Thomas G. Moses – Page 44

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 435 – Thomas G. Moses and “Lights of Home”

Part 435: Thomas G. Moses and “Lights of Home”

In 1902, Thomas G. Moses recorded that he created settings for “Lights of Home,” “The Village Postmaster,” and “Shadows of a Great City.”

“Lights of Home” was a new play by Lottie Parker Blaire that did not open until the fall of 1903. The show was delayed due to the playwright being ill at the end of 1902. At the beginning of 1903, “The Dayton Herald” reported that the author had just recovered from a recent illness and was currently completing the final act of her play “Lights of Home” (10 January 1903 Page 6).

Article about “Lights of Home” from “The World,” 3 Nov 1903, page 7.

Blaire was also the author of “Under the Southern Skies” and “Way Down East.” “The Daily Arkansas Democrat” commented that Blaire “stands at the head of women dramatic writers in point of furnishing money-producing plays” (9 July 1903, page 6). The article continued, “It is claimed that the profits of ‘Under the Southern Skies’ and ‘Way Down East’ alone amount to more that the total profits on all other plays combined written by women.” Moses produced the scenery for Blaire’s productions of “Under Southern Skies” and “Lights of Home.”

“Lights of Home” was the season’s house production at Haverly’s 14^th Street Theatre in New York during November 1903. This was the production that Moses mentions in his typed manuscript. The four-act play tells the story of a hero, who is cast off by his wealthy father for marrying a penniless girl. The hero’s half brother plays the villain, who accuses the hero of forgery. Fortunately the hero escapes to sea on a sailing vessel. The villain then attempts to murder the hero’s wife and child to gain the inheritance.

The Buffalo Express reported, “It is a thrilling melodrama of perilous situations and gratifying ways of getting the heroine and her child out of them. The poor girl who marries the rich man’s son suffers much through the intriguing of a band of rascals, male and female, headed by the husband’s stepbrother. The story lends itself to elaborate devices in the way of stage scenery, which heightens the effect of the soul-stirring situations” (New York 22 Nov 1904, page 7).

The stage settings included the recreation pier where the child is stolen; a river where an ocean liner almost runs over the child in an open boat; the smuggler’s bluff where the husband is imprisoned; and a cave where the wife is washed into it from sea, but is saved by men forming a human chain with their bodies. “The Anaconda Standard” reported, “One scene showing the rising tide in a cave was wonderfully realistic and thrilling” (Anaconda, Montana, 8 Nov. 1903, page 14). Of the stage action, an article in “The Evening World” questioned, “Why has the human chain been overlooked? Why is it that in the mad whirl of the buzz saw, the locomotive, and the mine explosion drama, nobody ever picked out the human chain as a vehicle of the most enthusiastic possibilities, that is, nobody until Lottie Blair Parker seized it and thrust it bodily into the fourth act of her play…And hurrah for the human chain! (3 Nov. 1903, page 7).

The plot was advertised to include “a knife, a gun, a real warship, a steam launch, a sea scene with a dark unfathomed cave in the background and a deep-dyed villain who talks like “Big Bill” Devery and really acts” (The Evening World, 3 Nov. 1903, page 7).

Forrest Robinson played the role of the hero, Jack Stanton, while Georgia Wells played the heroine Tress Purvis. George D. Parkes played the part of the villain – who could “really act.” Of the performance at Haverly’s Fourteenth Street Theatre, newspapers recorded, “The curtain was scarcely up two minutes when the gallery was whistling; in fifteen minutes it was y-a-a-hing, and in half an hour all the women in the house were enjoying a good social cry”(The Evening World, 3 Nov. 1903, page 7).

The song from the second scene, “On the Recreation Pier,” was a musical number that newspapers repeatedly commented as extremely popular. The “Evening World” noted, “The song will be all over the town in a week” (3 Nov. 1903, page 7).

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 434 – Thomas G. Moses and “Tennessee’s Pardner”

Part 434: Thomas G. Moses and “Tennessee’s Pardner”

In 1902, Thomas G. Moses recorded that he produced the scenery for Arthur Aiston’s production, “Tennessee Partner.” This was a comedy in four acts, actually spelled “Tennessee’s Pardner.” The production toured with the company of Arthur C. Aiston for a few years at the turn of the twentieth century.

