, demonstrating the wide diversity of crops raised in his section of the country. In addition to the exhibit there will be a lecturer here to give illustrated talks on the Willamette valley.”

In additional to this grand painting, the article continued, “The Bolster-Trowbridge Company has announced that it will give away a carload of grape juice to the visitors at the Land Show. The liquor will come from California, where the company has large interests. The wines made in California are regarded highly among connoisseurs and the Trowbridge-Bolster booth at the Land show will no doubt be found every attractive to many visitors.”

Of Schrieber’s work, “The Statesman Journal” reported “a representative of the Kansas City exposition was enthusiastic in his praises of the display and was very anxious to have the same exhibition at Kansas City” (Salem, Oregon, 7 Nov. 1911, page 1). There was a Land Show in Kansas City the following year.

Little is known of Schreiber, beyond a dozen newspaper article that provide a peak into his life in Chicago, and later, Salem, Oregon. Although few, the story is compelling and tells of his passion to teach art. In January 1894, Schreiber taught semi-weekly courses on the history of art at the Chicago Art Institute( Inter ocean, 24, Dec. 1893, page 15), His classes were held at the Newberry Library Center, using Mrs. D. K. Pearson’s collection of Braun photographs. For the Columbian Exposition, Schreiber was selected to do the painted decor for the Children’s Building, illustrating the decorative movement in education (Chicago Tribune, 11, February 1893, page 9). What is fascinating is that Schreiber’s work was directed by a committee of kindergarteners.

In 1896, Schreiber was on the advisory committee of artists, alongside James William Pattison and Caroline D. Wade for the juries of selection and admission to the Chicago Institute of Art (Chicago Tribune, 26 July 1896, page 42). The following year, he exhibited several pieces at the annual exhibition of the Cosmopolitan Club held in conjunction with the chrysanthemum show at Battery D. He showed a large number of works combining the figures of children in landscapes. The “Chicago Tribune” reported that Schreiber also exhibited “a portrait of himself, a figure of a mother caressing her child, and a fantasy of a Japanese girl surrounded by chrysanthemums” (7 Nov. 1897, 43).

The Children’s Building, Columbia Exposition, from the “Chicago Tribune,”11 Feb 1893, page 9

It was his participation in the 1900 national conference for the Mothers’ League in Chicago that caught my eye, however. Schreiber was one of the featured speakers for the event and his topic was “What Shall Art Mean to the Child?” (The Saint Paul Globe, 22 July 1900, page 21). For the remainder of his life, Schreiber was an advocate for art, giving many lectures on the benefits of art, not only on children, but also the life of the community. His passion for arts education brought him to the public schools in Salem, Oregon.

By 1911, Mr. George L. Schreiber was listed as the supervisor of drawing in the Salem public schools (The Capital Journal, Salem Oregon, 22 Sept, 1911, page 5). His assistant was Miss Virginia May Mann and the two were quite a pair, enriching the lives of the area’s children. “The Capital Journal” reported that Salem is “probably the only city in the state which the pupils are not required to buy textbooks in drawing, the teacher himself being the textbook. The school board furnishes the drawing paper, clay, charcoal, and materials for basketry, and the pupils buy their own watercolors at the bookstores. Drawing is one of the most practical and useful studies in the public schools, and one in which the pupils are becoming more interested.” In addition to drawing, the pupils of the grammar grades were taught sewing and woodwork, the former to the girls of the seventh and eight grades, and the latter to the boys of these grades.

In a 1912 article, Professor George L. Schreiber delivered an address to the men of the “Salem Six O’clock Club.” His talk explored the influence of art and the effect it has on the life of the community. The speech is really quite wonderful, especially with Schreiber’s primary point being, “The child or the man who has once opened his eyes to beauty is safe to trust because he thereby becomes a caretaker.” I believe that the sentiment holds true today, especially when you look at the individuals who are attacking the necessity of art in public education or any sort of funding for the arts. In 1912, Schreiber also addressed the beautification of public spaces, public parks and the corresponding result of civic pride in one’s environment; artistic endeavors enrich a community and bring individuals together. Schreiber’s closing remarks in the “Salem Six O’Clock Club” speech stressed, “If we have faith in our community, let us then invest it with our faith and clothe it with beauty, and, in the years to come, when our heirs shall possess it they will say, ‘Our fathers have builded well; they have given us a fair inheritance.”

