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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 736 – Drop Curtains in Philadelphia, 1894 – H. L. Reid and the Empire Theatre

A drop curtain by H. J. Reid was described in the article “Well-known Drop Curtain in Philadelphia Theatres” (The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 18, 1894). The J. was a misprint, as the scenic artist was Hugh Logan Reid (1853-1928).

The Empire Theatre, located at Broad and Locust Streets from 1891 to 1898, produced large scenic productions during seven-years existence. Originallydesigned by architect Willis G. Hale, the building was soon razed for the construction of the Walton Hotel in 1898.

Of Reid’s drop curtain for the theater, the “Philadelphia Inquirer” reported:

“Curtains that show reproductions of famous paintings are among the most expensive in the world to obtain, because it is not every artist who is willing to put his name to the painting which is going to be critically compared to, perhaps, the greatest painter in the world, and when he does make up his mind to do so, he will want to work very slowly and to be paid a very good sum for his worry and time. Such a curtain is the masterpiece displayed at the Empire Theatre. This subject was selected by Manager J. B. Worrell, during one of his European trips. The curtain was painted in 1891, by H. J. Reid, of New York, a young artist rapidly rising to fame. The scene presents the interior of the ducal hall. The duchess appears seated, her ladies in waiting about her, and her husband, the duke, standing behind her, when an old musician, with a battered mandolin, and accompanied by his blind daughter and a lean, apparently half-starved dog, enters the apartment. The old musician plays while his blind daughter accompanies him in song. The well-kept dog belonging to the duke meanwhile scrapes and acquaintance with his less fortunate canine friend. Through an open door at the rear is seen an attendant entering with a tray, containing wine and other refreshments for the half-famished visitors. So realistic is the scene that the ruffled up edge of the large moquette rug in the foreground of the picture seems not to have been painted, but to be actually placed on the curtain. There are eleven full-sized figures in the scene, not including the dogs. The border of this curtain is painted with a conventional design, representing a deep gilded frame, ornamented with dimple-cheeked cherubs, busts of women, wreaths, and festoons of flowers, with medallions in bas relief in the lower corners.”

Reid was well-respected as a figure painter. Reid was an associated with the Providence, Rhode Island, area, but he also worked in many eastern cities as an itinerant artist, such as Boston, Philadelphia and New York. In Harry Miner’s American Drama Directory, for the 1882-1883 season, Reid was listed as the scenic artist at the Providence Opera House.

By 1883, Reid was working from coast to coast. According to the “Boston Globe,” he furnished scenery for a new theatre at Los Angeles (7 Oct. 1883, page 10),. That year, Reid also worked with Jos. Clare to produce the sets for the “Duke’s Motto, ‘I am Here!’” at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York (Boston Globe, 8 Dec. 1883, page 7).

By 1884 Reid entered into another partnership with Harley Merry and J. L. Getz, establishing “Getz, Merry & Reid.” Getz was also from the Boston area, with Merry located in Brooklyn. The firm lasted approximately five years. Theirbiggest success was the creation of scenery for Wm. J. Gilmore’s “The Twelve Temptations,” an attraction advertised as “a scenic, ballet, and pantomimic spectacle.” The painted settings included sixteen full stage pictures with a moving panorama.

In 1887, Reid created scenery for Imre Kiralfy’s “Grand and Colossal Revival of the Famous Ravel Pantomime, Mazulm the Night Owl” (The Times, Philadelphia, 25 Dec. 1887, page 9). At the time, Reid was listed as the scenic artist for the Globe Theatre. Another notable production with scenery credited to Reid was E. E. Rice’s “World’s Fair” in 1890 (The Boston Globe. 27 July 1890, page 10). By 1891, the “Boston Globe” reported that Reid was “one of the most noted scenic artists in the country (13 Sept. 1891, page 9).

Reid moved to New York City and officially established his residence there. In New York Reid began painting for a variety of theaters, but was primarily associated with Daly’s Theatre of Manhattan (The Standard Union, Brooklyn, 17, Aug. 1902, page 15).

He became the primary scenic artist for Henry W. Savage’s the Castle Square Opera Company during 1899. Other scenic artists for the venue during the company’s existence included Thomas G. Moses, Walter Burridge, Frank King, and John Clare. Reid’s design’s included “The Grand Duchess,” “Rigoletto,” “Olivette,” “La Gioconda,” “Mikado,” “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” “Carmen,” “The Barber of Seville,” “Faust,” “Il Trovatore,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and “Aida.” (The increased volume of subscriptions during the first three seasons of the Castle Square Opera Company, supported Savage’s plan to establish at the American Theatre a permanent home for opera in English. The opera company also had branches in Chicago and St. Louis. By 1900, it was advertised as “the largest operatic company in the world,” having “gained a larger clientele than any other established musical organization.” A commemorative book, “500 Times,” documented the success of the Castle Square Opera Company’s performance of operas in English by Monday, October 16, 1899.

