Used Scenery – Page 3 – Drypigment.net

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 622 – Leftover Lights for Lawrence, Kansas

Part 622: Leftover Lights for Lawrence, Kansas

In 1909, the Scottish Rite Masons in Lawrence, Kansas, were planning for the construction of a new home. By 1911, their Egyptian-Revival style building included a stage with 55 backdrops produced by Sosman & Landis studio in Chicago, Illinois. Between the initial planning stages and final dedication ceremony, several things were in play in regard to stage, scenery and lighting. Let’s start with lighting.

Letterhead for M. C. Lilley & Co. with Bestor G. Brown as manager in Kansas City, ca. 1910.

In 1910, the Scottish Rite in Lawrence was mentioned in a letter from Bestor G. Brown, western sales representative for M. C. Lilley & Co., to Frank A. Derr, secretary of the Oklahoma Consistory, in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Guthrie was enlarging the stage of their building, requiring all new scenery and stage machinery.

The home for Scottish Rite Masons in Guthrie, Oklahoma, 1901.

The building in Guthrie, Oklahoma, after the addition. This building included the new stage with scenery by Sosman & Landis of Chicago.

The used scenery was returned for credit on the new scenery. The Guthrie bodies were upgrading all of their equipment, including the border lights. On July 26, 1910, Brown wrote, “I shall probably go to Lawrence some time within the next few days and if I can dispose of your electrical equipment, I will be very glad to do so. It is old and will not pass inspection. The borders have a wooden strip on the top and that disqualifies them under the present regulations. If the Lawrence people want to buy them with the full knowledge of the facts, I shall be very glad indeed to see them get them.” In other words, “these could catch on fire, but if they know that we’re all good.”

Brown continued in his letter, “The battens on the scenery could be left there if you want to use new battens for your job. In that event, however, the people at Lawrence would have to pay us more than we allowed you for your scenery because you will remember we were to retain the battens at Guthrie and use them in your new scenery. It is impossible to get lumber that is the equal of the lumber in your own battens. I do not think you will have a great deal of trouble with the new lumber, but at the same time, the old battens will curl less in Guthrie than the new battens would curl in Lawrence on account of the difference in climate.” This is the first mention that I have ever encountered about warping battens. The lumber that was always specified noted white pine. This meant old growth, first cut pine.

The original stage lighting for Guthrie was listed in a contract between the Guthrie Scottish Rite and E. A. Armstrong Mfg. Company of Chicago, dated April 28, 1900. The Armstrong company was located at 300-302-304 Wabash Avenue, Chicago, and listed as “Manufacturers of Secret Society, Military and Band Supplies.” The lighting, scenery and stage work for the new Guthrie stage was provided by through M. C. Lilley and Co. The companies western sales manager, well-known Mason Bestor G. Brown, subcontracted the new work to Sosman & Landis.

E. A. Armstrong <fg. Company letterhead, 1900

The original stage lighting order from Armstrong for Guthrie included:

“Four (4) Borders, each 24 feet long, each containing 60 lights wired for three colors; sockets and wiring complete but no lamps-

Four (4) portable ground rows, each 10 feet long, each containing 15 lights, wired for three colors, sockets and wiring complete – but no lamps

Two (2) Strip rows, each 16 feet long, each containing 24 lights, wired for three colors; sockets and wiring complete but no lamps

Two (2) eight light, porcelain lined, swing head, iron stand bunch lights; complete with extension cord and plug, but no lamps-

Six (6) Cast iron floor pockets

Twenty-four (24) Slate receptacles

Fourteen (14) Plugs for receptacles, three attached to each of the ground rows and one each to bunch lights

Four (4) 40 Ampere dimmers, German silver wire wound

Three (3) Ampere dimmers, German silver wire wound

One (1) Slate switch board, full fused, containing 1 main 3 service and 32 subordinate double contact knife switches – 36 switches in all; connections on board all made

$620.00 (Today’s equivalent in approximately $18,200 – pretty good deal).

A portion of 1900 contract between the Guthrie Scottish Rite and E. A. Armstrong Mfg. Company that includes some of the lights.

Sockets all of Edison pattern

MISCELLANEOUS LIGHTING APPARATUS

One (1) Lamp and chaser 32.00

One (1) 4,000 c/p focusing lamp and reflector, stand and rheostat included 42.50

Large and small carbons – no charge

One (1) Lighting box, Complimentary

Note – Goods packed and shipped by American Reflector and Lighting Co. Charges collect, but to be paid and applied on bill.”

