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Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 911 – Al Ringling’s Theatre in Baraboo, Wisconsin, 1915

Al Ringling text panel at the Circus Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

The Al Ringling Theatre in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

In 1915, Moses wrote, “The new theatre we did at Baraboo for Al Ringling was a good contract at $2,600.00. I went up to open and found a beautiful theatre, very unique in design, fifty years ahead of the town.” Al Ringling hired the architectural firm of Rapp and Rapp to design a theater based on the Orpheum Theatre built in Champaign, Illinois in 1914. The “Janesville Daily Gazette” announced, “Theatrical men, scenic painters, canvas makers and many prominent citizens from Chicago and other towns, all of whom were bound for Baraboo to do honor to a man who had the courage to build in that city one of the finest, if not the finest, playhouse in America, Mr. Al Ringling. (20 Nov. 1915, page 20). There were 844 seats, with seventeen boxes, each containing six seats. The stage was 33’-6” deep, 60’ wide and 46’ high. The massive fire curtain of asbestos measured 24’ high by 40’ wide, weighing 750 pounds.

The Ringling Theatre opened its doors in November 17, 1915.

D. W. Watt wrote a lovely article about the theater’s opening. Published in the “Janesville Daily Gazette” on Nov. 20, 1915, Watts described meeting with Ringing and attending the event (page 6). It is a long, but touching, article that describes the man and his project from the perspective of a friend. Here is the article in its entirety:

“Side Lights on the Circus Business.

On Wednesday of this week, I took the 11:35 train over the Northern road for Baraboo, Wis., where I had been invited to be the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Al Ringling at the opening of their beautiful new theatre. On entering the train at Janesville, I was soon greeted by many old friends, among them Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Ringling and their son, Robert, who make their home at Evanston, Illinois; Alf T. Ringling and son, Richard, of New York City, and many other prominent circus people, who for many years have been with the Ringling and Barnum shows. Theatrical men, scenic painters, canvas makers and many prominent citizens from Chicago and other towns, all of whom were bound for Baraboo to do honor to a man who had the courage to build in that city one of the finest, if not the finest playhouse in America, Mr. Al Ringling.

“At Madison, many prominent people joined the party, among who were the son-in-law and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ringling, and by the time the train reached Baraboo, it was crowded like an excursion train bound for the big Ringling circus. On our arrival in Baraboo, Henry Ringling was there with a big touring car to meet his brother, Charles, and family, and the crowd soon left the depot in differing directions, everybody in a hurry, and seeming to know just where they wanted to go.

“Many of the old employees visited the winter quarters, and others the homes of old friends. As soon as I had brushed off a little of the dust I was on my way to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Al Ringling. As it was information that I was looking after, I made up my mind there was only one place to go, and that was headquarters. In a few minutes I was at the palatial home, which is only a short distance around the corner from the theatre.

“The massive home with its many entrances, it was difficult for me, as they would say in the circus, “to pick out the main entrance,” but I finally pushed the button and a male servant appeared at the door, and asked me for my card, but I politely told him that I only had one deck in my pocket and I did not care to break that, but I was an old friend of Mr. Ringling and was there to make an informal call.

He ushered me into a large room which Mr. Ringling has used much of the time through his sickness, as kind of a business office, and I found him busy dictating telegrams and letters to his secretary, and I was soon seated in a big easy leather chair, and Al said to his secretary, “Young man, there will be nothing more doing for a time, for I have many questions to ask Mr. Watt, and we will make a visit here while you run up town and attend to some other business.

I so told Mr. Ringling the business part of my visit was to find out as much of the particulars as possible about the beautiful new playhouse and how he came to build so fine and beautiful a theater in a city the size of Baraboo.

The ground on which the theater is built and which has been owned by Mr. Ringling for some time is eighty-eight feet frontage on the corner, almost directly opposite the old stone court house, and 132 feet deep, but after Mr. Ringling had his plans for the building all completed, and just the size that he wanted it, he found that he was short four feet of ground in the rear of the building, which he would have to have in order to get just the size auditorium and stage that he had figured on. This land fortunately belonged to the city, and he was not long in getting a deed of the extra four feet. In a few days the work was commenced, which was early in the spring.

It was about four o’clock in the afternoon on Wednesday, when everything was completed and up in shape, ready to be occupied in the evening. The building is as near fireproof as it is possible to build one, the entire front being two shades of granite and white marble, and the entire building re-enforced steel and cement. There are two lobbies at the main entrance of the theatre, a beautiful marble trimmed office being the first lobby and the second entrance there are six swinging doors and on entering the second lobby, there is a beautiful fountain, and opposite on the right was what they called an Italian rest bench. From this you enter the main floor, which contains 844 seats raised from the stage so that every seat gives a good view of the stage, as does the front row. There are seventeen boxes, which contain six seats each.

“Beautiful dark red velvet carpets cover the cement floors on the inside, as they also do down the main aisles. The curtains and draperies in the boxes are in keeping with the carpets and of the same color. The huge marble columns on the inside, with their brass trimming, presented a most beautiful sight. As the tickets were all sold in advance, the lights were kept well turned down until the entire audience was seated, and it was almost time for the curtain to go up when the lighting plant in the second was turned on, and the cheers that went up from the people at their first sight of the playhouse was deafening and lasted for some minutes.

“In the private boxes were many prominent people from different parts of the state, Gov. Phillip and a party of friends being in one box; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ringling and family in another, and Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ringling and friends, and Al Ringling and his wife with some friends in another. As a large party of the audience came in full dress, it was certainly a wonderful sight to behold.

The Al Ringling Theatre with front curtain painted by Sosman & Landis.

“After Mr. Ringling had given me as many particulars as possible about the building, I asked him what I should say about the cost, or the approximate cost of the entire investment, and he simply smiled and shook his head and said: ‘Nothing doing. That Dave,’ said he, ‘has never entered into the game. My object from the start to finish was to give the people as fine a playhouse for the size of it as there was anywhere, and the architects and finishers and many theatrical men have said that I accomplished my undertaking. And is so, then I am satisfied, for I have had so much pleasure in all the years that I have been in business, and although at times it seemed hard, it was a pleasure for me to make the money, and now is I have done something with a part of it that will bring pleasure to my friends and neighbors, I have accomplished something.’

“And if the warm welcome that Al Ringling and his esteemed wife received in their private box at the close of the show goes for anything, their friends are legion.

“Mr. and Mrs. Harry North and friends occupied a box next to Mr. and Mrs. Al Ringling. Mrs. North is the only sister of the Ringling brothers.

“Sosman & Landis company of Chicago did the scenic painting in the new theatre; Gustave Brand of New York and Chicago were the decorators; The Ornamental Plaster & Carving Company did the plaster work; the Wiley Bros. of Chicago were the general contractors; Charles Kleckner, of Baraboo, the general painting; the Mandel Bros. of Chicago furnished the draperies, carets and seat coverings; Victor S. Pearlman Company installed the lighting fixtures of which there are 2,500.

The stage is 33 ½ x 60 feet wide and 46 feet high, and the beautiful marquetry awning reaches out to the edge of the sidewalk, and all is metal and glass and underneath is a mass of electric lights. A massive fire curtain of asbestos, which is 24 x 40 feet and weights 750 pounds, serves as a protection between the stage and the main floor.

“An organ, which cost $5,000 was furnished by a local music house of Baraboo, and is said to be one of the finest of its kind in the country.

“The dressing rooms, of which there are many, are furnished with the latest of everything; in fact, nothing has been overlooked to make it the most complete theater of its size in all appointments, that there is in the country.

“The ushers were all in uniform and all seemed to work as though they had been at it for years.