The play was a comedy-drama founded on Bret Harte’s (1836-1902) short story of the same name. In 1902, “The Democrat and Chronicle” reported, “Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Chaffee, the original Tennessee and his partdner of Bret Harte’s romance, “Tennessee’s Pardner,” are still living in Groveland, California” (Rochester, NY, 27 Dec, 1902, page 6).

“Tennessee’s Pardner” was noted as Aiston’s best play, the show was first produced at the American Theatre in New York with Robert Hilliard in the role of Caleb Swan and Estha Williams as Tennessee. “Tennessee’s Pardner”” is a western drama depicting early life in the Nevada mines. In 1906, the “Detroit Free Press” described the play as “a simple, heart –appealing story of generous souls , adventure, love and humor. Without sacrificing dramatic effect, it is also an interesting character study. The four principals of the play are Caleb Swan, Asa Bice, Netty Bice, and Tennessee Kent. Swan and Bice are mining partners. Such a partnership in those days meant more than the business relations existing among members of a firm of any sort today. They stood side by side in trials and difficulties, whether to delve for long days through the obstinate quarts of their mine, fight bloodthirsty Indians, or share their food, which at times was by no means plentiful. Netty is an eastern girl. During one of his trips away from camp Bice meets her in Carson City and they are married. They return to the home of the partners whereupon Swan is grieved. These two rugged hearts had sworn eternal allegiance and Swan considered it a violation of the compact for Bice to take a wife. Nor does he conceal his opinion or feeling in the matter. The partners thus become estranged. Meanwhile, a beautiful young woman from Tennessee, whose name is the same as that of her native state, arrives. Tennessee, for reasons explained in the drama, has been involuntary cut off from her relatives and is prepared to rough it among the mining district of the west. Swan takes an interest in her and protects her from the inevitable dangers that naturally threaten a young woman in that section. A mutual affection springs up between them and finally Swan consoles himself for Bice’s infidelity by marrying Tennessee (9 September 1906, page 48).

“Tennessee’s Pardner” also became a 1916 silent film starring Fannie Ward.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 433: Thomas G. Moses and “Robert Emmet”

In 1902, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Among the shows we did this season was “Robert Emmet” at the 14th Street Theatre for Brandon Tynan. This was a very important production.” Moses worked with J. Wesley Rosenquest to provide the painted settings at the 14th street theatre on Homer F. Emens’ paint frames.

An advertisement for “Robert Emmet” in 1902. Thomas G. Moses produced scenery for this production.

“Robert Emmet, the Days of 1803” opened at 14th Street Theatre on August 18, 1902. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The new play will be presented with entirely new scenery and costumes and an auxiliary force of 100 men and women (27 July 1902, page 25). The show ran for 80 performances until October 1902 and then went on tour. Tynan both wrote and starred in this premiere production that was produced by Rosenquest. Born in Ireland, Tynan (1875-1967) was a writer, performer and director who worked throughout the New York area. He later performed in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1922-1924, in addition to a variety of Broadway comedies.

By 1903, additional scenery was added to the production of ‘Robert Emmet” after going on tour. “The New York Times” reported, “Since the play was seen here last several changes have been made to it, and one or two new scenes have been built. One shows the Wicklow Mountains, another St. Kevin’s Churchyard, and another the trial of Robert Emmet” (27 December 1903, page 11).

Haverly’s 14th Street Theatre was located at 107 West 14th Street in New York City. It was built in 1866 and had a seating capacity of 1100. The proscenium measured 30’-9” wide by 30’ high. The height from the stage to the rigging loft was 90 feet with only 1 set of grooves. The depth under the stage was 14 feet with usual traps. For the venue, “H. F. Emens” was listed as the scenic artist in Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide of 1903. Emens had worked at the 14th Street theatre since 1892. At the height of Emen’s career, newspapers reported that he managed the frames at eight different theaters. In 1902, pscenic artists that Emens worked with included the work John H. Young, Gates & Morange, and Moses & Hamilton. These artists painted on shows together for well over a decade.