Keep in mind that Abraham Perry Landis, of Sosman & Landis, was one of the founders for the American Reflector and Lighting Co. Joseph S. Sosman was also an investor in the company.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 567 – Thomas G. Moses and the McAlester Masonic Job, 1907

Part 567: Thomas G. Moses and the McAlester Masonic Job, 1907

In 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “South McAlister Oklahoma was a good Masonic job.” He was referring to the second scenery installation delivered to the Scottish Rite in McAlester, Oklahoma by Sosman & Landis. Moses was also involved with the delivery of the first and third installation to the McAlester Scottish Rite. For me, everything gets exciting at this point in Moses’ diary as many of the Scottish Rite installations that he worked on are still hanging in theaters across the country.

The scenery created for the Scottish Rite in McAlester, Oklahoma, now hangs in Salina, Kansas.

Looking up into the flies above the Salina Scottish Rite stage. This is the original scenery and stage machinery created for the McAlester Scottish Rite in 1907, as recorded by Thomas G. Moses.

The used McAlester Scottish Rite scenery collection from 1907 is now used in Salina, Kansas. The drops are clearly marked with the original delivery location of “So. McAlister,” or sometimes, “McAllister;” the same misspelling that Moses used in his diary. Other charcoal notations on the scenery note the original size of 18 feet high by 36 feet wide.

The scenery in Salina, Kansas, will have the original shipping notes for McAlester, Oklahoma.

Here is the story of the three scenery installations for McAlester – 1901, 1907 and 1929. In 1901, Sosman & Landis delivered the first scenery installation to “South McAllister.” By 1907, there was the construction of a second theater that necessitated the purchase of a new scenery collection for McAlester, Oklahoma. As with many first-generation Scottish Rite scenery collections, it was returned to the studio for credit on a new purchase to be refurbished and sold to another venue.

The first Scottish Rite theater in McAlester, Oklahoma. Scenery for this stage was purchased by the Scottish Rite in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to practice with while building their own theatre.

The first 1901 collection was sold to the Scottish Rite in Santa Fe, New Mexico during the planning phase for their 1912 building. The purchase of the used scenery was requested by the SGIG (Sovereign Grand Inspector General) of New Mexico, Harper S. Cunningham. Cunningham was previously the SGIG to Oklahoma and instrumental in integrating theatrical productions as part of Scottish Rite degree work. He was known as the “Temple Builder.” When Cunningham requested that the Santa Fe Scottish Rite Bodies purchase the used McAlester scenery collection, he intended that the purchase old McAlester scenes would prepare the members for their new theatre; they would understand the logistics of theatrically staging degree productions.

At the time of the used scenery purchase, the Santa Fe Scottish Rite Masons met in a standard lodge room – the Masonic Hall on Water Street near the center of town. Like many Masonic meeting rooms, it was located in an upper-level space and was rectangular in format. In 1908, the hall was renovated to include a small stage for the McAlester, Scottish Rite scenery – this was also common practice at the time.

Scottish Rite drop curtain in McAlester, Oklahoma, that was purchased by the Scottish Rite in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Same drop curtain from McAlester, Oklahoma, pictured at the Masonic Hall in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I made this discovery while doing research for the book “The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre” (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018). I recognized the drop curtain in a few historic photographs that were being used in another chapter. The drop matched images that I took of a historic McAlester Scottish Rite photograph. I compared the two sets of historic photographs and realized that they matched! The first-generation scenery is no longer in existence, with the exception of a possible grand drape piece that was rolled up and stored in wardrobe.

Notice grand drape pictured in the first-generation Scottish Rite theatre in McAlester, Oklahoma.

Detail of the grand drape pictured in the first-generation Scottish Rite theatre in McAlester, Oklahoma.

Detail of the same grand drape in the Masonic Hall in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Masonic Hall in Santa Fe with stage that housed the used first-generation McAlester Scottish Rite scenery.

As with McAlester, both the first-generation and second-generation scenery collections for the Santa Fe Scottish Rite were produced by Sosman & Landis, a subcontracted project from M. C. Lilley & Co. Bestor G. Brown, western sales manager for M. C. Lilley, would contract all of the theatre work for a Scottish Rite theater and then subcontract portions of it, such as the scenery to Sosman & Landis and the lighting to Frank Adam electric.