For other theaters, he worked alongside Richard Marston, Walter Burridge, John H. Young, Homer Emens, and Harley Merry onvarious projects. This same group created the scenery for Margaret Mather’s “Cymbeline” at the Columbia Theatre (Evening Star, Washington, D.C., 13 Feb. 1897, page 24).

Reid placed an advertisement in Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide for the 1902-1903 season. It, he listed his studio office at 1380 Broadway, New York City. He listed past projects at the following New York theaters: Fifth Ave. Theatre, Murray Hill Theatre, Metropolis Theatre, Manhattan Theatre, People’s Theatre, Miner’s Bowery Theatre, and the Weiting Opera House (Syracuse). Other theaters included the Lyric Theatre (Allentown, PA), Columbia Theatre (Boston), Grand Opera House (Boston), Bowdoin Square (Boston), Lyric Theatre (Hoboken, N. J.), and the Bijou Theatre (Brooklyn).

Advertisement from Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide for the 1902-1903 season

In 1902, Reid was credited with producing scenery for “one of the most important theatrical events” for the season” – “The Tempest.” The “Standard Union” reported, “The scene of storm and shipwreck with which the play opens will be one of those realistic and marvelous episodes which are rarely seen except on stage of the old Drury Lane Theatre in London…The new scenery for this production has been painted by H. Logan Reid, for many years the scenic artist at Daly’s Theatre in Manhattan” (Aug. 17, 1902, page 15). Of Reid’s association with Augustin Daly, the Saint Paul Press” commented, “The several scenes, which were painted by H. Logan Reid, who was associated with Augstin Daly for so many years, are by a multiplicity of beautiful transparencies made to melt one into the other, as if by the very agency of magic which pervades the original text of Shakespeare. This treatment has had the best results in the opening scene of the play, which gradually changes from a peaceful fairy-like forest glen to the shore of the island, showing the tempest tossed ocean, with the great ship bearing the more mortal characters of the story to its treacherous rocks” (4 March 1903, age 4).

Interestingly, the John Rothgeb papers at the Harry Ransom Center included a letter written by Charles H. Stewart of Somerville, Massachusetts that mentioned H. L. Reid. Stewart wrote, “I do know he was an old man when he died, for my father worked with him in the Opera House season 1909-1910. I am still looking – he was fired so Urban could take over. Urban had a studio/office in Boston in 1910 but soon left for New York.” What an interesting tidbit of lost theatre history to know that an aging scenic artist lost his position to the up and coming Joseph Urban, twenty years his junior. Reid was 57 years old at the time.

In 1915, Reid created a succession of painted settings for a submarine attraction for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. He was sixty-one years old at the time. World Fair midway passengers entered the steel submarine and toured the labyrinths of Neptune, a succession of painted scenes. Of the attraction, “The Red book of Views of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition” described:

“The first thing to greet the eye of the visitor to this great spectacle is an allegorical front, with cascades of moving water typifying the restlessness of the ocean. Neptune sits proudly over all, basking in the beams from a near-by lighthouse. At the dock the passenger enters a steel submarine, is taken beneath the waters where he sees a shipwreck, marine animals, and a typical ocean floor. Landing again, he is taken through the labyrinths of Neptune, a succession of wonderful scenes by H. Logan Reid of New York City.”

Image of the attraction at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, 1915

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 588 – “A Day in Japan” for the Pittsburg Exposition

Part 588: “A Day in Japan” for the Pittsburg Exposition

In 1908, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Built a fine little show for Pittsburg Exposition “A Day in Japan.” I went down and put it on and started it off to good business. It was a little too classy.”

Advertisement for attractions and amusements at the Pittsburgh Exposition in 1908. From the “Pittsburgh Press,” 27 Sept 1908, page 34

A Day in Japan advertised as an amusement at the Pittsburgh Exposition, from the “New Castle Herald,” 8 Sept 1908, page 8

Moses was referring to one of the amusements at the Pittsburgh Sesqui-Centennial Exposition tha ran from July 4, 1908 to November 26, 1908. On June 21, 1908, the Honorable George W. Guthrie, mayor of Pittsburgh had issued the following proclamation that described the 150^th birthday celebration for the city of Pittsburgh:

“To the citizens of Pittsburgh: On November 25, 1758, the British and Colonial troops under the command of General John Forbes, took possession of the smoking ruins of Fort Duquesne, which had been abandoned the day before by the French and Indians. As the sun was setting, the British flag was raised by the brave Pennsylvanian, Colonel John Armstrong, in the presence of Washington, Forbes, Bouquet, Mercer, and other noted American and British soldiers, and the name of the great Pitt, whose genius had conceived the expedition, thus signally crowned with success, was conferred most appropriately upon the site between the Forks of the Ohio, which was long thereafter known as the Gateway of the West. On November 25th of the present year will occur the 150th anniversary of the permanent founding and naming of Pittsburgh, and it is most fitting that the event be celebrated in a manner appropriate to the city’s important history and its great growth and achievements in many lines.”