“The Evening World” went into detail about the 1902 production after it opened (New York, 19 August 1902, page 7): “With characteristic Celtic daring Brandon Tynan made a double bid for popular favor at the Fourteenth Street Theatre last evening appearing as playwright and star In the production of his melodrama ‘Robert Emmet.’ A fascinating young Irishman Mr. Tynan proved to be, bringing good looks and grace and dash of manner to the interpretation of the most romantic of Irish conspirators, and in his dramatic essay revealing native wit, felicity of phrase and a perfect insight into Irish character. ‘Robert Emmet’ is a melodrama which appeals only to those of Irish blood, but the play and its author in conjunction present to a wider audience an interesting study in hereditry. To local theatre-goers Mr. Tynan has been known only as an interesting-looking young man who carried himself gracefully through juvenile roles in several of Mr. Frohmans productions. Until he was announced as the author of an Irish melodrama his identity as the son of Patrick Tynan the famous ‘No. 1’ of the Phoenix Park conspiracy was not suspected. What would the son of an arch-conspirator do in a dramatic embodiment of the most picturesque and romantic of Irish conspiracies? Mr. Tynan’s play answers the question satisfactorily. It throbs with the fervent pulse beat of the author’s patriotism and carries a defense as well as an exposition of conspiracy. But Mr. Tynan is to be congratulated on not overdoing the strenuously patriotic side of his subject. His sunny temperament gets him away from the heroics to delineation of the homely humor of the Irish peasantry. May be there is a bit too much of this, for it makes the action drag at times but every line of it is genuine and has the true Celtic sparkle.

Mr. Tynan is not a master of stagecraft but he has made ingenious use of his historical material. His first act climaxes with Emmet’s vindication before Sarah Curran, and the closing scene is simply a stage setting of the historic speech from the dock.

As an actor Mr. Tynan is to be congratulated for his self-restraint. Not once was he guilty of overacting Intact. In fact he carried his reserve too far in the trial scene, where the defense of the condemned patriot could appropriately be given with more robust declamation. But Mr. Tynan makes love like the born Irishman that he is. His passages with Sarah Curran were given with o finish that is rarely seen even in a Broadway production.

Much of the charm of the performance was contributed by the remarkably clover acting of Mr. Tynan’s supporting company. William H. Thompson gave a splendid portrayal of Michael Dwyer a rough mountaineer, with a heart of gold. William Elton made even the informer, Jimmie Noonan, Interesting. Francis Powers was as finished as a government spy. James Bradbury’s Antrim Jack was an excellent bit of low character work, and Owen Fawcett, Luke Martin and P. Aug. Anderson were at ease in their roles. Angela Russell was sympathetic in the role of Sarah Curran, and Margaret Hayward’s Ann Devlin was picturesquely done.

The scenic setting provided by J. Wesley Rosenquest was handsome the representation of a glen in the Wicklow Mountains being particularly effective. David Belasco and Mrs. Leslie Carter were interested and enthusiastic auditors.”

Illustration of “Robert Emmet” in “The World” Aug 19 1902.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 432 – Thomas G. Moses and “Miss Bob White”

Part 432: Thomas G. Moses and “Miss Bob White”

Cover for a musical selection from “Miss Bob White”

In 1902, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We did one act in “Miss Bob White” and went to Philadelphia to put it on. It was a quaint musical comedy. Hitchcock starred in the leads.”

Moses was referring to Raymond Hitchcock, a comic opera comedian who was born in Auburn, New York. His theatrical career started as an amateur actor, with his debut in “Ingomar.” The reviews condemned his performance so badly that he was stranded in Philadelphia and ended up working behind the counter in Wanamaker’s store. Hitchcock recovered from this experience and became a chorus member in the Charleston Opera Company during 1891. For twelve years he played various roles, working for Dan Daly, George W. Monroe, Peter F. Dailey, Robert Hilliard, Mary Irwin and Henry W. Savage. His talents allowed him to perform either musical roles or straight acting. Savage offered Hitchcock a principal part with the Castle Square Opera Company. It was Savage who convinced Moses to be his lead scenic artist for the Castle Square Opera Company at the American Theatre, prompting Moses to move to New York in 1901. This is where Moses would have first encountered Hitchcock.