When the third McAlester Scottish Rite stage was planned, their second scenery collection was sold to the Scottish Rite in Salina, Kansas, for their new building during 1927.

Painted detail of a scene created for the Scottish Rite in McAlester, Oklahoma, now hanging in Salina, Kansas.

In Moses’ scrapbook, he pasted a newspaper clipping about the used McAlester Scottish Rite scenery collection that was purchased by the Salina Scottish Rite in 1927. The article reported, ”The one hundred and seventeen drops of scenery that has been in use on the old stage for twenty-five years, has been sold to the Scottish Rite Bodies of Salina, Kansas, and it has been shipped to them. There was nearly a carload of it. Brother John T. Leibrand, 33°, Wise Master of South McAlester Chapter of Rose Croix, negotiated the sale to the Salina brethren who came to McAlester to inspect it. The scenery was painted by Brother Tom Moses under the direction of that great Scottish Rite Mason and student Bestor G. Brown, and was said to be the finest in the Southern Jurisdiction at the time. Brother Tom Moses is painting the scenery for our new stage settings. He is also building stage properties, and all will be the last thing in that line. The brother that does not see this great stage and these wonderful properties at our Fall Reunion will miss something. The Salina brethren are negotiating with Brother John G. Redpath, who had charge of the old stage for years, to superintend the hanging of the drops in their temple.”

To be continued…

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: The Kansas City-Deadwood Connection, November 3, 2018

Last fall I evaluated the Scottish Rite scenery collection in Deadwood, South Dakota. On site findings suggested that the Deadwood Scottish Rite had purchased a new scenery collection from Twin City Scenic Co. around the turn of the century and two used scenery collections after that. The Deadwood Scottish Rite purchased one scenery collections from the Scottish Rite in Joplin, Missouri (1902) and another one from the Scottish Rite in Kansas City, Kansas (1904). There are many drops still waiting to be discovered, rolled up and stored above the stage. There were also a few other pieces added over time, including a set for the Shrine. Twin City Scenic records from the year 1940 also note that the studio did business with the Deadwood Scottish Rite that year too. Interestingly a fly loft and stage were not added to the building until 1961. Prior to that time, the Scottish Rite Masons temporarily hung the scenes, storing them in the basement.

1919 picture of 47 DeMolay members in Kansas City with the backdrop that is now in Deadwood, South Dakota.

Backdrop at the Scottish Rite in Deadwood, South Dakota.

Fast forward to yesterday at Lance Brockman’s house. I was picking up a some files and books. As I started to merge our two records at home last night I made a startling discovery. In his materials, there was a 1927 program for DeMolay. I quickly paged through it before putting on an archival sleeve. Only a few pages into the program, I stopped in shock. I was looking at the same drop that now hangs in Deadwood!

1927 DeMolay Program with backdrop now at the Deadwood Scottish Rite.

Here is a link to the full history of the Order of DeMolay: https://demolay.org/history/

Book plate on the 1927 program with the Deadwood Scottish Rite drop, pictured in 1919 in Kansas City.

I immediately phoned my South Dakota Scottish Rite contact, Mike Rodman, sharing the exciting news. It was perfect timing. Tonight is the Deadwood Scottish Rite Quasquicentennial celebration. They are celebrating 125 years of building community partners and building Masonic Brothers. Activities start at 4:00 pm today! Rodman is planning to share my discovery tonight at the event.

Event in Deadwood tonight – November 3, 2018.

This backdrop was pictured in the 1927 program alongside the first forty-seven members to join DeMolay. From this youth order started in 1919, it grew to a membership of a quarter of a million young men by 1927.

However, this may not be a drop specifically created for DeMolay. Over the years, many class pictures were taken in front of Scottish Rite or York Rite scenery, wherever the boys met. It is possible that this backdrop was for a Masonic order other than DeMolay. Regardless, we know that the beautifully painted scene came from Kansas City and was hanging in 1919.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 475 – Brown’s Special Counterweighted System

Part 475: Brown’s Special Counterweighted System

Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

M. C. Lilley’s western sales representative, Bestor G. Brown, subcontracted Sosman & Landis for the painted scenery, props, and stage machinery for their large Scottish Rite Theatre contracts. By 1912, many of the counterweight rigging systems installed in Scottish Rite theaters by Sosman & Landis were referred to as “Brown’s Special Counterweighted,” such as the one at the Santa Fe Scottish Rite.

Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1912.

So what do we know of the system referred to as “Brown’s Special Counterweighted” style of installation and how many are left? There are still examples of Brown’s Special Counterweighted System, however, some are slowly being removed and replaced with other rigging system. I first came across the designation in a series of letters between Bestor G. Brown, and the Austin Scottish Rite representative of Austin William G. Bell. Brown used the Dallas Scottish Rite as one example.

Wooden arbor cage with counterweights. Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Pasadena, California. This system was originally manufactured for the Scottish Rite Little Rock, Arkansas, during 1901.

Let me provide a little context for why the counterweight system came up in their discussion. Brown was trying to explain the intricacies of the installation process to a client who was completely unfamiliar with theatre. The Austin Scottish Rite was in the process of purchasing some of the Guthrie Scottish Rite’s old drops. Guthrie had been returned the old drops for credit on the purchase of new scenery when their stage was enlarged in the first building. M. C. Lilley had approximately 70 used Guthrie drops on hand to sell to another venue; they measured 15 feet high by 30 feet wide. A $1400.00 credit was given for the return of their 1901 scenery. The scenery collection was originally purchased for $8,000; today’s monetary equivalent is approximately $250,000, a significant purchase at the time.

Looking up into the flies. Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Pasadena, California.

On January 23, 1913, Brown also reported, “The [used] scenery is in very good shape – infinitely better that the average theatrical scenery used on the road. The writer personally went over the scenery at the studio last week. While our contract does not contemplate it, we are touching up some of the scenery and if it be properly lighted, you will have a handsome set of scenery that we would not undertake to paint and install for less than, at least, $8,000.00.”

View from under the fly rail. Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Pasadena, California.

The Austin Scottish Rite was initially interested in purchasing fourteen of the used drops, but wanted a definitive price for installation before determining the final number. Reading several letters of correspondence between Brown and Bell, it is obvious that Brown’s patience was wearing very thin as he had to repeatedly explain the final installation cost was based on the number of drops purchased. The continued correspondence, however, provides a wealth of information pertaining to the manufacture and installation of Scottish Rite scenery.

Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Austin, Texas, 1914.

As Brown negotiated, the Valley of Austin was purchasing and renovating the old 1821 Turner Hall. Brown mailed a scene plat to the Austin Scottish Rite. This was to reference while determining the final arrangement of scenes. Of this process, Brown wrote, “The arrangement of drops is one of the most difficult things.” Brown further explained that they would arrange the used scenery so that it could be “properly adapted to the different Degrees and the sequence of Degrees.” However, he warned that even after careful preparation, some modifications would still need to occur once the scenery was hanging. This was all an art of the haggling between the Austin Scottish Rite and M. C. Lilley. Bell, representing Austin wanted to pay as little as possible for the used scenery. The process was taking longer than expected and Brown was trying to get the Austin Scottish Rite to contractually commit so that the project could be scheduled. Finally, the Austin Scottish Rite committed to the purchase, but wanted an unrealistic timeframe. At this time, a much larger project was driving M. C. Lilley’s installation schedule – the Santa Fe Scottish Rite. Santa Fe’s new building, stage and scenery were delaying all other installations, such as the Austin Scottish Rite

Part of the initial delay was caused by the Austin Scottish Rite, not M. C. Lilley; this concerned the ongoing negotiation pertaining to the estimated expenses of the final installation. The Austin Scottish Rite wanted M. C. Lilley to provide a firm number for the installation cost without specifying the number of drops that they were purchasing from M. C. Lilley. Brown explained that the final expense was directly tied to the number of drops purchased to be installed. The carpenter’s expense of transportation and maintenance were figured from the time he left home until he returned. So, if he were to install only fourteen drops, that part of the expense would be proportionately greater than if he were to install twice that number of drops. Brown also explained that there was a difference in transportation charges directly relating to number of drops purchased and installed, either a full carload of scenery or less than a carload lot. Brown also explained that M. C. Lilley could also furnish the hardware, such as pulley blocks and counterweight frames if the Scottish Rite wanted the installation done locally; this was the salesman trying to be accommodating.