“Long before the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Al Ringling, their box was simply a bower of roses and beautiful flowers of all descriptions, among which was apiece over four feet high given them by the Commercial Club of Baraboo.

“And after the fall of the curtain on the first act, Governor Phillip was called upon for a speech, in which he said in part that he was there with other friends and neighbors to do honor to a man who had honored Baraboo and its people for so many years. He paid the Ringling brothers a glowing tribute for the way in which they had always conducted their business and said without any question, they had done more to build up the models of the circus people than any who had ever been in business. He congratulated the people of Baraboo and the surrounding country on their being so fortunate as to have a man in their community who would build such a beautiful playhouse, where they could go for years to come, and always be proud to point it out to their friends as the theatre beautiful, which will always be known as the Al Ringling Theatre.

“And for myself with the many old friends surrounding me, I almost fancied that I backed up thirty years of more and was again in the business, for I thought that I could smell the sawdust and menagerie, but the dream pipe soon went out, and I had to bid my old friends adieu and take the train back home. But Wednesday, November 17^th put another bright day in my life, all through the kindness of an old friend whom I met in the circus business more than thirty years ago – Al Ringling.”

To be continued…

The Al Ringling Theatre at night in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 910 – The Passing of Al Ringling on Jan. 1, 1916

Al Ringling’s portrait at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

In 1915, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “The new theatre we did at Baraboo for Al Ringling was a good contract at $2,600.00. I went up to open and found a beautiful theatre, very unique in design, fifty years ahead of the town. Poor Al Ringling died soon after this.”

Moses designed and supervised the painting of six grand circus spectacles for Al Ringling. These were events for the big top and attached to the opening parade of the circus, spectacles solely accompanied by movement and music. Al Ringling both liked and trusted Moses, so it was Sosman & Landis who would deliver the scenery to Al’s new theatre in 1915.

Before his theatre opened in 1915, Ringling was involved in a car accident. On October 18, 1915, the “Muscatine Journal” reported, “Well Known Circus Figure Meets With Mishap. Lafayette, Ind., Oct. 18 – Al Ringling, one of the owners of Ringling Brothers’ circus, was confined to his bed at a hotel here today, suffering from injuries resulting from an automobile accident.

“Ringling and a party of friends were en route to Baraboo, Wis., to attend the Purdue-Wisconsin football game when the crankshaft of the machine broke a few miles north of this city. The car plunged into a ditch. Throwing Ringling out of the machine. He was injured about the head” (page 7).

He never really recovered from his injuries and also suffered from Bright’s disease. In modern medical terms, this kidney disease would be described as acute, or chronic nephritis, characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and often accompanied by high blood pressure and heart disease. Regardless of his physical suffering, Ringling continued to direct the completion of his new theatre during the fall of 1915 until it’s opening. After the opening of his theatre, Ringling’s health began to fail in earnest. On Jan. 1, 1916, Ringling passed away. The following day, newspapers announced, “Al Ringling is Dead.” The “New York Times” reported:

“Famous Show Man, Oldest of Circus Family, Succumbs at Home. Baraboo, Wis. Jan. 1. – Al Ringling, sixty-six years old, died here to-day of Bright’s disease. He had been ill about a year. Mr. Ringling was the oldest of the Ringling brothers, circus owners, who have their winter head quarters here. Mr. Ringling is survived by his widow.

“It was Al Ringling’s success in the show business that influenced his four brothers to join hi in the circus venture. Although he had given up the active management of the shows some time before he died, his was always the guiding spirit. More than any of his brothers he was beloved of his associates and friends the world over.

“Mr. Ringling entered the show business in 1874 with Yankee Robinson, whom he soon afterward left, to start out on his own hook. By 1884, he was conducting a show wagon around the country. That was the beginning of the Ringling Brothers’ shows, for the five brothers were soon aligned. The shows increased so rapidly that the Ringling brothers gradually absorbed the Jack Robinson circus, the Forepaugh-Sells show and finally the Barnum & Bailey outfit in 1907.

“Mr. Ringling did much in his lifetime for Baraboo, where he lived and which he never forgot. It is estimated that he made more than a million dollars in the circus business. He is survived by a widow, his brothers and a sister” (2 Jan. 1916, page 13).

On January 4, 1916, “the Portage Daily” reported, “Funeral of Famous Showman Tuesday. Services for Al Ringling Held at Lutheran Church. The Rev. Mueller Officiated. All Baraboo Does Honor to their Respected Citizen.

“The funeral of Al Ringling was held at Baraboo Tuesday afternoon. The remains laid in state at the palatial home of Mr. Ringling, which marks the site of the first residence of his parents in the early 70s, after his death.

“The funeral services were conducted by Rev. H. Mueller at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of which the Ringling Bros. contributed $5,000 toward the erection of the edifice. Pastor Mueller was assisted in the service by Rev. H. Gold of Madison.

“Al Ringling was the leading citizen of Baraboo and its greatest benefactor. He had recently established the Al Ringling theater, which cost $125,000. Its dedication on Nov. 17 was a notable event in the history of Baraboo. Mr. Ringling had provided for the permanence of this theater, contemplating that an opera house so pretentious might not be self-sustaining in a city of this size.

“Death prevented the fulfillment of a plan which Mr. Ringling had, to build a fine hotel here.

“The Ringling Circus enterprise will be continued by the remaining four of the original seven brothers. First to die was August G. Ringling. He was not connected with the circus. In 1911 Otto, operating boss, called “the king” of the circus, died. Remaining are Chas. R., Evanston, Ill. Henry, who has residences in Baraboo and Florida; John, who resides in Ringling, Mont., and Alf who passes his time chiefly in new York and Chicago. A sister, Mrs. Ida Ringling North, resides in Baraboo.

“Al Ringling some months ago began the construction of a great mausoleum in the cemetery at Baraboo, which still is in course of construction. Until this is finished, the body will be placed in a vault.

Albert Ringling was the son of Mr. and Mrs. August Ringling, Chicago, of Hugenot ancestry, pious folks that were opposed to the desire of their boys to go into the circus business, but, like wise parents, entered no serious objections, the father advising the boys when they were tired tramping around to come back and sew tugs in his harness shop. [Thomas G. Moses’ father left a life on the sea to establish a tannery and harness shop in Sterling, Wisconsin].

“The Ringling family moved to Baraboo in the early 70’s. In 1882 Ringling Brothers’ Circus made its first real start when the first performance was held in the jail yard in Baraboo. The seats fell down and almost broke the show. Previously the brothers, and especially Albert, were always trying tricks and would amuse the children with juggling and the like circus spirit seemed insistent in Al, whose passing now removes the veteran of the sawdust ring, his fame being even greater than that of Barnum or Forpaugh [sic.]”

On January 23, 1916, the “Sioux City Journal” reported, “Latest to hear the final summons of the ‘equestrian director’ – the ‘call boy’ of the circus – was Al. Ringling, oldest brother of the famous family which put Baraboo, Wisconsin, on the map. His death occurred the first day of the new year. Otto and Gus Ringling died some time ago. Four brothers survive and they are the so-called ‘circus kings’ of today – Alfred T. John, Charlie and Henry, the latter coming into the firm at the death of Otto” (Page 27).

There are those moments that the term “passing of an era” is very visible. The loss of Ringling was such a great one. What would life had been like if he had lived another ten or twenty years? The same can be said of Joseph S. Sosman and Perry Landis. Creative men, living before their time, whose vision change and entire industry.

Of the Al Ringling Theatre, it also wept for Al’s passing, as the the theatre soon flooded. On Feb. 8, 1916, the “Wisconsin State Journal” reported, “Some one unfortunately left a window open in the Al Ringling theater which caused a pipe to freeze and burst thereby flooding the balcony to some extent. The carpets and mattings were soaked. They were removed and there was no interference with the pay announced for the evening” (Madison, page 4).

