Mary Louise Spoor Brand - Children's Book Illustrator

 Mary Spoor Brand's illustration for Bobby and Betty With the Workers by Katharine Elizabeth Dopp, published by Rand McNally & Company, 1923. 

The Golden Age of American illustration (1880 - 1914) gave women unprecedented opportunities to be employed as illustrators. The momentum it created would benefit Mary Louise Spoor Brand of Waukegan, who became a children's book illustrator in the first decades of the 20th century. 

Mary Louise Spoor Brand (1887-1985). Ancestry.com volks1wag family tree.

Known as "Mollie" to her friends and family, Spoor was born on March 15, 1887 to Catherine Stressinger (1853-1947) and Marvin Spoor (1839-1927). Her father was an engineer for the North Western Railway, and except for an absence while serving with the 89th Illinois in the Civil War, Marvin Spoor ran a train between Waukegan and Chicago from the late 1850s until his retirement in 1902. 

Growing up in Waukegan, Mollie was surrounded by creative individuals, including her family's neighbor, Edward Amet, who was an early motion picture pioneer and inventor. See my post on Edward Amet. Mollie's brother, George K. Spoor, partnered with Amet in the motion picture business. About 1895, George featured his eight-year old sister, Mollie, in a short film of her playing with ducks.

Mollie Spoor on her high school graduation day, June 1905, at the courthouse in Waukegan. Dunn Museum Collections. 

In June 1905, Mollie graduated from Waukegan High School with "high honors" and was chosen class valedictorian for scholarship. Mollie was class treasurer and secretary of the school's drama club. The club's play that spring, "Hamlet," was held at the Schwartz Theater in Waukegan. Mollie Spoor starred as Ophelia alongside her high school sweetheart, Enoch J. Brand, who had the leading role as Hamlet. 

Waukegan High School's Class of 1905. Mollie Spoor and Enoch Brand are noted with yellow stars. 

Yearbook photo courtesy of Waukegan Historical Society. 

Schwartz Theater in Waukegan where Mollie Spoor and her high school classmates presented "Hamlet" in 1905. 
Photo 1950s. Dunn Museum Collections. 

The Waukegan Daily Sun noted that "Miss Spoor has a peculiar ability in executing pretty water colors and drawings, but she has not made any decision as to what she will do in later life." Within a year, Spoor found a path to her future career and enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. There she excelled in illustration and portraits. 

Mary L. Spoor's illustration featured in "The Art Institute of Chicago Circular of Instruction" for 1909-1910.

In 1907, Mollie's brother, George Spoor and actor/director "Broncho Billy" Anderson, founded a motion picture studio in Chicago. The studio's name—Essanay—was a play on the founders' initials "S and A." See my post on Essanay Studios. 

Mollie Spoor's inlaid wood design for Essanay Studio's logo. In 1961, she donated the piece to the Lake County History Museum 

(forerunner of the Bess Bower Dunn Museum). 61.33.1 Dunn Museum Collections.

George asked his artistic sister to design the studio's logo. The distinctive choice of a Native American in headdress was likely George's idea, but the design was all Mollie's. Her framed piece was made of inlaid wood and hung in her brother's studio office at 1333 W. Argyle Street in Chicago. 

In June 1910, Spoor graduated from the School of the Art Institute with honors. The Waukegan Daily Sun noted that "In every respect she is the ablest artist this city ever claimed... and has won honor after honor at the Chicago Institute." 

Waukegan Daily Sun piece celebrating Spoor's accomplishments at the Art Institute, June 18, 1910. Newspapers.com

After graduation, she participated in a month-long Art Institute sketching class that went to the Eagle's Nest Art Colony in Oregon, Illinois. The colony was founded in 1898 by American sculptor Lorado Taft (1861-1936) and consisted of Chicago artists, many of whom were members of the Chicago Art Institute. 

"Bye Bye Bunting" illustration by Mary Louise Spoor, 1917. Seesaw.typepad.com.

Mollie made her home in Chicago and her art career took off. Her skill and professionalism was in great demand in the Midwest's publishing hub, where she found work with Rand McNally, Lyons & Carnahan, and Congdon Publishers. 

Jack and Jill chromolithograph by Mary Louise Spoor, 1917. treadwaygallery.com

Decades of technical advances in printing and the falling price of paper fueled the "ten-cent magazine revolution," spurring a demand for magazines such as the Ladies' Home Journal, and also children's books. In the late 19th century, books designed solely for children were brought on by the Industrial Revolution and a growing middle class with an awareness of the importance of preserving children's innocence and the benefits of play and amusement. 