Brown’s Special Counterweighted System at the Scottish Rite in Salina, Texas.

There was another complication; Brown noted that they had only one specific carpenter who was sent to direct a Scottish Rite installation which was why multiple installations could not simultaneously occur; this individual was actually a Sosman & Landis employee as they installed their scenery. Brown commented that the one who would be “superintending the installation” for the Austin project was currently occupied in Santa Fe at the Scottish Rite, installing an entirely new stage there. This necessitated that their expert stay on site for approximately three weeks. Shortly after Brown’s correspondence with Bell, Brown wrote that their superintendent and installation expert had died from an accident, causing another delay. Brown explained that this employee was the “only one thoroughly familiar with the special method of installing Scottish Rite scenery.” Brown wrote, “We do not mean that it is impossible to follow the same methods as heretofore, but it will take a longer time to do it because of a lack of familiarity with the work.” Thomas G. Moses also mentions the death of their head stage carpenter, writing, “Mr. Brown, our foreman carpenter” died very suddenly.

As Brown later explained, M.C. Lilley used only one employee who specialized in Scottish Rite scenery installation. I believe that this individual was the stage carpenter who Thomas G. Moses referred to in his memoirs – Brown. In 1892, the “Carlisle Weekly” reported that a “Stage Carpenter Brown” worked for the Metropolitan Opera House at the time it burned (Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1 Sept. 1892, page 4). This may have been the same individual before he became associated with Sosman & Landis, as this is the same time when additional staff was added to Sosman & Landis’ studio for Columbian Exposition and other large projects.

Stage carpenter Brown was likely the individual who developed the counterweight system, and that the salesman Brown was mistaken for the namesake of the design. Newspapers would therefore erroneously refer to Bestor G. Brown as a “Masonic stage Carpenter.” In 1903 one article noted that Brown “created and developed the application of modern scenic properties to the dramatic presentation of all Masonic degrees and in this work is almost invariably consulted everywhere throughout the United States.” My findings suggest that “Brown’s Special Counterweighted” was credited to the salesman of the product and not the actual designer; this is understandable if they both shared the same last name.

In the end, the Austin Scottish Rite Bodies purchased 64 drops, not 14, on February 25, 1913, from M. C. Lilley. Thomas G. Moses would list the Austin scenery as one of the collections that he supervised while working at Sosman & Landis. The price for these used drops and their later installation was $1,650. The contract specified that a third of the amount was due upon installation (cash), a third due the following year, and the final third due in two years. Surprisingly, this financing was standard for Scottish Rite Theaters. Brown wrote, “In fact, if we had not been able to carry the Bodies in the Southern Jurisdiction as we have, we believe that fully one half of the development of the past ten years would not have been possible.” This is big as it presents how Scottish Rites were able to purchase state-of-the-art scenery, props, lighting and costumes – they were buying everything on credit and only had to pay a third upon receipt of goods. To pay off the rest meant increasing membership numbers that would generate even more income.

Brown died in 1917 at the Battle Creek Sanitorium after a relapse following an operation for kidney complications. At the time Brown was 56 years old and survived by his daughter, Mrs. Dana L. Davis of Topeka. It is sad to think, that a mere 14 years earlier he was a soaring star in both the Fraternity and fraternal supply business. Change can come so quickly.

To be continued…

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: Making My Way to Salina, Kansas, on June 29

Making My Way to Salina, Kansas, on June 29

As I planned our return trip from Santa Fe, I wanted to visit the Scottish Rite theater in Salina, Kansas, to meet the new steward of the Masonic Center –Mary Landes, the founder of Salina Innovation Foundation. The organization intends to keep the Masonic Center ownership local, for use by the community to foster arts, education, culinary, and business in Salina.\

Front curtain for the Salina Scottish Rite stage. Photograph from the 2010 scenery evaluation.

In 2010, I had the pleasure of evaluating the Salina scenery for the Salina Scottish Rite on one of my many trips to McAlester, Oklahoma, where I was restoring the Scottish Rite scenery there.

Looking up into the flies above the Salina Scottish Rite stage. Photograph from my 2010 visit

I wanted to see the scenery collection that was originally created for the McAlester Scottish Rite’s stage before their current 1929 home. The McAlester scenery was resold to Salina for their 1927 building. In 1922 the Salina Masons began planning a new Masonic complex that would be completed five years later.