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 869 – It’s All a Masonic Circus

In 1914, Sosman & Landis delivered scenery for the Ringling Bros. grand circus spectacle, “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.” By that year dozens of Scottish Rite stages had been constructed and held massive scenery collections to stage Scottish Rite degree productions, many that told of events surrounding the reign of King Solomon. Masonic backdrops depicted the private apartments, throne room, courtyard and the Temple of King Solomon.

To look at the sixty-one Scottish Rite scenery collections solely produced by Sosman & Landis (Chicago) and Toomey & Volland (St. Louis) from 1896-1914 puts the Ringling Bros. “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” spectacle in perspective. These 61 scenery installations include Scottish Rite Theatres in Little Rock, Arkansas; Tucson, Arizona; San Francisco, Stockton and Los Angeles, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Springfield, E. St. Louis, Quincy and Bloomington, Illinois; Davenport and Dubuque Iowa; Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, and Evansville, Indiana; Fort Scott, Fort Leavenworth, Wichita, Kansas City, Lawrence and Salina, Kansas; Louisville and Covington, Kentucky; Portland, Maine; Bay City, Michigan; Duluth and Winona, Minnesota; St Louis and Joplin, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Butte and Helena, Montana; Clinton and Jersey City, New Jersey; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Rochester and Buffalo, New York; Charlotte and Asheville, North Carolina; Grand Forks, North Dakota; Toledo, Davenport, Youngstown and Canton, Ohio; McAlester and Guthrie, Oklahoma; Bloomsburg and Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Yankton, South Dakota; Memphis, Tennessee; Dallas, El Paso and Austin, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; Danville, Virginia; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Wheeling, West Virginia; Tacoma, Washington; and Cheyenne, Wyoming. There were also those produced by lesser-known studios too. The point is that Masonic membership was dramatically increasing during the early twentieth century.

King Solomon setting by Sosman & Landis at the Scottish Rite theater in Yankton, South Dakota.

King Solomon setting by Sosman & Landis at the Scottish Rite theater in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

King Solomon setting by Sosman & Landis at the Scottish Rite theater in Tucson, Arizona.

King Solomon setting by Sosman & Landis for the Scottish Rite theater in Winona, Minnesota.

All of the Ringling brothers were a Scottish Rite Masons and members of the Scottish Rite Consistory in Milwaukee. By 1913, the Milwaukee Scottish Rite boasted a Sosman & Landis scenery collection, one specifically supervised by Thomas G. Moses during its production.

King Solomon setting by Sosman & Landis at the Scottish Rite theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Ringling family all began their Masonic journey in Baraboo Lodge No. 34. There were two other circus families who also belonged to that lodge, the Moellers and the Gollmars. The Ringlings, Gollmars, and Moellers were all related through marriages to the three Juliar sister. Marie “Salome” Juliar married August Ringling (Rüngeling), father of the Ringling Brothers. Her sister Katherine married Gottleib Gollmar, father of the Gollmar Brothers. Mary Juliar married Henry Moeller, father of the Moeller Brothers who became famous as manufacturers of circus wagons and materials.

Gottlieb G. Gollmar (1823-1914) was the son on of Joachim Gollmar & Franziska Caroline Wolf, born in Baden-Würtemmberg, Germany, arriving in the United States at the age of 9 and settling in Valley City, Ohio. He married Mary Magdeline Juliar in Chicago on 17 Nov 1848 and moved to Baraboo in 1851. He and was one of the seven charter members for Baraboo Lodge No. 34 and patriarch of the Gollmar Brothers circuses.The Gollmar Bros. Circus was operated by brothers Walter, Fred, Charles, Ben and Jake Gollmar and lasted until 1926, finally touring as the Patterson-Gollmar Bros. Circus.

Katherine Juliar married Henry Moeller, an immigrant born in Saxony. He learned the trade of a wagon maker in Milwaukee after arriving in the United States. Moeller founded a blacksmith shop in June 1856, a business later operated by his sons Henry and Corwin as the Moeller Bros. Wagon Co. (Wisconsin State Journal, 265 April 1937, page 12). First cousins to the Ringlings and Gollmars, their shop was located at Third Avenue in Baraboo where they built many of the ornate wagons for the Ringling Brothers’ circus, including the famous Bell Wagon of 1892. For many years, the wagons used by the Ringling Brothers were made exclusively in the Moeller Bros. shops, costing as much as $800 each, exclusive of painting.

Marie “Salome” Juliar married August Rüngeling, and their children formed the Ringling Brothers circus. August and his seven sons all joined the Fraternity between January 1890 and August 1891; each being raised in Baraboo Lodge No. 34. This is not unusual, as Freemasonry was often a “family affair” for fathers and sons. Here is when each Ringling brother became a Master Mason: Alf T. (January 22, 1890), John (March 1, 1890), Al (March 29, 1890), Charles (April 9, 1890), Otto (April 9, 1890), Gus (Feb. 4, 1891), Henry (March 18, 1891), August Rüngeling (August 9, 1891). However, it was their combined roles as Masonic officers during 1891 that caught my eye. In the minutes of a meeting on April 8, 1891, Alf T. was listed as Worshipful Master; August “Gus” was listed as Senior Warden; Al was listed as Junior Warden; Charles was listed as Senior Deacon; Otto was listed as Junior Deacon; and Henry was listed as Senior Steward.

The Ringling Bros. bell wagon manufactured by the Moeller Bros.

Ringlng Bros. circus train in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Five of the Ringling Bros., advertised as Kings of the Circus World.

Baraboo Lodge No. 34 was almost four decades old by the time the Ringlings became members. Besides belonging to Baraboo Lodge No. 34, the seven brothers also belonged to Baraboo Valley Chapter No. 49, R.A.M (Royal Arch Masons); St. John Commandery No. 21 K.T. (Knight Templars) of Baraboo, and the A.A.S.R. (Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite) in Milwaukee. The lodge rooms were above McGann’s Furniture in the building at the Northwest corner of Oak and Second Avenue, but a new building was in the making in 1891. The same month that their father was raised, the “Wisconsin State Journal” reported that the corner stone for the Baraboo Masonic Temple was “to be laid with great ceremony” that Thursday (25 August 1891, page 1). A formal procession was formed and consisted of the Baraboo lodges, Eastern Star Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Knights Templar, members of the Grand Lodge, the members of the city council, and led by the Baraboo military band.

The three Juliar sisters who married Ringling, Gollmar and Moeller also had a brother, Nicholas Juliar (1841-1920). Nicholas collected his sisters’ circus memorabilia and his personal effects are now part of the Memorial Library, Southern Minnesota Historical Center, Minnesota State University – Mankato. Unlike his famous relations, Juliar was a banker, auctioneer, and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for two terms. To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 868: The John Robinson’s Circus “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba,”

In 1914 Sosman & Landis created scenery for the Ringling Bros. grand circus spectacle “Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.” Over a decade earlier, the John Robinson circus also included “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” at a circus spectacle. It provided a rich and popular subject for a variety of nineteenth-century and twentieth century entertainment venues.

King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba circus spectacle advertised in the “Wichita Beacon,” 18 Aug 1900, page 5.

John F. Robinson and his circus spectacle “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” from the “Knoxville Sentinel,” Oct 15, 1903.

The King Solomon story was also staged for Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry degree productions at this time. Masonic designs included a variety of settings from King Solomon’s reign, including the Temple, Sanctum Sanctorum, his private apartments, audience chambers, and the throne room. The story of the construction of King Solomon’s Temple was a subject dramatically presented in both Blue Lodge rooms and on Scottish Rite stages as part of their ceremonials. The construction of the Temple and the assassination of its chief architect Hiram, are a prominent topic in Masonic degree work. This story dramatically presented in lodge rooms was theatrically staged for Scottish Rite degree work. Never exclusive to the Fraternity, the reign of King Solomon was a popular subject for a variety of visual spectacles throughout the nineteenth century.