We live in a time when the arts are a constant target. Will our children and grandchildren feel that we have given them a “fair inheritance.” I hope so.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 571 – Streets of Paris in St. Paul, Minnesota

Part 571: Streets of Paris in St. Paul, Minnesota

“Streets of Paris” advertisement from the “Star Tribune,” 18 April 1907 page 7

In 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “In April I went to St. Paul to put up the show ‘Streets of Paris’ in the Auditorium. It fitted alright and looked well.”

The show was given by the Junior Pioneers and held in the St. Paul Auditorium. The Auditorium, built by popular subscription, had been recently completed and turned over to the city only a few weeks prior to the event. 50,000 people attended “Streets of Paris” that spring. One of the display booths was a reproduction of the Eiffel Tower by an electric company. It was located in the center of the hall as part of an area arranged to replicate the streets of Paris. This type of project continued to offer opportunities to scenic studios as themed booths required creative construction methods and scenic art.

The “Streets of Paris” Eiffel Tower exhibit by the St. Paul Gas Light Company from the St. Paul Pioneer Dispatch, 1907.

Events such as the “Streets of Paris” became increasingly popular during the first decade of the twentieth century. They offered local companies an indirect method of securing business throughout their area and region. Food fairs, electric shows, advertising shows, automobile exhibits and other popular public events drew thousands of people together in metropolitan areas every years, providing visibility for a variety of products.

The National Electric Light Association Convention even included the presentation of a paper about noting the benefits of the “Streets of Paris” and a previous show at the St. Paul armory in 1907. Prior to the Streets of Paris, the St. Paul Lodge of Elks held a pure-food show and home industrial carnival at the armory. The event provided St. Paul Gas Light Company with an opportunity to present the many sanitary and other reasons to use electricity for cooking, heating, lighting and ventilating, showing the possibilities of improved electric appliances. For the “Streets of Paris” there were demonstration with electric coffee percolators and electric cooking appliances.

The 1905 electric exhibit by the St. Paul Gas Light Company at the armory.

As with the armory, the St. Paul Auditorium was well adapted to reach a large number of people at the same time. It was an ideal advertising opportunity for many local businesses. These grand scale events subsequently provided work for scenic studios throughout the region to supplement their income. There was more work than any one studio could handle, so studios outside of the area were brought in to create a variety of display booths and exhibits.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 555 – Streets of Paris at the Chicago Coliseum, 1906

Part 555: Streets of Paris at the Chicago Coliseum, 1906

In 1906, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I had a big job in getting the Streets of Paris ready to open, December 5^th, for ten days.”

Ad for Streets of Paris at the Coliseum from the “Chicago Tribune,” 6 Dec 1906, page 16

The Chicago Coliseum where the Streets of Paris charity event was held in 1906.

“Streets of Paris” was a charity event in Chicago established to aid the Passavant Memorial Hospital. In 1906, it ran from Dec. 5 – 7, open daily from 2pm to11pm. Admission for adults was $1.00 for children were 50 cents. This was slightly expensive price, as White City Amusement part admittance was only ten cents. This event, however, was produced by high society in Chicago and intended for high society in Chicago. It catered to the tastes of the wealthy.

Streets of Paris gowns on display, from the “Chicago Tribune,” 7 Dec 1906, page 3

Streets of Paris participant. Photo from the Chicago History Museum

Advertisements reported, “Spectacular Christmas Bazaar and Reproduction of the Champs Elysees and the Rue de la Paix” (Chicago Tribune 8 Dec. 1906, page 16). The boulevards, cafes and shops of Paris were reproduced, including the famous Moulin Rouge.