The planning for the celebration began during the fall of 1906. By spring of 1908, the plan was presented to Mayor Guthrie and the City Councils. After approval, twenty-eight committees, involving almost 600 individuals, made it possible for Pittsburgh’s celebration.

The Daily Republican reported “Among the amusements is the military spectacle of the Spanish-American war, which is a vivid reproduction of the blowing up of the ‘Maine’ and the historic battles; the scenic cyclorama, ‘A Day in Japan’: the Theatorium, and many other entertainments” (Monongahela, Pennsylvania, 6 Oct 1908, page 4). The “Sedalia Democrat” commented, “Among the new attractions in the main building are an electrical scenic cyclorama, ‘A Day in Japan’”, while he “Pittsburgh Press” advertised that it was “an electric novelty” (Sedalia Democrat, 2 Sept 1908, page 7, and Pittsburgh Press, 9 August 1908, page 6).

Postcard depicting exposition buildings in Pittsburg during 1908. Notice roller coaster by the bridge.

There is a lovely article about this project and Moses’ involvement that was posted in the “Pittsburgh Daily Post” on September 2, 1908 (page 8):

“Visitors Taken to Japan.

“A Day in Japan,” one of the most enjoyable entertainments of the Exposition, will transport spectators in an instant to the “Flowery Kingdom,” the realm of the Mikado. The wonders of electric lighting and manipulation are carried to a height rarely attained. A picturesque Japanese mountain village is shown nestling at the base of the historic, snow covered mountain, Fujiyama.

With scarcely conceivable realism, the soft radiance of moonlight, bathes the quiet scene, then the break of day, the white light of noonday, the yellow of late afternoon, the gradual coming of dusk and darkness, and the lighting of lamps within the dwellings, are portrayed with extraordinary faithfulness to detail.

A storm gathers, trees are tossed by the wind, lightning flashes and thunder of the preceding calm, is welcomed with relief.

The entertainment is not a moving picture show, nor an acted play. A model of a village taken from active life has been built on the stage, representing the minutest details of Japanese home life, in a style never before attempted. A pagoda, rising high in the foreground, occupied a skilled artisan many days in making it, so delicate is the workmanship.

No details of instructive value are omitted. The beauty of the production is extraordinary. The scheme of decoration in the Oriental style is carried into every detail. Even the ticket office is a structure quaintly built on lines of Oriental architecture. Its position in the gallery, midway down the main hall, on the Allegheny side, makes the entertainment a prominent feature of the Exposition.

A carefully prepared lecture accompanies the entertainment, as the scene shifts from night to day and back to night again. It has been the aim of the acting manager, Thomas G. Moses, vice-president of Sosman & Landis Company, of Chicago, to afford the maximum of both instructive and entertainment values.”

This was the first mention that I have discovered about Moses being vice-president of the company. He returned to Sosman & Landis in 1904 to manage the main studio, but his becoming vice-president is not mentioned in his memoirs. Perry Landis left the company in 1902 due to poor health. By 1904 Sosman was desperate for help in the studio, as he had assumed all of the sales responisbilities; those duties previously handled by Landis.

By 1915, immediately after Sosman’s death, Moses became the president of the Sosman & Landis. For me, this transition now makes sense in regard to the board of director’s decision to elect Moses president.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 564 – Thomas G. Moses at the Jamestown Exposition, 1907

Part 564: Thomas G. Moses at the Jamestown Exposition, 1907

Postcard of the Jamestown Exposition, 1907

Map of the Jamestown Exposition grounds, 1907

1907 was a busy year for Thomas G. Moses at Sosman & Landis studio. However, he managed to get away for short trip with his wife Ella. They traveled east to visit the word fair in Norfolk and stayed for a few while so that Moses to do some sketching in West Virginia. Their travels included New York, Trenton, Philadelphia, Washington and Norfolk. They visited the Jamestown Exposition on September 27; it ran from April 26 to November 30 that year.