King Solomon degree setting for Scottish Rite degree work by Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio, ca. 1904.

In past posts, I have covered the subject of King Solomon on both public and private stages, including two 1840s touring show that featured “Chemical Paintings,” also known as “Magic Pictures.” These were small painted backdrops that transitioned from day to night as the composition was alternatively lit from both the front and back (see past installment #320). Newspapers at the time reported, “by modifying the light upon the picture, exhibits two entirely distinct representations upon the same canvas” (The Times-Picayune, 20 Dec. 1842, page 3). The “Inauguration of Solomon’s Temple” was one of four scenes that toured with the show.

Here is the 1842 description of “The Inauguration of Solomon’s Temple” as published in “The Times-Picayune:”

“This painting represents the magnificent Temple of Solomon, son of David, which he caused to be erected in Jerusalem. Seen in the daytime, it exhibits to the spectacular the richness and elegance of its exterior architecture. The same Painting soon after passes through all the modifications of light: then night comes on, (effects obtained by the decomposition of light, a new process of painting invented by Daguerre,) the Temple appears illuminated interiorly by degrees, reflecting a bright light exteriorly, which discovers a great multitude of people flocking to adore the Ark of the Covenant, which the High Priest has deposited in the Tabernacle” (New Orleans, December 29, 1842, page 3).

Any Mason who attended the 1842 exhibit might leave full of ideas that could make the degree work in my small lodge room better. The scenic effects exhibited at the end of a darkened room suggested the possibilities for dramatic effects during degree work. By the 1850s, the first Scottish Rite stages began to appear, with painted settings and costumed figures under stage lights. Fast-forward a few decades.

In 1891, a King Solomon spectacle was a feature for the Piedmont Exposition in Atlanta, with nightly performances from Tuesday until Saturday (Atlanta Constitution, 19 Oct 1891, page 6). Although met with some controversy from the conservative Christian faction of the time, a series of rebuttals supported the productions. It was a popular production. By 1899, the King Solomon story was picked up by the John Robinson Circus.

Newspapers in 1900 announced “a magnificence of a scenic spectacle of Solomon and Queen of Sheba” produced by the John Robinson Circus (Marshall County Independent, Plymouth, Indiana, 25 May 1900, page 8). It was one of ten big shows that toured with his circus Advertised as the oldest circus on the road in 1824; by 1900 the third generation of John Robinson descendants advertised it as the Robinson Show (Fort Scott Weekly, 9 Aug. 1900, page 8). The John Robinson Circus was one of the oldest running family circuses in the United States. The four generations that managed the circus were John Robinson I (1807 – 1888), John F. Robinson II (1843 – 1921), John G. Robinson III (1872 – 1935) and John G. Robinson IV (1893 – 1954). Here is a link to the circus’ history as it is quite fascinating: http://www.circusesandsideshows.com/circuses/johnrobinsoncircus.html

Three of the four Robinsons who would run the Robinson Circus.

John Robinson Circus advertisements promised, “Nothing Old But the Name” and the “Wichita Daily Eagle” reported, “The most interesting feature in the performance that the Robinson show has is the spectacular production of King Solomon, which was especially beautiful under the dazzling lights in the evening. This part of the show is gorgeously staged and in effect if like the great spectacle production in America of 1893. Triumphal marches, to the music of trumpets, and an acceptionally [sic.] good band, fifty or more girls attired in oriental costume, a hundred on horses representing various clans and allies, correctly costumes true to history, and later ballet and dancers, the story in pantomime of the judgment of King Solomon on the parable of the babe claimed by two women, and closing with the visit of the queen of Sheba, were all produced in magnificent manner. The regular circus performance which followed contained some old features always seen, but it also contained many new features and original idea which makes the show more interesting than the simple old fashioned circus” (Wichita Beacon, 18 Aug. 1900, page 5).

Advertisement for the John Robinson’s circus “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba,” form From the “Ottawa Herald,” 5 Aug. 1900, page 5.

In 1900, Robinsons Circus advertisements noted that the production included 1,000 men and women, 500 horses, elephants, camels and 100 ballet dancers, transported across the country in several trains of cars. Furthermore, $2,000,000 was purportedly invested in the show. There were “20,000 seats for 20,000 people under an absolutely water-proof canvas,” “40 camels hitched to a $20,000 Golden Chariot,” and “Forty Soul Stirring, Fearless, Madly Ridden Hippodrome Races, Forty” (Wichita Beacon, 18 Aug. 1900, page 5).

John Robinson Circus advertisement from the “Kingman Journal,” 10 Aug. 1900, page 6

By 1902, the “Knoxville Sentinel” advertised the Robinson Circus, reporting, “The Bible contains within its covers no pages so attractive in interest, so impressive in description, so reverential and so expressive of divine devotion, so rand in developments, as those which relate to King Solomon and his reign. It was a felicitous thought, then of the celebrated artist, John Rettig, that led him to contemplate the reign of Solomon as the subject for a spectacle, and to select that period of Solomon’s administration when the king is visited by the Queen of Sheba, as the theme for his grand and all overshadowing masterpiece of vast spectacular presentations (15 Oct. 1902, page 2). A year later, the “Courier Journal” added, “It was a wise thought of the celebrated artist John Rettig, that led him to take the reign of Solomon as the subject for a spectacle” (23 April 1903, page 4). The Robinson Circus show was designed by Cincinnati scenic artist John Rettig and directed by Charles Constantine. Rettig (1858-1932) was a friend of Thomas G. Moses and the two traveled in the same circles.

John Rettig, scenic artist and design for the John Robinson Circus spectacle, “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.” From his obituary notice, May 2, 1932, page 2.

“The Oswego Independent” published, “The ‘Queen of Sheba’ was a sight to behold, Arrayed in circus tinsel, with cheap finery and frippery, supposed to represent the original in her journey to view the wonders and glories of King Solomon, she was a sight never to be forgotten, and was a libel on the original, as word painted in the scriptures” (Oswego, Kansas, 31 August 1900, page 3). The “Newton Kansan” added, “The spectacular representation of scenes in connection with the lives of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba was a novel feature and was one of the best things in the show, but would be vastly improved if shortened as it becomes tiresome” (17 Aug, 1900, page 1). Most reviews, however, were pleased with the presentation. The “McPherson Weekly Republican,” commented, “The presentation of King Solomon’s court, the temple and the amusements of the ancient Hebrew court were a big surprise in excellence and would have done credit to a large opera house performance” (24 Aug. 1900, page 7).

Of the production, an advertisement in the “Wichita Daily Beacon” stated, “King Solomon and Queen of Sheba. Dwarfing and overshadowing to comparative insignificance interior and out door spectacular events of the era. Replete in sacred realisms, historical accuracies, Biblical events, colossal processions, and introducing all the ceremonies with the original pomp and splendor of the Court of Solomon.” In 1929, the John Robinson Circus was still featuring “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.”

1929 photograph of the John Robinson Circus for sale online. Note the costumes for the King Solomon circus spectacle.