For the Castle Square Opera Company, Hitchcock played Sir Tobin Topax in “The Golden Wedding,” Uncle Hank in “We ‘Uns of Tennesee,” and David Tooke in “Three Little Lambs.” Other shows at this time included “The Belle of Bridgeport,” “A Dangerous Maid,” “Vienna Life,” “The Burgomaster,” “Miss Bob White,” and “King Dodo.”

During Hitchcock’s two years with the Castle Square Opera Company, he appeared in numerous shows, including “Miss Bob White.” It was the show that followed “Miss Bob White,” however, that would elevate Hitchcock to stardom under Savage’s management in the production of “King Dodo” at Daly’s Theatre in Chicago (1902).

“The American Stage of To-day: Biographies and photographs of one hundred leading actor and actresses” featured Hitchcock in 1910. The article reported, “Mr. Raymond Hitchcock furnishes a composite instance of a facile character actor who has swung back and forth between the two branches of his profession” (page 103).

Article on Raymond Hitchcock in “The American Stage of To-day,” 1910. Page 103

Willard Spencer’s “Miss Bob White” premiered at the Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia on April 15, 1901. Hitchcock was part of this production too. This three-act musical comedy involved two millionaires, Billy Van Million (John Slavin) and Artie Tre Billion (Raymond Hitchcock) who live as tramps for two months after losing an election bet. They head for a farm and are followed by an heiress, Clare Livington (Ethel Jackson). Livington disguises herself as a milkman, “Bob White.” By the end of the show, she wins the love of Artie. The show included twenty-six musical numbers and was a success in Philadelphia, completing a 136-performance run.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 431 – It was the Life

Part 431: It was the Life

Near the end of summer in 1902, Moses wrote, “Returning home all freshened up, the sketching “bug” was getting under my skin in fine shape, and I was anxious to do something in the picture line. My old artist friends that were so glad to welcome me to New York when I was on a salary, were not so well pleased now that I was in the contract market and holding six paint frames.”

It is quite remarkable when one considers the number of shows that Moses was contracted to paint for the 1902 season. They included “Miss Bob White.” “Robert Emmet” “Lights of Home,” “The Village Postmaster,” “Shadows of a Great City,” “Tennessee’s Partner,” “Man to Man,” “An American Gentleman,” “Charity Nurse,” “The Holy Sword,” “Tobe Hoxie” “Gay Mr. Goldstein,” “Winchester,” “Rip Van Winkle,” and “Egyptia” a big spectacle.

Moses wrote, “Many of these shows opened out of the city, and I was compelled to go with them. I never knew when I was going to be at home. One night I was to go to Jersey City, as I understood from the phone message. On my arrival there, I found the show was to open in Hoboken.

Postcard depicting Fifth Avenue in Hoboken

It was then quite late and I couldn’t get to Hoboken from Jersey City without a lot of trouble, so I went back to New York and got a boat to Hoboken. When I arrived it was too late for my scene as they were through rehearsing. I found my way back to New York, crossed over to the 3rd Avenue Elevated.

Third Avenue Elevated bridge depot in 1902

Went to 129th Street and got a car to Frodam where I had to change for Mt. Vernon. Just missed the car. Had to wait nearly an hour. I had two hours at home, then back to the city. “It was the life.”

Tomorrow I will start examining each of the shows that Moses worked on during 1902.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 430 – Thomas G. Moses in Catharine, New York

Part 430: Thomas G. Moses in Catharine, New York

Thomas G. Moses was able to spend several weeks on vacation with his wife and two youngest children during summer of 1902. It was also an opportunity to refocus on his fine art techniques for landscape painting. He sketched throughout the Town of Catharine in the upstate New York area.

Moses wrote, “I broke away from business long enough to take the family to Catharine, N. Y., where we enjoyed the farm life for several weeks. I found plenty of good spots to sketch and I made hay while the sun shone.”

1897 Map of Schuyler Country with the Town of Catherine.

Catharine, New York, was approximately 252 miles northwest of Moses’ home in Mount Vernon, New York. It was located less than two miles south of Odessa and approximately seven miles from the tip of Seneca Lake. In fact the town of Odessa was not incorporated until three years after Moses’ visit; it still remains a picturesque area for farming. The current address for the Town of Catharine is 106 Grant Road, Odessa, New York. Here is the website: http://www.townofcatharine.com/

Town of Odessa, New York, incorporated in 1905. The current Town of Catharine is less than two miles south of Odessa.