McAlester sold the 1908 scenery to Salina when their third stage was constructed in 1929. Thomas G. Moses also listed both the 1908 and 1929 McAlester scenery in his resume as two of the installations under his supervision. In 1928, Moses created new designs and started painting the scenery for the 1929 McAlester Scottish Rite stage. An earlier scenery collection for McAlester was sold to the Santa Fe Scottish Rite in 1908 when the second Scottish Rite stage in McAlester was completed.

A photograph of the Scottish Rite scenery in McAlester, Oklahoma, 1904. This building was known as “The Tabernacle.” It’s scenery was sold to the Santa Fe Scottish Rite in 1908.

The 1908 McAlester stage replaced an earlier Masonic stage in a building called “The Tabernacle.” I photographed images of the Tabernacle stage scenery while restoring ye collection in McAlester. The Scottish Rite had several original photographs of the 1904 stage and scenery in a display case. At the time, I documented these precious photographs, as their placement in glass display cases subject to direct sunlight were taking their toll. Amazingly, I found the link between Santa Fe and McAlester while doing research for the Santa Fe Scottish Rite book. Here is a little historical context to explain the relationship between the Scottish Rite scenery collections in Santa Fe, New Mexico; McAlester, Oklahoma; and Salina, Kansas.

The Sovereign Grand Inspector General for Oklahoma until 1908 was Harper S. Cunningham. He had started out as Deputy for the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction in Indian Territory. In 1908, he transferred to Santa Fe, New Mexico. While advising on the planning and construction for the new 1912 Santa Fe Scottish Rite building, he encouraged the Santa Fe Scottish Rite to purchase the used scenery from McAlester. His reasoning was so that the members could practice the theatrical staging of degree productions during the construction phase of their 1912 theater. This is the same theater featured in “The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre” (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018).

Before Salina purchased the 1908 collection from McAlester, they contracted Sosman & Landis to produced their original 1901 scenery. This installation was also listed on Moses’ resumé, but not recorded in his typed manuscript. I am hesitant to believe that Moses painted the 1901 Salina scenery, as he was quite busy with other projects and had left Sosman & Landis by 1901 to partner with Will Hamiton, forming Moses & Hamilton (1901-1904). The Moses & Hamilton studio offices and paint frames were all located in New York City. My research suggests that the original 1901 Salina Scottish Rite scenery was primarily painted by David Austin Strong, the Sosman & Landis artist who Moses referred to as the “Daddy of Masonic Design.” Strong was one of the original artists hired by Sosman when the studio opened and worked closely with Moses in the early years. Strong was also a Scottish Rite Mason in Chicago’s Oriental Consistory. In the context of theatre history, Strong was one of the original scenic artists for “The Black Crook” at Niblo’s Garden in 1866. Strong’s painting is still visible in scenery currently used at Scottish Rite theaters in Austin, Texas; Yankton, South Dakota; Pasadena, California; and Cheyenne, Wyoming.

One of the Scottish Rite drops in Salina, Kansas, that was originally produced for the Scottish Rite in McAlester, Oklahoma.

But the current Scottish Rite scenery in Salina, Kansas, has another story connected to the venue; one that I discovered during the 2010 evaluation. On November 13^th 1923, the Secretary of the Salina Scottish Rite received a letter from the executive offices of the Sosman & Landis Company, with a stamp noting that their new offices were now located at 6751 Sheridan Road. The letterhead also contained the address of their previous office location at 417 South Clinton Street in Chicago. In 1923, a new scenic studio was leasing the old Sosman & Landis space at 417-419 Clinton Street; the company was Chicago Studios.

In retaliation for Chicago Studios pretending to be Sosman & Landis, Perry Landis contacted many of the Scottish Rite venues 1923. The Sosman & Landis letter said,

“Dear Sir:

It has recently come to our attention that a certain studio is advising our old customers that they have bought the Sosman & Landis Company and are now operating some, combining it with their original company. We wish to assure you that this is not fact and that our original organization is intact, but our studio has been moved to new and better quarters. Mr. Thomas G. Moses, our Art Director would like the opportunity of meeting with your scenery committee to submit our designs and specifications covering your requirements. You will perhaps recall that we were favored with your original scenery order, working through the M. C. Lilley Co., and therefore, it is not necessary for us to give you any reference as to our ability and quality of our workmanship.” They were referring to the scenery created for Salina’s first Scottish Rite stage and before the purchase of the used 1908 scenery from McAlester, Oklahoma.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 146 – The Second Time Around (The Elmira Opera House)