Streets of Paris article from the “Inter Ocean,” 6 Dec 1906, page 3

Gross receipts after the event were reported as $63,870, with a potential profit of $40,000 going for hospital aid (Chicago Tribune, 10 Dec, 1906, page 9). Of the event, Moses noted that the project brought in $8,750.00 for Sosman & Landis, writing it was “some show” and “a big success in every way.”

Postcard depicting the third Chicago Coliseum

Streets of Paris was held at the third coliseum built in Chicago, each stood successively from the 1860s to the 1980s. Built in 1899, the third Chicago Coliseum hosted the “Streets of Paris.“ It was located at 15th Street and Wabash Avenue. The complex was built by Charles F. Gunther 1837-1920), a German-American confectioner and collector. His background is quite interesting. Moving from Württemberg Germany to Pennsylvania in 1842 at the age of six, his family eventually settled in in Peru, Illinois. Gunther was an ice distributor until the Civil War broke out. He pledged supported the Confederacy, helping transfer troops during the Civil War. He was captured by Union troops in 1862. Returning to Chicago after the war, Gunther was a traveling salesman for a candy manufacturer, selling goods to the southern states. By 1868, he had started his own candy company, learning his trade from European candy makers and specializing in caramel. He soon amassed a fortune after catering to a very wealthy clientele.

Gunther was also a collector of historical artifacts, many now owned by the Chicago History Museum purchased the bulk of his collection in 1920 for $150,000. The collection included the table on which Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union at the Appomattox Court House. Gunther had even purchased Abraham Lincoln’s deathbed. As with many museums of the time, not all artifacts were authentic; he claimed to own the “skin of the serpent” from the Garden of Eden.

By 1889, Gunther purchased Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, built during the Civil War as a Confederate prison. The structure was dismantled, shipped to Chicago on 132 railroad cars, and rebuilt as the Libby Prison War Museum. This was where Gunther displayed Civil War memorabilia and other historical artifacts. By 1898, incoming profits form the museum were declining, and Gunther took advantage of another situation; fire destroyed the second coliseum. Gunther dismantled the Libby Prison Museum and used the building materials for part of the new Chicago Coliseum. A section of the Chicago Coliseum still remained identifiable as Libby Prison.

The Chicago Coliseum was an enormous venue. The main hall had a capacity for 12,000 people, with the North Hall seating about 4000. The south section of the building included offices and other smaller exhibition halls. Over the decades, the venue hosted many social, political, and charitable events, as well as trade shows, sport shows and circuses. Staged entertainment included musical concerts and high-class vaudeville. The notorious political fundraiser for the two First Ward alderman, the First Ward Ball, was also held in the coliseum. Other events included several Republican National conventions and Progressive Party National Conventions. From 1901 through 1934, the Coliseum was the continuous home to one of the nation’s earliest and most prestigious auto shows. Sosman & Landis provided scenery for many of these events, especially the annual auto shows.

Floral show at the Chicago Coliseum, 1906

Political convention at the Chicago Coliseum, 1904

In 1971, the Chicago Coliseum was primarily a general-admission venue for rock concerts. That spring the city shut the building due to fire code violations, and it fell into disuse until it 1982 when it was demolished. Part of the Libby facade was salvaged and given to the Chicago History Museum. The coliseum site is now occupied by the Soka Gakkai USA Culture Center.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 499 – Thomas G. Moses and the Jewish Bazaar at the Chicago Coliseum in 1905

Part 499: Thomas G. Moses and the Jewish Bazaar at the Chicago Coliseum in 1905

In 1905 Thomas G. Moses recorded that he worked on a project for the Chicago Coliseum. He wrote, “a big Jewish bazaar at the Coliseum took us a month to complete.” He was referring to the charity bazaar for the benefit of the Orthodox Jewish Home for the Aged.