The Town of Catharine was formed in the year 1798 (originally named Catharines town) and was part of Tioga County. The original town had 26 families and approximately 89,407 acres of land. Currently, the town is governed by an elected Board of 5 Councilmen with one of the councilmen is elected as the Supervisor. The Town has it’s own traffic/civil/penal court with one elected justice and a court clerk.

Catharine, New York, that was later incorporated into the Town of Odessa in 1905.

The town of Catharine that Moses visited in 1902 was the second of two Catharine towns in Schuler County, New York, named after a local chieftess called “Queen Catharine.” The first town was the Seneca village of Queanettquaga that once encompassed the falls and area between the hills at the base of Seneca Lake. This area was informally known as Catharine’s Town and also known as Che-o-quock, Shughquago and Sheoquago.

“Queen” Catharine (1710-1804) was from the noted Montour family, from whom the first settlement and nearby Montour Falls derives its name. She was from French and Iroquois decent, a heritage that would prove to be her undoing after the Iroquois formed an alliance with the British. The first Catharine’s Town was destroyed on the orders of General George Washington during the Sullivan Expedition in 1779. It was one of more than 40 tribal villages destroyed across western New York in retaliation for raids in the eastern part of the province.

The Town of Montour, New York, was once part of Catharine, New York

The New York legislature created a second town of Catharine during the first elections in 1798. The town was originally organized as part of Chemung County, before the formation of Schuyler County. Catharine was divided to form the towns of Veteran and Catlin in 1825, and later the town of Montour. Moses would have journeyed by train from Mount Vernon to Watkins Glen, before traveling to the farm in the Town of Catherine.

Moses recounted an entertaining incident while sketching one day in Catharine; he wrote, “My white sketching umbrella was the cause of a runaway. A pair of horses were hauling a long wagon filled with empty milk cans. The horses started to run and the driver couldn’t hold them. The wagon jumped across the road before I could lower the umbrella. The wagon was down the hill, spilling the cans. I can hear them now.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 429 – Thomas G. Moses Family Outings to Starin’s Glen Island

Part 429: Moses Family Outings to Starin’s Glen Island

In 1901, Thomas G. Moses was making enough money to take some time off from work for sketching trips. This was also an exciting opportunity to make artistic strides while enjoying his family at home every evening. Of his preferred areas to sketch, Moses wrote, “Glen Island was another favorite place for us. On a hot day about four o’clock, I would run down to 21st Street Dock and take the boat around the Battery to Glen Island where the family would join me for a fine shore dinner. It was a short car ride from Glen Island to Mt. Vernon, so it was very convenient for the family to come and return by the way of New Rochelle. Occasionally, we would take a ride to Yonkers, then up to Newburgh or West Point on the beautiful Hudson River.”

Postcard of Glen Island where Thomas G. Moses and his family visited in 1901

Former US Congressman, John H. Starin, acquired and developed “Locust Island” just off the coast of New Rochelle. He renamed the island “Starin’s Glen Island” and built a very successful amusement park. Glen Island was a 105-acre island property, and one of five purchased by Starin in 1879. He converted the islands into a summer resort, connecting them with causeways and piers.

Steamships transported visitors from New York City to the park, with each island featuring a different international theme. Attractions included a zoo, a natural history museum, shooting galleries, a carousel, swings, picnic grounds, wine cellar, a clam bake area, German Castle, beer garden, Chinese pagoda, bathing beach, and a variety of musical entertainments. Glen Island Park opened in 1881, attracting thousands of people daily. It is estimated that more than a million visitors a year visited the amusement park by its sixth year of operation.