1929 photograph of Robinson’s Circus production “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” from the Library of Congress digital database. Here is the link: Circus tent pix source: https://www.wdl.org/en/
item/10696/view/1/1/

Detail of 1929 photograph of Robinson’s Circus production “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” from the Library of Congress digital database. Here is the link: Circus tent pix source: https://www.wdl.org/en/
item/10696/view/1/1/

By 1914, spectacles depicting King Solomon’s life were still a popular to many, including the thousands of men who continued to tell the story in Masonic ceremonials. The Ringling Brothers’ spectacle of “King Solomon,” however, was produced on a much grander scale than any other circuses or fraternity. The Masonic settings at Scottish Rite theaters paled in comparison with the grand spectacle at the circus, yet the same scenic artists were painting the sets for each venue.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 867: Ringling Bros. Grand Circus Spectacle ‘Solomon and the Queen of Sheba,’ 1914

Thomas G. Moses designed the scenery for the Ringling Brothers grand circus spectacle, “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.” Sosman & Landis delivered the scenery for the production in 1914.

In 1914, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Jan. 6^th, went to Baraboo, Wisconsin, to see the Ringling’s for the new spectacle, ‘King Solomon.’ Another big show. Made a model for one scene and got $2,900.00.” Moses was referring to the 1914 Ringling production “Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” that toured throughout the United States. Later in 1914, Moses wrote, “Ringlings’ work came out very good. Everyone was pleased and that is saying a good deal.”

I have mentioned this grand circus spectacle, or spec, in the past, but it is worth repeating. It provides an additional layer of context for the painted tradition preserved in Scottish Rite theaters.

“King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” was presented in a series of dramatic pantomimic pictures staged with “all the lavish splendor and opulence that marked the period when the wise Solomon ruled the Kingdom of Israel, the action of the spectacle is laid in Jerusalem, at the time of the historical visit of Balkis, Queen of Sheba” (Star Gazette, Elmira, NY, 21 May 1914, page 3). The Star Gazette reported, “The spectacle is presented on an enormous, specially constructed stage, which occupies nearly one entire side of the main tent. The tent measures 560 by 320 feet and seats 14,000 people at a performance” (21 May 1914, page 3). Remember that two shows were given daily; one at 2pm and one at 8PM, and the doors opened an hour before show time, allowing spectators to visit the 108 cages in the Ringling zoo and purchase candy and souvenirs!

In 1914, the “Indianapolis Star” reported, “Nero has watched his Rome burn to a cinder beneath a circus tent. Pompeii has fallen to ruins in the scattered sawdust of the ring and Cleopatra has taken her last look at Egypt before the clown’s entry. And now the wise King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba have been made the hero and heroine of the circus spectacle, surrounded with all the gorgeous pageantry and lavish costumes a showman can devise” (4 May 1914, page 3).

Thomas G. Moses designed the scenery for the Ringling Brothers grand spectacle, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” in 1914.

On May 21, 1914, the “Star Gazette” reported:

“Nearly half of the entire train section is used to transport the scenery and costumes used in the massive spectacle, ‘Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.’ The spectacle includes a cast of more than 1,250 characters and a ballet of 300 dancing girls under the personal direction of Ottokar Bartik, ballet master of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, and late of La Scala, Milan. The music for this spectacle has been written by Faltis Effendi, formerly bandmaster of Khedive of Egypt, and is rendered by an orchestra of 90 musicians, 400 trained singers and a chorus of 1,000 voices accompanied by a cathedral pipe organ, costing $100,000. The Ringling Brothers’ have expended $1,000,000 in the production of this mammoth spectacle which faithfully and accurately portrays the pomp and ceremony, life and wisdom of a period a thousand years before Christ, and introduces Solomon in all his glory and Balkis, Queen of Sheba, the most interesting woman of her day” (Star Gazette, Elmira, NY, 21 May 1914, page 3).

From the “Reading Times,” 16 May 1914, page 9.

From the “Pittsburg Press”, 5 May 1914, page 16.

The US Inflation Calculator measures the buying power of $1,000,000 in 1914 to be the equivalent of $25,200,600.00 in 2018. Fifty men were needed to handle scenery and special effects (Dayton Daily News, 26 April 1914, page 31).

When the circus arrived in Elmira, New York during 1914, the “Star Gazette” included a large article about the early morning arrival and events, advertising:

“The big circus is almost here. Tomorrow morning in the small hours just before dawn, four long red and yellow trains, made up of 86 cars will roll quietly into Elmira coming from Binghamton, over Lackawanna railroad. They will be unloaded immediately and within a few hours the big aggregations of world wonders which comprises Ringling Brothers’ ‘world’s greatest shows’ will be safely sheltered under twenty acres of white canvas on the show grounds.”

From the “Sheboygen Press,” 7 July 1914, page 1.

The circus included an elaborate parade that traversed the principal streets of each town on the morning of their arrival. The “Star Gazette” announced, “The cavalcade which, it is promised, will be the longest and most gorgeous display ever seen in the streets of this city, will start from the show grounds promptly at 10 o’clock. It will be more than three miles in length and will include all the performers and animals, in addition to the long procession of handsome tableau wagons and allegorical cars, filled with pretty dancing girls in gay costumes. Six bands and two calliopes will furnish the music for the cavalcade and the fifty famous Ringling clowns will be on hand to keep the sidewalk spectators in good humor. A striking feature of the procession will be the long line of elephants, forty in all, and a team of sixteen camels, broken to bit and harness driven the same as horses. These beasts draw a huge parade wagon and this is the first instance on record where the ‘ship of the desert’ has ever been successfully broken to harness and bit.”

The “twenty-four hour man” arrived a day ahead of the circus to set up the infrastructure needed to feed an enormous amount of people and animals. Other circus staff that arrived a day early included “a number of stage and electrical experts who precede the show to make arrangements for the staging and lighting of the big spectacle “Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.” It is important to remember that the King Solomon spectacle was just one of the principal features for the Ringling Brothers’ program that season; it was not the whole show. This makes theatrical touring shows, such as “Ben-Hur,” seem like child’s play when compared with the logistics of a touring circus with thousands of moving parts.

The first train to arrive was the commissary department and the first tent to be pitched on the show grounds was the “cook house.” The second and third trains pulled the heavy red wagons, loaded with canvases, properties, the elephants, the 730 horses and the other animals. On the last train, composed entirely of sleeping cars, arrived all of the performers and ancillary staff members for the show.

The Queen of Sheba was played by Mme. Bartik, a Russian actress and a pupil of M. Pierre Devereau, the French teacher of pantomimic art.

From the “Indianapolis Star,” 4 May 1914 page 3.

One of the things that I keep thinking about is the logistics of organizing and managing a touring circus a century ago, especially the 1914 Ringling Brothers’ “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.” The Pittsburgh Press published an article that provides insight into the 1914 circus (11 May 1914, page 14):

“The big enterprise bearing the name of the five brother showmen arrived in Pittsburgh in the small hours of Sunday morning and with very little noise and no confusion an enormous tented city was quickly established on the show grounds in East Liberty. The show came from Wheeling, W. Va., where it exhibited on Saturday, and it was met in the yards of the Pennsylvania railroad by a vast horde of excited youngsters who had braved both the displeasure of parents and Sunday school teachers in order to be on hand to help unload the elephants and lead the spotted ponies to water. All day yesterday they loitered around the East Liberty grounds watching the erecting of the tents and other unusual sights.

Twenty-four tents are required this season. The main canvas – the big top is the largest the Ringlings have ever used – is especially constructed, not only to accommodate the circus with its three rings, stages and hippodrome track, but also arranged for the massive spectacle ‘Solomon and the Queen of Sheba,’ which is presented on a stage five the size of that found in the largest theater. The Ringling circus is a perfect city in itself traveling every night, making a new city every day and morning with more system, rapidity and less fuss and noise than any branch of the army. To prepare for its coming exactly 106 representatives, each with a various mission to perform, have visited this city.