The Jamestown Exposition commemorated the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown in the Virginia Colony on May 13, 1607. It was held at Sewell’s Point on Hampton Roads in Norfolk, Virginia, and celebrated the first permanent English settlement in America. The 367-acre site featured a port that hosted the rendezvous of more than 50 warships from around the world. Fourteen Nations were represented at the International Military & Naval Celebration. Sixteen warships from President Theodore Roosevelt’s newly modernized fleet were also in the harbor. On June 28, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson bought 474 acres for the base, including 367 acres of the exposition grounds. The site of the Jamestown exposition became part of the Hampton Roads Navy Base after World War I.

Final attendance numbers were recorded as 2,758,692 for total attendance, with 1,401,409 paying for entry. Admission prices were fifty cents for adults and twenty-five cents for children. Newspapers reported that actual attendance numbers did not meet anticipated projections. There were both logistical and financial problems, as with many world fairs in America; the fair did not generate the expected revenue and a government loan was required to finish the preparations. Toward the end, there was a bustle of activity, and as the opening deadline approached construction materials became scarce. This necessitated the erection of a sawmill on site. Unlike previous world fair delays where the opening was pushed back a few days, the arrival of the ships in the harbor meant there was no option for any postponement.

On the fairgrounds there was an amusement area was known as the “Warpath,” with the tag line “Meet us on the warpath!” Attractions included a wild west show, cycloramas of Gettysburg and Manassas, the “Temple of Mirth,” the “Beautiful Orient,” “Streets of Cairo,” Ferrari’s Wild Animal Show, “Destruction of San Francisco,” Baby Incubator, Deep Sea Diving, the “Klondike Gold Mine,” Princess Trixie and Paul Revere’s Ride, the Old Mill, “Fair Japan,” Colonial Virginia, the Ostrich Farm, American Monorail Exhibit, plus an Intra-Mural and Miniature railway concession. In 1975, twenty of the remaining exposition buildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places as an entire historic district.

Of their visit to the Jamestown Exposition, Moses wrote, “Took the boat from Washington to Norfolk and had a delightful trip immensely, excepting that we found no art gallery in the exposition.” By this time, Moses was a member of both the Salmagundi Club in New York and the Palette & Chisel Club in Chicago, continuing with his fine art work. Previously on the trip, Tom and Ella visited the Carnegie Art Gallery, This was Moses’ first time to the Carnegie Art Gallery and he was delighted with the various artworks.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 563 – Thomas G. Moses’ Oak Park Studio

Part 563: Thomas G. Moses’ Oak Park Studio

At the beginning of 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I started right by painting all of New Years day on several oil paintings. My new studio on the third floor is certainly the right thing. I have more than made the cost from work done in the studio.”

Thomas G. Moses in his third floor studio. Oak Park, Illinois.

Moses’ third-floor studio was in the same house that he and Ella purchased on May 1, 1893. This coincided with the opening of the Columbian Exposition; projects leading up to the world fair funded the Moses’ ability to look for a home in the Oak Park area. In 1892, Moses’ work turned a $5,000 profit, today’s equivalent of $130,000. The couple eventually selected a one-year-old house in Oak Park, Illinois. Moses recorded that their new home had “very fine wood-work, a large stable, driveway, and a 60 x 178 foot lot.” They bought the house for $8,575.00, today’s equivalent of $222,238.22. Moses also had a perfect spot for a home studio with plenty of light and away tucked away on the third floor.

Moses had always kept a studio in their previous homes, justified by the income he brought in from any extra work. In 1885 he wrote, “I had the front room nicely decorated by Mitchell and Halbach and I more than enjoyed the little studio. With the extra work from the outside, it paid me to keep the room for a studio.” Similarly in 1907 he wrote, “My new studio on he third floor is certainly the right thing. I have more than made the cost from work done in the studio.” By 1913, he commented, “I had over three hundred pictures in the studio.”

The third floor studio in his Oak Park home was his escape. It was located high above the bustle of daily household activities, offering a peaceful space to work hone his artistic skills, remember past sketching trips and plan for the future. The house was always full of people; first there were the children, and then later grandchildren. Their youngest Thomas “Rupert” Moses followed his father into the theatrical trade, with his family lodging with them in both Chicago and California. While Rupert, his wife, and their three daughters lived with Tom and Ella, there was the rule to not disturb grandfather while he was painting in his studio.