Starin’s steamboat excursions to Glen Island

The majority of visitors arrived by steamboats and ships. Starin operated a fleet of steamboats that brought hundreds of thousands of visitors to Glen Island each year. As the excursion steamers headed to Glen Island, they rounded Battery Park on the left and Governor’s Island on the right, with exquisite scenery in every direction. On the way to Glen Island passengers enjoyed views of Blackwell’s, Ward’s, Randall’s and Riker’s islands. Speeding up Long Island Sound, passenger’s passed College Point, Willett’s Point, and Fort Schuyler. It was not until the 1920s that a drawbridge connected Glen Island to New Rochelle.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 428 – Sketching at Seton Falls

Part 428: Sketching at Seton Falls

While living in Mt. Vernon, New York, Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934) had the opportunity to go on sketching trips with fellow scenic artists John H. Young (1858-1944) and Harry Vincent (1864-1931). Young and Moses met in Grand Rapids, Michigan, during 1876. Both began their artistic careers in fresco painting, transitioning to scenic art and design about the same time in Chicago during 1880; they both worked for Sosman & Landis.

From the beginning, Moses and Young took many sketching trips with other scenic artists all across the country from West Virginia to the Rocky Mountains. These trips with were for research to be used on future productions and to hone their artistic skills. By 1884, Moses and Young spent their Sundays at F. C. Bromely’s studio in Chicago painting in oil. Moses wrote, “We both made some progress. Bromely was quite dramatic in his work and we enjoyed it during the year.” John Hendricks Young was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1858 and was two years younger than Moses.

Moses met Vincent when he worked with A. J. Rupert and Frank Peyraud to create the settings for William Haworth’s “A Flag of Truce” 1892. After the project was completed, Vincent joined Moses to work for him at Sosman & Landis’ new annex studio that same year. Located in the old Waverly Theatre, Moses recorded that his studio crew included A. J. Rupert, Frank Peyrand and Harry Vincent, besides a number of assistants and paint boys.

Of his New York sketching with Young and Vincent in 1901 Moses wrote, “Every Sunday this summer I went sketching near home, and it was very picturesque. John Young and Harry Vincent joined me quite often, as we all lived near the spot. Occasionally I would go to Seton Falls, a very rugged place. Ella and the children would get a carriage and drive over with a luncheon for me, and late in the afternoon, in the cool of the evening, we would take an extended drive, along Long Island Sound. We enjoyed it very much.”

Where the three was sketching is currently known as Seton Falls Park; an irregular 35-acre section of land between East 233^rd Street and parts of Marolla Place and Crawford, Seton and Pratt Avenues. This area now includes a woodland, wetland, and bird sanctuary named from the prominent waterfalls built in the park by the Seton family. In the 19th century, the Setons were instrumental in the political and social affairs of what was then the town of Eastchester. It was often called the “Grand Canyon” of the Bronx. Seton Falls Park was less than two miles away from Mount Vernon, where Moses and Ella were living at the time.

Rattlesnake brook trickles through Seton Park. The lack of rattlesnakes is credited to the settlers’ use of early pigs to decimate the snake population; pigs find snakes of all types a delicious treat. Today, the remnants of Rattlesnake Brook primarily remain encased in masonry as its winds through the Park.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 427 – Thomas G. Moses at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition

Part 427: Thomas G. Moses at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition

Poster for the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York

Thomas G. Moses and his wife Ella were able to spend much more time together while living in New York. When the couple was in Chicago, Moses was constantly on the road while Ella and the children stayed in the city. Seldom were they able to spend time together as a family in any one location. In New York, there were opportunities to explore the region and go out on sketching trips. In 1901, Moses wrote, “Ella and I went to Buffalo for the exposition, and we certainly enjoyed ourselves for the short time we were allowed to see it all. We returned to New York by the way of Alpine, N.Y. and paid a visit to Ella’s cousin, Mrs. Hall. We enjoyed the country air for a week and good farm cooking.”

The 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York

One of the reasons to attend the 1901 Pan-American Exposition was to see the scenery produced by Moses & Hamilton for “A Trip to the Moon.”

Advertisement for Fred Thompson’s “A Trip to the Moon” at the Pan-American Exposition

Earlier that year, they had painted the moving panorama that created the scenic illusion where the airship Luna left earth and flew to the moon. A souvenir album of the exhibition depicts the airship Luna’s departure from the Pan American Exposition fairgrounds, hovering over Niagara Falls before taking ascending to the Moon.

The airship Luna ascending and flying over Niagara Falls in “A Trip to the Moon” at the Pan-American Exposition.