All of the cooking for this enormous enterprise is done by steam and in ranges built in a wagon weighing six tons and drawn by eight horses. As a mere detail of the marketing the circus consumes daily 4,500 pounds of fresh beef, 300 dozen eggs, 800 pounds of bread, 150 pounds of sugar and other items equally as large. The first order to the cooks in the morning is for 5,200 griddle cakes and yet, as large a number as this may seem, it is only four a piece. For the stock and animal department there are used daily: 10 tons of hay, five tons of straw, 300 bushels of oats, while no well behaved elephant would think of starting his day’s labor without his morning cereal – a bale of hay. Most of all, these purchases are made from local merchants.

The circus travels on its own trains and only requires engines and crews from the railroads. The show also carries its own blacksmiths, horseshoers, wagon and harness makers, tent makers, rope splicers and a corps of decorators are kept on hand continually touching up the gilded and brilliantly painted tableau wagons and cages. Two men are employed eight hours a day doing nothing but greasing axles. In the wardrobe department presided over by Mrs. George Hartzell, known as “the little mother of the circus,” nearly 6,000 costumes have to be handled daily and kept in repair. Five dressmakers and six tailors, besides armorers, are in this department. The circus has its own physician who carries with him a complete surgical and medical outfit. There is also a barber shop and, incidentally, no driver or man appearing before the public is allowed to leave the show grounds until he is shaved. This also suggests another rule strictly enforced by the Ringling Brothers’ which absolutely forbids the use of whips by any of their drivers.

It costs $8,000 a day to run the circus and it represents and investment of nearly $4,000,000. The show maintains winter quarters and shops at Baraboo, Wisconsin, and Stoke-on-Trent, England. The firm is now planning an expedition of its own to trap animals in the jungles of India and the wilds of the Egyptian Soudan. In every part of the world its agents are on the alert to secure novelties.

Starting as mere boys with a borrowed tent in which they were given a few juvenile attempts at entertainment, these five brothers have seen their dreams realized and have become master showmen of the world.

The afternoon performance began at 2 o’clock and the big tent was crowded. Opening the bill came the spectacle, “Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.” Nothing so richly costumed or so effectively presented has ever been given here before. The opening pageant, the ballet of dancing girls and the dramatic action were veritable surprises. The spectacle was followed by surprises. The spectacle was followed by the circus performance in which 400 men and women appeared. More novelties that ever before are presented, the Ringlings having brought from Europe the majority of their people.

The final performance will take place Tuesday night at 8 o’clock. The doors open an hour earlier, allowing time to visit the extensive menagerie and also enjoy the operatic concert rendered by the military band of 80 pieces.” To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 837 – The Ringling Bros. Grand Circus Spectacle, Joan of Arc, 1913

Poster for Ringling Bros. grand circus spectacle, Joan of Arc.

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.

Poster for Ringling Bros. grand circus spectacle Joan of Arc, 1913.

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.”

Scene from Ringling Bros. Joan of Arc with scenery by Sosman & Landis. Image from the “Santa Ana Register,” 4 Sept 1913, page 8.

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).

Joan of Arc advertisement placed in the “Hartford Courant,” 17 May 1913, page 16.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 806 – New York Studios and David H. Hunt, 1912

In 1912, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Sosman left for the south on a vacation. My work doubles. We are doing a lot of work for the New York Studios – not much profit in it for us, as Hunt seems to think we should be satisfied with a small profit. I have made a number of designs for him which I am pleased to do as long as we get the work.”

David H. Hunt pictured in the “Detroit Free Press,” 21 May 1903, page 12.

Hunt was a long-term employee at Sosman & Landis, founder of the theatrical management firm Sosman, Landis & Hunt (est. 1894), and founder of New York Studios (est. 1910). New York Studios was considered an eastern affiliate of Sosman & Landis. In 1905, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Went to Baraboo to see Ringling Bros. Hunt went with me. I don’t know why, as I had to do all the talking and make the sketching for ‘The Field of the Cloth of Gold.’ We got the contract for $3,500.00.” Moses did not get along well with David H. Hunt of New Yorks Studios and periodically mentions the discord in his diary.

By 1910, tensions were high between Moses and Hunt, escalating when Joseph S. Sosman leaves on a 15-week European tour. At the time, both Moses and Hunt were left in charge of the studio, with shops in both Chicago and New York. Hunt was the company secretary and treasure, whereas Moses was responsible for the design, construction and installation of all projects. Of this time, Moses wrote, “Mr. Hunt was secretary and treasurer, and expected to run the business, but I wouldn’t allow it. Mr. Hunt kept on the road most of the time.” After Sosman returned and assessed the studio’s state of affairs, Moses wrote, “I heard some reports as to what Hunt had reported to Sosman about my treatment towards him. I got mad and wanted to quit. Sosman wouldn’t listen to me. I finally got cooled… I arrived June 25th. Sosman had his doubts as to my coming back.” It was around this time that Hunt officially established New York Studios. Smart move, as it was beginning to appear that Chicago was not big enough for both Moses and Hunt.

The establishment of New York Studios is the beginning to the eventual demise of Sosman & Landis. Sosman steps out of the daily running of the company, leaving it to others, while investing in new business ventures such as New York Studios, managed by friend and past employee Hunt. Keep in mind that Sosman was a scenic artist; Hunt was not. Hunt was also working on many other business endeavors that distracted him from solely focusing on any one company, whether it was Sosman & Landis, Sosman, Landis & Hunt, or New York Studios projects. Based on Moses’ description of Hunt and newspaper articles. Hunt reminds me a bit of a salesman selling any pyramid scheme, hoping for maximum returns with minimal investments; it is all based on the underlings beneath him doing the work.

Over the years, Hunt had remained a thorn in Moses’ side for many reasons, including his poor treatment of good artists; prompting many to leave the studio. The exodus of scenic artists from Sosman & Landis included Moses’ good friend, John H. Young. Young went on to dominate the Broadway scene as a well-known designer.

Hunt had started with Sosman & Landis during the early 1890s, quickly worming his way into both Sosman & Landis’ confidence. Although I have yet to find an official start date for Hunt, I estimate that his initial hiring was connected with many Columbian Exposition projects. By 1894, Hunt convinced Sosman & Landis to establish, the theatrical management firm of Sosman, Landis & Hunt. This was a secondary business venture; a company that leased theaters and founded touring companies in Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Detroit. The firm kept Hunt busy as the primary manager for the endeavor, yet the Sosman & Landis studio staff from Chicago completed much of the necessary work. Moses’ diaries suggest that Hunt did not treat the artistic staff working for Sosman, Landis & Hunt well; scenic artists were swapped and directed to various projects like pawns on a chessboard, ready to be sacrificed at any point. Throughout this period Hunt had remained on the administrative end of the studio, always finding the public spotlight to share his great wisdom on a subject.

By 1910, Hunt also talked Sosman into investing in a new business venture – New York Studios. That year, Moses wrote, “Hunt had started a New York studio in New York City and he expected us to do a great deal of work, as he had Sosman invest a small amount.” New York Studios listed Adelaide A. Hunt as the President, Edward A. Morange as the vice president, and David H. Hunt, as the Treasurer. The company’s starting capital was $40,000, and listed the following directors: Edward A. Morange, Adelaide A. and David H. Hunt, with offices located at 325 W 29^thStreet, New York. Business listings noted that theatrical equipment was the primary product produced by the company. Now there were two scenic studios to consider, and only one Moses. In the 1919 Adelaide A. Hunt was still listed as president of New York Studios, with Edward Morange as Vice-President and David H. Hunt as treasurer, still supplying theatrical goods. Office locations varied from 29^th to 39^th to 95^th Streets. Many scenic artists worked for New York Studios including John H. Young, William F. Hamilton, Victor Higgins, William Smart, Art Rider, and Al Dutheridge to name a few.