Granddaughter Marilyn fondly remembered her grandfather’s studio in a an article “My Grandfather: Artist Thomas G. Moses.” Her reminisces were shared with me by a great-grandson in 2017. Marilyn wrote, “Grandfather had a studio on the third floor of his house. He spent most of his time up there painting…Grandmother tried to ‘protect’ Grandfather from his grandchildren or maybe it was his working time which was important. I didn’t realize the reasons behind the rules. I would go up to the studio to watch. It was quite exciting to see the sets develop. Grandfather taught me how to make furniture out of cardboard and put me to work. I made tables, chairs and lounges.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 552 – Thomas G. Moses and Chicago’s White City, 1906

Part 552: Thomas G. Moses and Chicago’s White City, 1906

Postcard picturing White City Amusement Park

In 1906, Thomas G. Moses recorded that he worked on some scenic shows for “White City.” White City was also known as “White City Amusement Park.” Inspired in part by the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, It was named after the white lights that lined many of its buildings. The amusement park’s “Electric Tower” was a steel structure outlined in electric lights that could be seen fifteen miles away.

Postcard showing electric tower at White City Amusement Park

The park opened on May 26, 1905 and lasted until 1933. The amusement park was on a fourteen-acre former cornfield, located at 63rd Street and South Parkway (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive), in the Greater Grand Crossing and Woodlawn community areas. Admission was ten cents, and the park was open rain or shine.

List of attractions at White City Amusement Park. From “The Chicago Tribune,” 4 Aug 1906, page 5

Advertisements in Chicago newspapers listed a variety of popular attractions at the park. Even the Goodyear Blimp was first assembled at the park. Moses wrote that he worked on a variety of attractions that included “One big show. A Trip to Mars.” Other park attractions included “Fire and Flames (the Chicago Fire),” “The Johnstown Flood,” “the Canals of Venice [water ride],” “Temple of Palmistry,” “Catacombs,” “The Third Degree,”[?] “Famous Cow and Lunch,”[??] “Infant Incubators,” “Midget City,” “Jewell’s Manikins,” Big Otto’s trained wild animal show, a Gypsy camp, “Hale’s Tours of the World,” “Automatic Vaudeville,” a vaudeville theatre, a roller coaster, small Ferris wheel, flying airships, Lindy Loop, Seaplane, Jim Key, a Japanese Booth, a Japanese ball game, a roller rink, penny arcade, a scenic railway, an electric theater, a model laundry, a the “Fun Factory,” electric cooking exhibit, photograph gallery, the House of a Thousand and One Troubles (fun house), “Figure 8,” “Shoot the Chutes,” “The Kilties” (a Canadian band that played Scottish music), a miniature railway, and “Kellar’s Blue Room.” After the park opened, one ride malfunctioned; a visitor was killed and two others injured. Then the park’s roller coaster encountered problems, injuring another twelve patrons.

Postcard depicting fire and flames attraction at White City Amusement Park

Postcard depicting Infant Incubators building at White City Amusement Park

Postcard depicting scenic railway attraction at White City Amusement Park

Postcard depicting Midget City attraction at White City Amusement Park

During the park’s second summer of operation, the White City Construction Company also secured a plot of land measuring 665×500 feet that adjoined the south end of the amusement park. In this area, an open air amphitheater was erected with a seating capacity of 12,000 (Inter Ocean, 15 June 1906, page 6).

By July 1, 1906, the “Inter Ocean” reported, “The principal new attraction at the park this week will be a big revival of the “Last Days of Pompeii” on a block of ground adjoining the White City. Five hundred gorgeously costumed embryo Roman and Egyptian citizens, gladiators, guards, charioteers, musicians, priests, priestesses, choir boys, Pompeian dignitaries, dancing girls, flower girls, etc. will tonight be put through the paces of a final dress rehearsal for Pain’s big spectacle. The initial performance of a ten week’s engagement will be given in the vast new White City amphitheater tomorrow night, and General Manager H. B. Thearle is positive in his assurances of a smooth and finished opening.

Advertisement for Pain’s Pompeii at White City Amusement Park. From the “Inter Ocean,” 1 July 1906, page 26

The scenic representation of doomed Pompeii represents the fated city that perished in the first century of the Christian era. The scenery used in this production covers and area of five acres of ground, but so deceptive is the perspective that it is said it appears to spread over many times that space.

The scene opens with a fete day in the ancient city, and for upward an hour the audience is entertained with a production of the sports and feats of the hippodrome, chariot races, ballets, aerial and acrobatic performers, pageants, etc. The tragic dramatic episodes of the spectacle are shown in pantomime. The fetes are interrupted by he terrific eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of the city by the earthquake, bringing into action all the skill and ingenious of Pain’s artists. Following these scenes, there is presented an exhibition of fireworks. For the accommodation of patrons, a downtown ticket office will be opened at Lyon & Healy’s tomorrow morning and maintained throughout the season” (page 26).