At the turn of the 20th century, a burgeoning demand for artists continued, and particularly for women artists as illustrators of literature targeted to women and children. 

In the midst of this exciting time for illustrators, Mollie Spoor partnered with fellow School of the Art Institute student, Gertrude S. Spaller (1891-1970). The women became friends and colleagues, and worked together for ten years, even sharing an art studio in the tower of the Auditorium Building in Chicago. 

Chicago Auditorium Building from Michigan Avenue. Spoor and Spaller's shared studio was located in the tower. 

Photo by JW Taylor. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. 

 

Spaller and Spoor illustrated children's readers titled, The Easy Road to Reading Primer, for Lyons and Carnahan of Chicago/New York.

The Easy Road to Reading, First Reader. This series was illustrated by Mary Louise Spoor and Gertrude S. Spaller. 

Published by Lyons and Carnahan, 1919-1925. Seesaw.typepad.com.

Illustrations by Mary Louise Spoor for The Easy Road to Reading series published by Lyons and Carnahan. Seesaw.typepad.com.

Mollie Spoor also illustrated the stories of Katharine Elizabeth Dopp (1863-1944) for Rand McNally's Bobby and Betty children's books. Dopp was a notable American educator. The Bobby and Betty series featured the fictional children at play, at work, and in the country. 

Mary Spoor Brand's illustration of "The Milkman and His Horse" written by Katharine E. Dopp for Bobby and Betty With the Workers, 1923. 

During her career as an illustrator Spoor appeared under the name Mary Louise Spoor and after her marriage to Enoch J. Brand in August 1915, she was sometimes credited as Mary Spoor Brand. 

In many ways, Mollie was ahead of her time as a career woman. Many talented women illustrators gave up their art careers when they married, a societal norm at the time. According to her wedding notice in the Waukegan Daily Sun, Mollie's art "services were in great demand" in Chicago, so much so that she postponed her wedding until she finished a project for Rand McNally. 

Ten years after their high school graduation, Mollie Spoor and Enoch Brand wed in Waukegan. 

Waukegan Daily News, August 11, 1915. Newspapers.com

Mollie and Enoch moved to Minnesota and then to Massachusetts for Brand's insurance work. Mollie temporarily set aside her career until her four sons were in school, and then returned to illustrating. 

In 1922, the family came back to Illinois. They settled in Winnetka where Spoor became an officer in the North Shore Art League (est. 1924), and continued to express herself through her love of art until her death in 1985.

Mollie Spoor's illustrations charmed a multitude of children and parents in the early decades of the 20th century. Her skill as an artist contributed to children's illustrated books being respected as an art form. Today her work has received renewed interest as vintage children's readers have become collector's items. 

Mary Spoor Brand illustration from Bobby and Betty with the Workers by Katharine Elizabeth Dopp for Rand McNally, 1923. 

- Diana Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org

Sources: 

"Elect Club Officers," Waukegan Daily Sun, March 22, 1905. 

"Earn High Honors," Waukegan Daily Sun, June 22, 1905.

"Miss Molly Spoor Wins High Art Study Honors," Waukegan Daily Sun, June 18, 1910.

"Mary L. Spoor Becomes Bride of Enoch Brand Here," Waukegan Daily Sun, August 11, 1915. 

"Marvin Spoor Is Dead After Ailing For Over 25 Years," Waukegan Daily Sun, 1927. 

"Enoch J. Brand," Chicago Tribune, October 5, 1948. 

"Child Film Star' Mary Brand, 98," Chicago Tribune, October 31, 1985. 

- "The Art Institute of Chicago Circular of Instruction of Drawing, Painting, Modeling, Decorative Designing, Normal Instruction, Illustration and Architecture with a Catalogue for Students 1909 - 1910." Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1909. 

- Smith Scanlan, Patricia. "'God-gifted girls'": The Rise of Women Illustrators in Late Nineteenth-Century Philadelphia." Nineteenth-Century Gender Studies. http://w.ncgsjournal.com/issue112/scanlan.html 

- Goodman, Helen. "Women Illustrators of the Golden Age of American Illustration." Women's Art Journal, Spring-Summer, 1987, Vol. 8, No. 1. Accessed December 1, 2021. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1358335.

- Kosik, Corryn. "Children's Book Illustrators in the Gold Age of Illustration." IllustrationHistory.org. 

- Kesaris, Paul L. American Primers: Guide to the Microfiche Collection. Bethesda, Maryland: University Publications of America, 1990. 

- Dopp, Katharine Elizabeth. Bobby and Betty With the Workers. Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, 1923. 