1927 New York Studios advertisement in the publication, “Scenic Artist.”

New Yorks Studios was listed as the eastern affiliate of Sosman & Landis, whereas Sosman & Landis were listed at the western offices of New York Studios. Studio stamps on the back of some designs at the University of Minnesota’s Performing Arts scenery collection list the New York Studios “Home Office” at 328 West 39^th St. N.Y. There are other New York Studio designs that link designs to their “Chicago Office.” The Chicago Office for New York Studios was located at 1022 Consumers Building, separate from the main offices of Sosman & Landis on Clinton St.

Sosman & Landis Studio and New York Studios were two very separate entities. Although they shared work and scenic artists, Moses hints that New York Studios always got more out of the relationship than Sosman & Landis, always taking advantage of the situation.

Studio stamp on the back of a design, now part of the Holak Collection in the University of Minnesota Performing Arts Archives.

New York Studios design, now part of the Holak Collection in the University of Minnesota Performing Arts Archives.

New York Studios stencil on the back of a folding wood wing purchased by Thalian Hall, Wilmington, NC.

Between 1910 and 1912, Hunt and New York Studios were repeatedly mentioned in several newspaper articles across the country. One particular article concerned an electrical apparatus that enabled one man to handle sixty-five drops. Hunt was part of a group interviewed about the innovation; again his being in the right place at the right time. Hunt was chumming around with Martin Beck (manager of the Orpheum Theatre), A. C. Carson (manager of the Denver Orpheum), and Fred W. Vincent (New York booking offices). Regardless of Moses’ complaints, Hunt was a genius at social networking and always falling in with the right crowd.

In regard to Hunt keeping company with Beck, Carson and Vincent in 1910, I am including a section of the group interview with a “Lincoln Star” reporter. On Dec. 18, 1910, the “Lincoln Star” quoted Beck, “‘I have just inspected the invention of Seth Bailey, stage manager of the Orpheum in Denver,’ said Mr. Beck. ‘He has devised an electrical appliance which makes it possible for one man to handle sixty-five drops. It operates everything from the stage curtain to the back, gives absolute fire protection and does the work of an average of twenty stagehands. One man can operate it. It looks good to me, and if further tests prove it as successful as the indications are here we will install in all the Orpheum Theatres. ‘The apparatus for handling drops, consisting of ropes and counterweights, has been the same for 200 years,’ said A. C. Carson, manager of the Denver Orpheum house. ‘Mr. Bailey has perfected, the first invention, bringing the stage mechanism up to date. It has been a field neglected by inventors.’

By 1911, newspapers reported, “Theatrical men and others in Denver have organized a $500,000 corporation to manufacture a mechanical device, which, it claimed, will reduce the number of stage hands needed in a theatre by three-fourths, at least. The new corporation is called the Bailey Fly Rail Machine Company. It is incorporated under the laws of Colorado. Seth Bailey, stage carpenter at the Denver Orpheum, is the inventor of the device. He worked on it several years before he announced that it was successful. About two months ago Martin Beck, M. Meyerfeld Jr., John W. Considine and other vaudeville managers, met in Denver and saw a demonstration of the apparatus. They appeared to be highly pleased with it. The names of A. C. Carson, manager of the Denver Orpheum; Fred W. Feldwich and Frank Bancroft appear at the prime movers in the matter of incorporation. Mr. Bancroft is an attorney. The device is operated by electricity (“Wilkes-Barre Times Leader,” 18 Feb 1911, page 11). Other than patents, the stage carpenter and company seem to have vanished into thin air, as did Hunt’s association with the endeavor.

What remains significant in terms of theatre history is that Hunt was there, part of the vaudeville managers who gathered to see Bailey’s invention. He was certainly a mover and shaker. I will continue with David Hunt’s story tomorrow.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 804 – Thomas G. Moses and Al Ringling, 1912

In 1912 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “January 15^th the big furnace at the studio fell over and started a fine fire – a loss of about $2,000.00, a week’s delay in repairs and getting started. I went to Baraboo in the meantime to see Ringling Brothers and close for another big spectacle. Mr. Al Ringling took me through the winter quarters of the animals, which was also very interesting. Feeding time for the lions, tigers and all the cat family was a noisy time. Watching the training for the elephants was also very interesting. The immense chain and derricks they have to use to teach the elephants to stand on their heads was strong enough to lift a battleship. A great deal of care is given to all the animals, much more than is given to the men that attend the animals. The Ringlings have their own car shop and big paint shops, and everything is taken care of here except scenery and wardrobe. They are very busy getting ready for the next season; making contracts for all supplies at every town they visit, and they certainly have some system.”

The winter quarters for the Ringling Bros. Circus.

In winter, Baraboo, Wisconsin, was home to exotic and their caretakers. Both Ringling Bros. Circus equipment and animals were cared for during their off-season, from November until April of each year. When Moses visited Baraboo during January 1912, the town had increased to include approximately 117 Ringling Brothers’ Circus employees. From late fall to early spring, the Ringling brothers planned for the upcoming season, designing new shows and working out the logistics. Winter was a time for preparation, training and hard labor as the off season provided an opportunity to design new spectacles, assemble costumes, select new acts, and rehearse animals. A team of writers developed news stories for spectacles that would open each show.

Of the 1912 Ringling circus, the “Richmond Palladium and Sun Telegram” advertised, “This season, in addition to their promised array of aerial, acrobatic and arena marvels the Ringling Bros. have produced a gigantic spectacle, Joan of Arc, on a monstrous stage erected in the bog top. There will be twelve hundred people taking part in all, three hundred ballet girls and large chorus. This is said to be the most sumptuous pageant every presented in the country. It created an enormous sensation at The Coliseum in Chicago” (6 May 1912, Richmond, Indiana, page 3). Sosman & Landis provided the new scenery that premiered at the Chicago Coliseum.

The Ringling Bros. grand circus spectacle, “Joan of Arc.”

Later in 1912, Moses wrote, “Another trip to Baraboo to see the Ringling’s about next year’s show, which I secured.” From 1905 until Al Ringling’s passing in in 1916, Thomas G. Moses completed several designs for the Ringling Bros. grand circus spectacles, also known as “Specs.” Specs were visual spectacles involving hundreds of participants, a short dramatization that was added to the parade of animals and performers. Albeit the production time was relatively short, the scale was of epic proportions.

Another Ringling Bros. Circus spectacle with scenery by Sosman & Landis.

Moses worked directly for Al Ringling, the eldest of the brothers who was in charge of hiring and supervising the circus performers during his lifetime. He was also the one responsible for contracting scenery and other specialty items for the shows, the main visionary for the group. He would later plan and construct the Al Ringling Theatre in Baraboo, again hiring Moses of Sosman & Landis to provide the scenery.

Each year, the Ringling Brothers presented some new feature as the traveled from coast to coast. In 1905 Moses designed a setting for “The Field of the Cloth of Gold.” Advertisements reported, “The Vast Main Tent of the Ringling Brothers World’s Greatest Shows, wherein are presented the Superb Circuses and Hippodrome Displays, is converted into a huge, hundred-fold theatre for the presentation of the gorgeous, brilliant spectacle, the Field of the Cloth of Gold.” Of Moses’ scenic contributions, “The Washington Post” reported “The scenery is massive and brilliantly painted to show the crystal palaces, fairy structures, golden tents, and other flashing and picturesque features of this famous plain, ‘The Field of the Cloth of Gold’” (The Washington Post, 5 May 1905, page 8).

“The Field of the Cloth of Gold” also used scenery by Sosman & Landis Studio.