Advertisement for the project that Thomas G. Moses worked on in 1905. Published in the “Inter Ocean,” 12 Feb 1905, page 7

The event raised proceeds from seventy-five booths, each with a unique theme, such as the Japanese Tea Room. The Inter Ocean reported that the event promised to be “the largest one of the kind ever attempted in the United States” (Inter Ocean, 12 Feb. 1905, page 7). Mayor Harrison of Chicago gave the opening address on February 25, 1905. 3,000 people were in attendance for the opening, but over 10,000 men and women were anticipated to contribute funds until the end of the event on May 5. The bazaar closed, however, for the Jewish Sabbath. The goal of the event was to clear the $20,000 mortgage on the Orthodox Jewish Home for the Aged. Over $25,000 worth of goods were donated for the event, including such prizes as an automobile, a piano, and $2,000 in “bottled goods.” There was hope that enough money would be made to put the home on a “solid financial basis for a decade to come” (Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb, 1905, page 12). Smart idea.

After opening day speeches by Mayor Harrison, Dr. E. G. Hirsch and Rabbi Yudelson, “electric lights flashed, and in the center of the Coliseum, at the entrance to the dancing pavilion…The word ‘Charity’ was blazed forth in fiery letters” (Chicago Tribune, 26, February 1905, page 12). Then 3,000 attendees then flooded the Monte Carlo dancing pavilion.

The “Chicago Inter Ocean” reported, “One of the important features of the affair will be the Pike, comprising of nine theaters. Many of the attractions at the St. Louis World’s Fair have been secured.” The Inter Ocean commented about this area: “Barkers on the ‘pike,’ which is located in the north end of the building, added to the noise and confusion. Outside of the Monte Carlo and the dancing pavilion, the ‘pike’ was the one particular feature which attracted the visitors last evening. Twelve exhibits are included in the department, consisting of moving pictures, Alpine theater, continuous vaudeville, laughing gallery, and Ferris wheel” (Inter Ocean, 26 Feb 1905, page 8).

The Jewish Bazaar at the Chicago Coliseum used some of the attractions from the 1904 World Fair. Here is an advertisement for other artifacts that were salvaged from the exposition. Published in the Billboard, Vo. 27 No. 9, March 1905.

Mrs. A. M. Rothschild was in charge of one of the booths featuring a Turkish smoking room and café. She was assisted by twenty-five young women of “prominent in Jewish society.” They were attired in Eastern garb, serving champagne, cordials, Turkish coffee, cigars, cigarettes, and Oriental knickknacks. Other booths included a Russian tearoom, Japanese garden, Old Vienna restaurant and café, a Gypsy camp, a doll booth, an orange grove, a candy booth, and liquor booth. The book and stationary booth featured an autograph volume of the messages and speeches of the President, presented by Mrs. Roosevelt, and placed on exhibit for almost a week (The Inter Ocean, 28, Feb. 1905, page 12). Another valuable volume on display was the 400-year-old Nurnberg Bible.

There was even a competition with thirty contestants to be Queen of the Jewish Bazaar. Other events included a confetti battle. The confetti battle used “eighteen bushels of colored bits of paper as ammunition (The Club-fellow: The Society Journal of New York and Chicago, Volume 6, 1905).

The “Chicago Tribune” noted that an emergency hospital was also on site, reporting, “In case the visitor should faint on being charged an extra admission to the ‘Pike’ or try to commit suicide after an unfortunate venture at the roulette table, to the left of the main entrance is an emergency hospital with a physician and two nurses” (26 February, page 12).

Of the attendees, there were thirty residents from the Jewish home who were brought to the Jewish Bazaar. The “Chicago Tribune” reported, “In the convoy of the superintendent and several matrons the distinguished visitors were taken to the refreshment room for luncheon soon after the exhausting trip downtown in the carriages. L Simon, aged 96 years, after being assisted to a seat and tied round with a huge napkin, nodded approvingly when a bottle of beer was brought to him, and shook his head in emphatic refusal when a plate of cookies and some sandwiches were offered him. All the fifteen old men followed his example…The party was then taken the rounds of Monte Carlo, the Pike, the Japanese village, the sideshows, the Ferris wheel, and all the multitudinous objects of interest in the wonderland that has been created in the Coliseum” (26 February, page 12).

To be continued…