- Cowan, Liza, ed. "Artist: Mary Louise Spoor." SeeSaw: A Blog by Liza Cowan. February 7, 2012. https://seesaw.typepad.com/blog/artists-mary-louise-spoor/

Special thanks for research assistance to Ann Darrow, Librarian, Waukegan Historical Society www.waukeganhistorical.org; and Corinne Court, Senior Cataloging and Metadata Assistant, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

Charlie Chaplin, Max Linder and Essanay Studios

George K. Spoor (1871-1953), founded Essanay Studios in Chicago in 1907 with Gilbert "Broncho Billy" Anderson (1880-1971). The name Essanay was derived from the initials of the men's surnames "S and A."

Essanay logo as seen on promotional lantern slides used at theaters, circa 1915. (Dunlap Collection 64.32, Bess Bower Dunn Museum)

Spoor landed in the movie business after managing Edward Amet's (1861-1945) Magniscope and film distribution business out of Waukegan in the 1890s. When Amet quit the business, Spoor went to Chicago to found a film studio.

Although Essanay Studios had a relatively short run in the business (1907 - circa 1918), they employed some of the most famous silent film actors to grace the silver screen: Francis X. Bushman, Wallace Beery, Gloria Swanson (a Chicago native), Charlie Chaplin, and the often overlooked Max Linder.

Charlie Chaplin signed with Essanay in 1915 (after his contract ended with the Keystone Film Company) for an unprecedented $1,250 per week and a $10,000 signing bonus. Chaplin made fourteen films with Essanay, although only the first one, "His New Job," was filmed at Essanay's Chicago studio located at 1343-45 West Argyle Street.

Movie still from "His New Job" starring Ben Turpin (left) and Charlie Chaplin. Released by Essanay February 1, 1915.

Promotional lantern slide for Chaplin's first Essanay film "His New Job." Dunlap Collection 64.32.29, Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

The most celebrated of the Essanay comedies, "The Tramp" (released: April 11, 1915) is regarded as the first classic Chaplin film. Of course, the Tramp character also made Chaplin an icon.

Even after Chaplin left Essanay Studios, which had relocated to Hollywood, California, the studio continued to release "new" Chaplin comedies using old film clips and out-takes. This practice became common with entrepreneurs trying to sate the demand for Chaplin's films, despite the long wait before his next feature was released. Chaplin was such a perfectionist that it sometimes took a year or more for him to finish a film.

With Chaplin's departure, Essanay needed a new comedian. They turned to French comedic actor, Max Linder. Interestingly, Chaplin considered himself a "student" of Linder whom he called "the great master."

Max Linder, circa 1916. Essanay Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

In the pre-World War I silent film era, Max Linder (1883-1925) was number one at the box office. By 1910, he was an internationally popular comedian with his character “Max, the dapper dandy.” Wearing a suit and top hat, the dandy lived in luxury, but continually got into funny situations.

In 1914, Linder’s career was put on hold when World War I began in Europe. He enlisted with the French army, and suffered illness from gas poisoning. By 1916, he had recovered, and signed the contract with Essanay Studios in the United States.

Colorized glass lantern slide showing a scene from Max Linder's "Max in a Taxi." Essanay Studios 1916. Dunlap Collection 64.32.31, Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

Linder only made three films with Essanay when his health failed once again and he was forced to take a year off. When he returned to films, Charlie Chaplin had taken over as the biggest box office draw. However, Linder's “mirror gag” in which he mirrors the action of another character was resurrected by the Marx Brothers in their 1933 film, “Duck Soup.”

Max Linder as "Max the dapper dandy" in his famous pose. Still from Essanay Studio's "Max in a Taxi" 1916. Essanay Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

Although only 105 of Max Linder’s 500 movies have survived, silent movie fans are re-discovering his charm, and critics are acknowledging his great contribution to the development of film comedy alongside Charlie Chaplin.

Historian: Bess Bower Dunn (1877 - 1959)

Bess Bower at Grass Lake, circa 1905. Dunn Museum Collections.

Bess Bower Dunn has made appearances in previous posts, but I've never featured her until now. She is so deserving of her own post!

Bess, also known as Bessie, was a woman of firsts. She was one of the first women in motion pictures, the county's first official historian, the county's first assistant probate clerk, and one of the county's earliest genealogists and historic preservationists.

Still from Edward Amet's silent film featuring best friends, Belle Spoor (left) and Bess Bower. Circa 1896. Amet Collection, Dunn Museum. 