The Daily Herald described, “These fascinating and thrilling midsummer night shows of the famous Pain have for 27 years been the one big night attraction at fashionable Manhattan Beach New York, also for the same length of time at Alexandria Palace, London. The production given at White City, surpasses anything ever seen in the open air amusement line in this country. As known to most readers, Pain’s “Last Days of Pompeii” is a thrilling realistic reenactment of the greatest catastrophe in the world’s history; the awful destruction of an ancient city and its people by earthquakes and volcano eruption…So thrillingly realistic is the effect, that the onlooker will find it hard to realize he has been gazing only upon a startling scene of mimic destruction instead of a terrible reality” (Chicago, 29 June 1906, page 1).

The spectacle was advertised as a “most stupendous, thrilling and beautiful open-air spectacle in the world – a $100,000 production.” The theme surrounding the destruction of this ancient city razed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius was especially poignant; the great Volcano erupted again during April of 1906. This disaster occurred the same month as the San Francisco earthquake and fire. For many, it may have seemed like the end of the world.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 524 – Charles S. Graham

Part 524: Charles S. Graham

Thomas G. Moses first encountered the scenic art of Charles S. Graham (1852-1911) and J. Francis Murphy (1853-1921) while working for the P. J. Almini decorating firm in 1874 Moses wrote, “In June I was sent to Hooleys Theatre to work. On the scenery [were] employed J. Francis Murphy and Chas. Graham. I was put in charge of the proscenium boxes, mostly gilding. I could see the work being done on the paint frame. I was more convinced that scenery was what I wanted to do; more opportunity to do landscapes.”

Charles S. Graham (1852-1911) was born in Rock Island, Illinois. He became a topographer for the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1873. It was while working for the railroad that he received his initial artistic training as an artist and draftsman. He soon sought other artistic opportunities, such as scenic art and illustration. Graham was present when the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1883, covering the event for Harper’s Weekly

By 1874, Graham was painting theatrical scenery in both Chicago and New York. He would primarily work as a scenic artist until 1877. It was on one of his early scenic art projects at Hooleys Theatre that Moses encountered him in 1874.

While in New York, Graham continued to work as a scenic artist for a variety of theatrical venues, including the Standard Theatre at Broadway and 33^rd Street. For one production, he provided “new and elaborate scenery” for the premiere production of “Mignon” in New York,” with mechanical effects by W. Gifford (New York Daily Herald, 17 March 1878, page 4). That same year, he also created an large backdrop for the Order of Elks annual ball (The Brooklyn Eagle, 27 Jan. 1878, page 3). The newspaper reported, “The ball will be held this year at the Academy of Music, which is to be very handsomely decorated, the back of the Academy stage to be occupied by an immense canvas representing the ‘Gathering of the Elks,’ now in course of preparation by a young scenic artist, Mr. Charles Graham.”

Graham continued to be employed as a scenic artist; he worked for Gates & Morange, a leading scenic studio of the time. Graham painted alongside other well-known scenic artists who also worked for the firm, such as Thomas Benrimo, William E. Castle, Alexander Grainger, Arne Lundberg, and Orestes Raineiri. Gates and Morange’s scenic studio was one of the premiere scenic studios during the early twentieth century. It was located in Chicago during 1894 after Edward A. Morange met Francis “Frank” Edgar Gates. During the day, the two scenic studio founded studied fine art, while at night the painted settings for stage shows. Although starting their company in Chicago, Gates and Morange soon moved to New York to produce settings for dozens of Broadway shows. Their first Broadway work occurred in 1897 – “Straight from the Heart” by Sutton Vane and Arthur Shirley.

Design library at the studio of Gates & Morange

Graham was also mentioned as a scenic artist that appeared in a “Chicago Sunday Tribune” article, “Paint Mimic Scenes, Men Who Have Found Fame in (entire article in past installment #245):

“Scenic art of high grade is, however, regarded today as only different from other studio art in its breadth – a mere question of scale. As to the quality of finish it may be remarked that when scenery is lacking in detail it is due to lack of knowledge in the painter, lack of time, certainly not in accord with any principle of stage painting. Formerly the theatrical painter was expected to be truly catholic in his accomplishments, and was called to attempt any subject that the playwright might designate. Now this work, as in other lines of art, is falling more to specialists, and with far better results in figure, drapery, landscape, or architectural design. In spite of many drawbacks in the past, scene painting as a school has been an excellent one. Witness many good men who have left it to win distinction in the galleries of Europe and America: De Loutherbourg, Porter, Boulet, Jacquet, Lavignoc, Leitch, Stanfield, Roberts, Allen, Cole, Detaille, Kingsbury, Potast, Rymnosky, Wets, Guetherz, Peigelheim, H. Fillaratta, Homer Emmons, Charles Graham, and J. Francis Murphy. It will be observed that this list has members of the English Royal Academy, some famous Germans and Frenchmen, and, too, America is ably represented.”