Ringling contracted Sosman & Landis to manufacture spectacle settings each year, but it was solely Moses who worked with Al during the design phase. By 1912, Moses was a well-known scenic artist and designer, eagerly sought after by many well-known personalities, including Al Ringling. Although times were changing and new studios continued to pop up across the nation, Sosman & Landis still dominated the theatre industry and were known as giants in their field at this time.

Al Ringling panel at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

To be continued…

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: Baraboo Lodge No. 34, Wisconsin, March 18, 2019

Each of the seven Ringling brothers was a Scottish Rite Mason. They were members of the Scottish Rite Consistory in Milwaukee, a theater that boasted a Sosman & Landis scenery collection supervised by Thomas G. Moses during its production in 1913.

August Rüngeling and his seven sons all joined the Fraternity between January 1890 and August 1891. Each was raised in Baraboo Lodge No. 34 in Baraboo, Wisconsin, during that time. This is not unusual, when considering the percentage of men involved with some type of fraternity during the late 19^th century, and how the Freemasonry could become a “family affair” for fathers and sons.

Alf T. Ringling could be called the “ringleader” of the group, as he was the first to become a Freemason. Here is when each became a Master Mason: Alf T. (January 22, 1890), John (March 1, 1890), Al (March 29, 1890), Charles (April 9, 1890), Otto (April 9, 1890), Gus (Feb. 4, 1891), Henry (March 18, 1891), August Rüngeling (August 9, 1891). However, it was their combined roles as Masonic officers during 1891 that caught my eye. Their Masonic roles were noted in the minutes of a meeting on April 8, 1891: Alf T. Ringling was Worshipful Master; August “Gus” Ringling was Senior Warden; Al Ringling was Junior Warden; Charles Ringling was Senior Deacon; Otto Ringling was Junior Deacon; Henry Ringling was Senior Steward.

In 1900, “The Buffalo Courier” included the story of the Ringling family in a section called “Travelers Toward the East” (9 Dec. 1900, page 25). The article reported, “A Masonic journal says that the Ringling brothers are known all over the country as the proprietors of the Ringling Circus. Seven of these brothers are members of Baraboo Lodge No. 34 of Wisconsin jurisdiction, and after the seven were all members of the lodge the petition of the father was received. The Ringling brothers qualified themselves to confer the degrees were assigned to the several positions in the lodge, received the father into the lodge and conferred the degrees upon him.” The Baraboo Lodge rooms were above McGann’s Furniture in the building at the Northwest corner of Oak and Second Avenue, but a new building was in the making. The same month that their father was raised, the “Wisconsin State Journal” reported that the corner stone for the Baraboo Masonic Temple was “to be laid with great ceremony” that Thursday (25 August 1891, page 1). A formal procession was formed and consisted of the Baraboo lodges, Eastern Star Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Knights Templar, members of the Grand Lodge, the members of the city council, and lead by the Baraboo military band.

The Baraboo lodge No. 34 received its charter from the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin on June 8, 1852 and early meetings took place in the Lodge Room of Purdy’s building over at the Post Office (Sauk County Standard, Baraboo, Wisconsin, 29 March 1854, page 4). Stated meetings were the first Wednesday, on or before the full moon in each month.

Baraboo Lodge No. 34 was almost four decades old by the time the Ringling brothers became members. Besides belonging to Baraboo Lodge No. 34, the brothers also belonged to Baraboo Valley Chapter No. 49, R.A.M (Royal Arch Masons); St. John Commandery No. 21 K.T. (Knight Templars) of Baraboo, and the A.A.S.R. (Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite) in Milwaukee.

This little bit of history, prompted me to find the current location of Masonic Lodge in Baraboo on March 18, 2019. If they were open, I would stop on by and donate a book to their library. They might enjoy some additional information concerning their past and the scenic artists that Al Ringling so admired – Thomas G. Moses. After all, it was Ringling who continued to hire Sosman & Landis to deliver the painted settings for his grand circus spectacles, as well as painting the new front curtain for his theater in Baraboo.

I was in luck when I pulled into the parking space, just down the street from the new Masonic lodge building. I noticed a workman carrying in supplies, and based on past experiences, I walked up and said, “Hi, my name is Wendy,” then followed him into the building. After explaining my current trip and interest in Baraboo Lodge No. 34 and the Ringling connection, they took me on a tour of the building. What I really wanted to see was the Masonic aprons for each of the Ringling Brothers.

My tour guides could not have been more accommodating during my visit. You see, given the opportunity, people are often more than willing to share information about themselves and interests. These were three young men, fixing up their lodge on a weekday; a building that they loved.

To be continued…

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Baraboo, Wisconsin, March 18, 2019

There is always the dilemma of whether I should drive or fly to USITT. If I fly, I miss many historic theaters that I could stop at along the way. However, that takes time, time that I often don’t have to spare. Two things prompted my driving to Louisville this year – Baraboo and Brian. In Baraboo, it was the Al Ringling Theatre (1915) and the Circus World museum. In 1905, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Went to Baraboo to see Ringling Bros. Hunt went with me. I don’t know why, as I had to do all the talking and make the sketching for ‘The Field of the Cloth of Gold.’ We got the contract for $3,500.00.” David Hunt was in charge of New York Studios, the eastern affiliate of Sosman & Landis.

Almost a year ago, I covered in detail Thomas G. Moses’ work for Al Ringling. Moses designed and supervised the painting of six grand circus spectacles. These were events for the big top and attached to the opening parade of the circus. These huge pageants that were solely accompanied by movement and music. The Ringling Brothers found favor with Moses during the first two decades of the 20^th century, so it was Sosman & Landis who would delivered the scenery to Al’s theatre in 1915.

My late luncheon appointment with Brian was in Elgin, Illinois, at 1:45PM and I had left Minneapolis at 5:45AM; so I had a little time to spare. Fortunately the driving went well and I found myself pulling into Baraboo with a little more than 90 minutes to document what I could. I was a woman on a mission. Unfortunately the Theatre is closed on Mondays, so I was only able to see the outside. Kicking myself, as I could have called ahead, I venture to the second of three stops in Baraboo. Here is a recap on Al Ringling’s Theatre. Here is a little information about the theatre.

The Janesville Gazette reported, “Sosman & Landis company of Chicago did the scenic painting in this new theatre” (20 Nov. 1915, page 20). On April 7 of that same year, Joseph S. Sosman passed away at the age of 70, leaving a widow and two sons (Arthur and Fred). Thomas Moses became the president of Sosman & Landis, with Arthur Sosman as vice-president. The Ringling Theatre was one of Moses’ flagship projects as the new studio president.

Drop curtain by Sosman & Landis studio for Al Ringling’s Theatre

The Ringling Theatre opened its doors in November 1915 and has been operating continuously ever since. Al Ringling hired the architectural firm of Rapp and Rapp to design a theater based on the Orpheum Theatre built in Champaign, Illinois in 1914. The Janesville Daily Gazette reported, “Theatrical men, scenic painters, canvas makers and many prominent citizens from Chicago and other towns, all of whom were bound for Baraboo to do honor to a man who had the courage to build in that city one of the finest, if not the finest, playhouse in America, Mr. Al Ringling. (20 Nov. 1915, page 20). There were 844 seats, with seventeen boxes, each containing six seats. The stage was 33’-6” deep, 60’ wide and 46’ high. The massive fire curtain of asbestos measured 24’ high by 40’ wide, weighing 750 pounds.

As my hope to see the front curtain was a bust, I decided to visit the local Masonic Lodge, Baraboo No. 34. I knew it wouldn’t be the original building, but want to see the Ringling Brothers’ Masonic aprons. Score! Three men were working on the building, as it had suffered some water damage. All of the Ringling brothers and their father were Masons in Baraboo and the history is quite interesting. That is the tale for tomorrow.

To be continued…