A detail from the moving panorama in “A Trip to the Moon”

This same attraction would later be transferred to Steeplechase Park and then Luna Park, when the airship Luna II and Luna III would hove over Coney Island before departing for the Moon. It must have been delightful for Moses to share his accomplishment with the love of his life, while on a short respite from the grind at the studio.

The 350-acre site for 1901 Pan-American Exposition was in Buffalo, New York. The fair took place on the western edge of Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood Avenue and northward to Great Arrow Avenue.

A map of the Pan-American Exposition fairgrounds in 1901

It was an international extravaganza from May 1 until November 2 that featured innovation in art and industry from countries throughout the western hemisphere. Twentieth-century optimism inspired the event, but it ended in tragedy with the assassination of President William McKinley on September 6, 1901. He was shot by Leon Czolgosz at the Temple of Music, dying eight days later from gangrene caused by the bullet wounds.

Panorama of the Pan-American Exposition with the Temple of Music on the far left.

When the fair ended, the contents of the World Fair grounds were sold to the Chicago House Wrecking Company for $92,000, and demolition of the buildings began during March 1902. The only exception was the New York State Building as it was designed to outlast the Exposition and became the Buffalo History Museum. The Museum’s holdings now include many of the records from the Pan-American Exposition Company. There is also a lovely website devoted to “Doing the Pan” at http://panam1901.org/midway/index.htm It includes an article by Edward Hale Brush from June 17, 1901, “Pan-American’s Midway, Some of the Amusement Features for the Big Buffalo Exposition.” Here is a section of the article:

“When the Midway at the Pan-American was proposed, it was determined that it should be the very best of its kind and the greatest thing “that ever happened” if in treating of so light a theme one may be permitted to fall in to the language of the streets. From the beginning an effort was made to cull from the vast number of novel and attractive features offered those which would combine the elements of excitement and entertainment and at the same time impart the kind of educational influence which travel in foreign climes and among strange and unknown peoples is wont to confer.

There is a strange fascination in the Midway — in the seeming confusion, the grand medley of tongues, music, architecture and customs that one finds in this part of an Exposition and particularly such a Midway as that as the Pan-American is to be. The exhibitions of the Midway will be found on one street, which will have over a mile of frontage, and while in this way everything will be brought into close proximity for the convenience as well as amusement of the visitor the space covered by the various amusement features will be most extensive.

There will be a continuous throng of people passing down the main street of the Midway, and on either side of this street will be the dozens of different exhibitions, which will each and every one of them be a pretty good show in itself. Some of them will cost several hundred thousand dollars each for production.

It requires a great deal of inventive faculty — in fact, something quite approaching inspiration itself — to create such original exhibitions as many of these on the Pan-American Midway are to be. For instance, let me cite the story of how “A Trip to the Moon” came to, be suggested to the inventor of this Midway feature, Mr. Frederic Thompson.

One day Mr. Thompson was studying on how to create some new and startling effects for the “Darkness and Dawn” concession, in which he is also interested and in which is a representation of Dante’s “Inferno” revised and brought up to date. Throwing himself upon a couch in his office and gazing dreamily through half closed eyes at the circles of smoke from his pipe, he was seeking a solution to the problem how to carry his passengers over a deep and almost bottomless gulch he had created in the very heart of the infernal regions. Suddenly he hit upon a grand idea. Starting from his couch, he exclaimed: “I have it! But this will never do for ‘Darkness and Dawn.’ I’ll make it ‘A Trip to the Moon.'”

Thus was born the idea which resulted in the construction of the large building one sees among the first on entering the Midway and which is called “A Trip to the Moon.” It contains within it some of the most weird and mysterious illusions one could find in traveling the whole world around. Mr. Thompson will carry his visitors to the Moon by the airship Luna. The scientific principle which he has developed in planning this voyage is one which renders it possible to make the trip a very delightful as well as exciting experience.

Strange to say, Mr. Thompson conceived almost the identical ideas of the possibilities of interest in an underground City of the Moon which have been written up in story form by Mr. H. G. Wells in the Cosmopolitan and Strand magazines. Neither of these gentlemen is acquainted with the other nor could have obtained his ideas from the other, so that this merely furnishes another instance of great minds running in the same channel.