In addition to scenic art, Graham became well-known as an illustrator. By 1878, Graham was hired as a staff artist at Harper’s Weekly; he remained there until 1892. During this time, he contributed illustrations for a variety of other publications, including the New York Herald, the Chicago Tribune, the American Lithograph Company, and Collier’s. It was one of Graham’s first illustrations for Harper’s during 1878 that he depicted scenic artists working on a paint bridge high above the stage. Graham’s best-known work was for the publication “Peristyle and Plasaisance.” For this publication, he created a series of watercolors depicting scenes from the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the Columbian Exposition. These colorful plates remain as one of the best sources, offering insight into the event. Advertisements stated that Graham’s paintings illustrated “nooks and corners of the Fair as no photograph could do.”

Advertisement for series illustrated by Charles S. Graham for the Columbian Exposition. From the Chicago Tribune, 8 July 1894.

Illustration of the Columbian Exposition by Charles S. Graham.

Near the end of his life, Graham was employed by a lithographer. In 1909, Graham suffered a stroke while working in Davenport, Iowa. He was forced by failing health to give up active work and return to New York as soon as he had recovered sufficiently to permit travel back east (The Rock Island Argus, 12 August 1911, page 5). By 1911, he passed away at the Metropolitan Hospital in Manhattan, after a prolonged illness of a nervous disorder (The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 10 August 1911, page 3). He was fifty-nine years old at the time. Graham was survived by his daughter Bessie Graham.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 481: Meet Me at the Fair

Part 481: Meet Me at the Fair

“Meet me in St. Louis, Louis,
Meet me at the fair,
Don’t tell me the lights are shining
Any place but there,
We will dance the Hoochee Koochee,
I will be your tootsie wootsie,
If you will meet in St. Louis, Louis,
Meet me at the fair.”

In 1904, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “In the fall, Ella and I went to the St. Louis’ World’s Fair, and enjoyed it immensely. We went direct to the grounds and registered at the ‘Inside Inn.’

The Inside Inn at the St. Louis World Exposition in 1904. Thomas and Ella Moses stayed here while attending the World Fair.

“I knew the manager very well, and we felt we would be well taken care of.” The manager was Colonel E. M. Statler. Statler had built and operated Statler’s Pan-American hotel at the Buffalo Exposition. Moses would have known him there as he had worked on Thompson’s “Trip to the Moon.”

For the World Fair in St. Louis, Statler conceived of the idea to construct a grand hotel inside the fairgrounds. In fact, the Inside Inn was the only hotel located on the 1904 World’s fairgrounds. Partially shaded by large oak trees, the ten acres occupied by Inside Inn were situated in the southeast corner and offered premium views of the Plateau of States.

Inside Inn. [Louisiana Purchase Exposition]. GPN WF 572. Photograph, 1904. Missouri Historical Society Photographs and Prints Collections. NS 28050 . Scan (c) 2004, Missouri Historical Society.

The Inn accommodated 5,000 guests with 2257 rooms. Moses wrote, “Our room number was 6325. Of course there were not that many rooms.” Serviced by a staff of 2,000, there were two restaurants, a drug store, a lounge, haberdashery, shoeshine parlor, newsstand and a barbershop. The Inside Inn was intended as a temporary building, constructed of yellow pine, stucco and fire-proof burlap. Of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition structure, Moses wrote, “It was an awful firetrap and awfully poor furniture, but they had a good chef and he made up for many other defects.”

The price to stay at the Inside Inn ran from $1.50 to $7.00 dollars, some plans offered two meals per day in addition to accommodations. One of the slogans was “A room and bath for a buck and a half.” There was also a buffet that could seat 2,500 patrons. It was reported that at the close of the fair, Statler’s receipts totaled $1,480,743.13. That is not bad, considering the initial investment was 300,000 dollars. In the end, Statler sold the Inside Inn building for $30,000 dollars scrap.

Commenting about the fair, Moses wrote, “We covered a lot of ground in the four days we had to spend there, which was hardly enough. The Art Gallery was very good and I saw many of my old favorites in the English and American schools. Some of the sideshows were also good. The Fair covered so much ground that it was tiresome going from one show to the other.”