Although theatre is often considered ephemeral, some scenes were stored and repurposed for new productions. Scenery was not only reused and resold for Masonic venues. I had previously used the Austin Scottish Rite as an example of second-hand scenery. The used settings were originally manufactured by Sosman & Landis for Guthrie, Oklahoma in 1900 and sold to Austin in 1913. Regardless, for both fraternal and commercial theatres, it was an expensive investment. I have often wondered when drop rental houses really started as an option for theatre companies. In any case, the actual painting had to be in good shape, without dusting or fading for later reuse.

Stereoscope card depicting the interior of the Opera House in Elmira, New York.

The 1893 Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York) published an interesting article that noted the reuse of old scenery for a current opera (page 5). Previously painted scenes by Harley Merry and Sosman & Landis were once again hung in the theatre. The author of the article writes, “It is a dear old scene, almost as dear as it is old,” the author wrote when referencing a setting by Merry originally used for the laboratory scene of “Herzog, the Black Crook.”

1876 Production of “The Black Crook” in Philadelphia.

In addition to the laboratory setting, Merry’s forest scene “with the gnarled oak growing up in the middle and spreading its umbrageous branches upon the soubrette and the low comedian alike” was also used for the production, as was his “Subterranean Vault in the Castle of Wolfenstein.” In addition to Merry’s scenes, there was also the old “Rocky Pass” scene by Sosman & Landis.

In 1893, the author of the article wrote, “Next time you see these scenes have respect. They are old, true. But old masterpieces are infinitely better than new trash, and see the tribute that the manager of the “Black Crook” paid them. Who, but a connoisseur would have discovered that these despised pieces of canvas are genuine Harley Merry’s and real Sosman & Landers [sic.]. Our respect for the opera increases.”

As I was digging through old newspapers, I stumbled across other scenery painted by Merry for the Elmira Lyceum. In 1902, he was credited with the scenery for “The Fatal Wedding, a melodrama in four acts.”

Elmira Opera House was replaced by the Elmira Lyceum in 1904 after fire destroyed the building.

Program of production at the Elmira Opera House.

The Lyceum Theatre in Elmira, New York, began as an opera house. The earliest image that I have been able to locate is a stereoscope card depicting an interior setting, artist unknown. In 1864, the bustling town of Elmira became a city and the development of the theatre block began. Silas Haight and his son-in-law Dr. Henry H. Purdy secured three lots on Lake, Market and Carroll Streets to construct an entertainment venue in a central location for its citizens, seating approximately 2000 people. The Opera House occupied the upper floor with seven stored beneath the theatre, costing a staggering $89,000. The main entrance was on Lake Street, with a side entrance on Carroll Street. It opened on Dec. 17, 1867.

Harry C. Miner’s American Dramatic Directory for the season of 1887-1888 lists the Opera House in Elmira, New York, with a population of 30,000. The proscenium opening was 30’ x 25’ with a stage measuring 48’ x 75.’ The height from stage to groves was 16 feet with a rigging loft at forty feet above the stage. The depth under the stage was 10 feet. The directory specifies that there were thirty-three sets of scenes for use. The stage carpenters were Matt Lockwood and John Brown. No specific scenic artist was listed for the creation of the scenery collection. This suggests that multiple scenic artists or studios created the painted settings.

In 1904, the Lyceum Theatre was rebuilt after being destroyed by a fire. The majority of images available online depict the Lyceum’s interior and scenic art by W. R. Clark. Clark also is also credited with the scenery for the Victoria Opera House in Goderich, Ontario, Canada.

Interior of Lyceum in Elmira, New York, with scenery by W. R. Clark.

By 1906, Julius Cahn’s Theatrical Guide, Vol. 11, describes the new Lyceum in a city of 40,000. The new venue now accommodates 1,675 people, the proscenium measures 38’ x 38’ with the height to the rigging loft at 66.’ The height to the fly gallery was 25’ with a paint bridge. W. R. Clark was noted as the scenic artist and H. Bouille as the stage carpenter. The new building included 18 fire exits.

There were two other performance venues in Elmira, the Academy of Music and Stancliff Hall.

To be continued…