The magazine writer has carried his adventurers to the moon and caused them to discover its inhabitants underneath the surface of the earth’s satellite instead of on top. Mr. Thompson had done the same thing in “A Trip to the Moon,” which will present to Pan-American visitors far stranger sights than they ever dreamed of.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 426 – Thomas G. Moses and William A. Brady

Part 426: Thomas G. Moses and William A. Brady

In 1901, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We did two acts of “Under the Southern Skies” for Wm. A Brady. He wanted everything of the best. I spent $1000.00 for furniture and draperies for the two scenes. He thought me awfully extravagant.”

“Under the Southern Skies” was a comedy drama in four acts by Lottie Blair Parker and produced by Brady. It ran for a total of 71 performances at the Theatre Republic in New York, opening on November 12, 1901, and closing in January 1902. The scenery produced for the show was by Moses & Hamilton, along with John H. Young.

The obituary of William Aloysius Brady (1863-1950) reported that he was “a candy butcher, an actor, dramatist, producer and manager of prize fighters, including two world champions, James J. Corbett and Jim Jeffries” (Billboard, 21 Jan. 1950, page 53). Born in San Francisco, he learned many aspects of the theatrical business while touring western theatres during the 1880s. Brady later joined with George Webster to form the Webster-Brady Company, securing the stage rights to Dion Boucicault’s melodrama “After Dark,” proving to be quite lucrative. Brady came to New York as a producer in 1896, featuring James J. “Gentleman Jim” Corbett in several shows, even featuring him as a heavyweight prizefighter. Among the stars whom he managed were Grace George (his wife), Wilton Lackaye, Helen Hayes, Henry E. Dixey, Mary Nash, and Alice Brady (his daughter) At the age of 75, Brady estimated that he had produced over 260 shows, also having built two New York theatres – the Playhouse and 48th Street Theatre. His offices were located in the Playhouse.

“Pretty Peggy” with scenery by Moses & Hamilton, 1901.

Moses & Hamilton also produced the scenery for Brady’s “Pretty Peggy.” Moses recalled the production as “a good opportunity for scenic splendor.” “Pretty Peggy” was written by Frances Aymar Mathews and founded on the life of the famous Irish actress Peg Woffington. It depicted the “charmingly sympathetic story of the love of David Garrick for Peg Woffington, and the tragic ending of that historical romance” (Tammany Times, Vol. 20, No. 26, April 1903, page 6). Mathews included the British Theatre riot in the play that had erupted when the Woffington, attempted to perform at Covent Garden with her French dancers, inciting the English audience’s anti-French sentiment and anger.

The riot scene for “Pretty Peggy,” with scenery by Moses & Hamilton, 1901.

For “Pretty Peggy” the Tammany Times reported that “Some 250 people are used in the presentation, and a large number of these are continually before the audience, first as acrobats in a circus tent, next as diners in the picturesque Covent Garden, and finally as rioters in the remarkable mob scene” (Vol. 20, No. 26, April 1903, page 6).

The play opened with trapeze performers, jugglers, dancers and strong men rehearsing their respective feats inside a circus booth at Dublin. It is here that Woffington meets the London actor Garrick. In the next act, Peggy is already the leading woman of the Covent Garden Theatre, and the actress celebrates her birthday by a great feast set out in the green room.

Of this scene, the “Theatre Magazine” reported, “The beautiful eighteenth century costumes are all of extreme riches and the furnishings elaborate to the verge of extravagance, while a veritable army of supernumeraries are employed to add to the animation of this picturesque tableau (Theatre Magazine Vol. 3, page 110).

The riot scene involved 180 men, with the rioters divided into three squads. They rehearsed with Brady and his assistant Frank Hatch, who instructed them in their emotional and vocal responses. Brady invited reporters to attend the rehearsal sessions, thus guaranteeing free advertising for the upcoming production.

It was produced by William A. Brady (1863-1950) and starred his wife Grace George (1879-1961). It opened at the Herald Square Theatre and ran for 48 performances from March until May 1903. There was a return engagement of “Pretty Peggy” at Hoyt’s Theatre with 32 shows from October until November 1903.

1905, Moses again worked for Brady, recording, “Early in May I did a Wm. A. Brady’s “All Around Chicago,” a big show at McVickers. Another $3,600.00 contract.”

To be continued…