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 420: Coney Island – Thomas G. Moses and “A Trip to the Moon”

Part 420: Coney Island – Thomas G. Moses and “A Trip to the Moon”

In many situations recorded throughout Thomas G. Moses’ memoirs, things never quite go according to plan. When Moses moved his family to New York, his stable employment with Henry W. Savage evaporated at the end of the season; his work for Savage ceased when the Castle Square Opera Company left the American Theatre. Similarly, his work for Henry Greenwall was also short-lived as the Greenwall Company also left the American Theatre. Moses & Hamilton began designing settings for other Broadway venues between 1900 and 1904.

Moses & Hamilton’s Broadway designs include “Under the Southern Skies” (Theatre Republic, Nov. 12, 1901 to Jan. 1902), “In Dahomey” (New York Theatre, Feb. 18, 1903 to April 4, 1903, with a return to the Grand Opera House from August to September, 1904), “The Medal and the Maid” (Broadway Theatre, Jan. 11, 1904 to Feb. 20, 1904, Grand Opera House, March 1904), “The Pit” (Lyric Theatre, Feb. 10, 1904, to April 1904), and “Girls Will Be Girls” (Haverly’s 14th Street Theatre, Aug. 27, 1904 to Sept. 3, 1904)

It was Hamilton who prompted Moses to try his hand at the amusement business on Coney Island. Both scenic artists were immediately caught up in the excitement of amusement park profits. In 1901, Moses wrote, “We started the year on the jump. In addition to the weekly grind of getting out the Stock Company’s work, we had the contract for the “Trip to the Moon,” a big amusement park novelty owned by Thompson and Dundy.”

The midway at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, with the “Trip to the Moon” ride pictured right.

Entrance to the “Trip to the Moon” at the 1901 World Fair

Thompson erected a 40,000-square-foot building that was 18 feet high to house the attraction at an expense of $84,000, for the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. Every half hour thirty passengers boarded “Thompson’s Aerial Navigation Company” spaceship “Luna.” It took twenty employees to operate the ride, with an addition to 200 actors to animate the journey.

At the sound of a gong and the rattle of an anchor chain, the passengers began their journey into space. The spaceship included enormous red canvas wings that moved with system of pulleys, flapping like a bird.

The vessel rocked from side to side, before rising into the sky. Hidden fans blew on the passengers who sat in steam chairs, creating the sensation of being airborne as a series of moving panoramas provided the scenic illusion of passing clouds; the city of Buffalo (a model with blinking lights) vanished in the distance, and eventually the entire earth disappeared from view. The illusion was enhanced with lighting and sound effects. This ride is reported to be the first electrically powered mechanical “dark ride.” Thompson even patented his creation (US725,509).

Fred Thompson’s patent for the airship Luna

As passengers exited the spaceship, they were greeted by Selenites – sixty little people were employed to guide them through a maze featuring “crystallized mineral wonders” on their way to the “City of the Moon.”

Selenites pictured in the “Trip to the Moon” ride.

Actors performing during the amusement ride, “Trip to the Moon”

One of the moon monsters in “Trip to the Moon”

The Palace of the Moon King in “Trip to the Moon”

At the end of the experience was a souvenir shop, with samples of green cheese and “mooncraft demonstrations.” The passengers were then admitted to the palace of the “Man in the Moon,” as well as a spectacular stage show. Sadly, they returned to earth by way of a simple rope ladder.

The Palace of the Moon stage show at the end of the “Trip to the Moon” ride

This amusement was wildly successful at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Tickets were US$0.50 at the time, twice the price of most other attractions at the exposition. Over 400,000 experienced “A Trip to the Moon” before it closed on November 2, 1901.

The 1901 “Trip to the Moon” amusement ride was preceded by Jules Verne’s 1865 novel “From the Earth to the Moon” and the 1877 four-act opera “A Trip to the Moon,” with music by Jacques Offenbach. In 1893, a play based on Verne’s classic novel appeared at New York’s Booth Theater; it was followed by a music and dance number, “A Trip to Mars” that was performed by a company of “Lilliputians.” A movie also followed the success of the 1901 World’s Fair. During May 1902, filming started for “Le voyage dans la lune” (A Trip to the Moon) by Georges Méliès. By September 1, 1902, the film was released in Paris and then New York City.

When the Pan-American Exposition ended, Fred Thompson and Elmer “Skip” Dundy placed their “Trip to the Moon” amusement in Steeple Chase Park on Coney Island, experiencing a wildly successful season during 1902. At the end of the season, they immediately began planning their own amusement park, leasing Paul Boyton’s Sea Lion Park. Their sixteen-acre park soon expanded to a twenty-two acre park, after acquiring some more adjoining land. Advertising that the new park had cost one million dollars to construct, it opened on May 16, 1903. At eight o’clock on the evening of the first day, 250,000 lights illuminated their venture – Luna Park – outlining the buildings and creating a magical land.

To be continued…