About 1896, Bess and her best friend, Isabel "Belle" Spoor, were asked by inventor, Edward Amet, to help with his new motion picture invention. When the women arrived at the inventor’s home on North Avenue in Waukegan, Amet handed each a pair of boxing gloves. Bess recalled, “We whipped those long skirts out of the way and had a fine old time.” 

For several historic minutes, the girlfriends punched each other while Amet filmed. The stars of Amet's film titled, "Morning Exercise," became the first women in motion pictures.

Bess Bower working in Lake County's probate office as the assistant probate clerk, circa 1899. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum, 61.14 

In 1899, Bess was hired as the county's assistant probate clerk, and in her spare time assisted people with their family research. If you happened into the probate office at the first half of the 20th century, Bess would happily assist in your research by looking into county records, and offering to visit local cemeteries to verify the correct spelling of surnames and birth/death dates. 

Bess Bower with Daniel Wright Memorial Rock in Half Day, 1909. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum.

Bess was one of the founders of the Lake County Historical Society (defunct). In 1909, the Society placed a 7-ton memorial rock near the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue (Route 21) and Aptakisic Road west of the Des Plaines River to commemorate the county's first permanent non-native settler, Daniel Wright (1778-1873). See my post on Wright. 

Bess promoted Lake County history through the efforts of the Lake County Historical Society and by giving lectures. She also preserved history by documenting the county's heritage through research and speaking with descendants of early settlers. She was an avid photographer and traveled throughout the county looking for historic sites and natural areas to capture on film. 

Bess Bower with her box camera at an unknown location, circa 1905. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum. 

Bess Bower with Native American trail tree in Lake Bluff, circa 1909. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum. 

On November 21, 1918, after several years of courtship, Bess Bower married Roland R. Dunn. Roland was the son of Byron A. Dunn (1842-1926), historian, author, Civil War veteran, and newspaperman.  Roland became the advertising manager of the Globe Department Store in Waukegan. Sadly, just ten years into their marriage, Roland died of pneumonia following an appendicitis operation. Bess and his sisters were at his bedside. Bess never remarried. 

Bess Bower's husband, Roland R. Dunn (1874-1928). Photo 1903. 

In the mid-1950s, Bess Bower Dunn assisted Robert Vogel with his Lake County Museum of History in Wadsworth, Illinois. She was the museum's curator and donated materials from the Lake County Historical Society and her own collections for Vogel's museum. Those collections are now part of the collections of the Bess Bower Dunn Museum in Libertyville. 

Just before her death in 1959, the Lake County Board of Commissioners awarded Bess the title of Lake County Historian. She is the first person in the county's history to have the title. She was also honored for her 60 years of service as an employee of the County of Lake from 1899 to 1959, which made her the longest county employee on record.

The day after her passing, the courthouse flags were at half mast in memory of Bess and the county's Recorder of Deeds, Gustaf H. Fredbeck, who had also passed away.

Bess Bower Dunn was known to have a wide circle of friends. Here she is with friends in Millburn, Illinois: (left to right) Bess Bower, Florence Stewart, Mrs. White, Maud White, Mrs. Stewart, Mrs. Armbruster, and Mrs. Strang. Photo taken July 12, 1897. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum. 

Bess Bower likely at home in Waukegan, circa 1896. Bess Bower Dunn Collection, Dunn Museum. 

Bess Bower Dunn is one of my most admired Lake County citizens. From her photographs and articles it's apparent her life was full of joy and purpose. I think she'd be pleased that her efforts in preservation are appreciated to this day. 

D. Dretske, ddretske@lcfpd.org

~ ~ ~ 

Note: In 2016, the Lake County Forest Preserves Board voted to change the name of the Lake County Discovery Museum to the Bess Bower Dunn Museum, honoring Dunn's extraordinary efforts to preserve and promote Lake County's heritage. 

Note: the Lake County Historical Society's collections are now held by the Bess Bower Dunn Museum and Lake Forest College. 

Edward Amet's Films, 1896-1898

Edward Amet’s contributions to the early motion picture industry included the invention of the first practical 35mm motion picture projector—the Amet Magniscope—and the pioneering of special effects in motion pictures.

In last week’s post, I wrote about Amet’s wonderful Magniscope, which was completed in 1894 and ready for production in 1895.

This Magniscope, made by Edward Amet, was originally owned and operated by Arthur E. Johnson (1886-1974) during his career as a theater projectionist in Minnesota. It became part of the Dunn Museum's permanent collection in 2001, and is on exhibit in the museum's galleries. (BBDM 2001.12)

Magniscope advertisements stated it was "The perfect projecting machine. The Magniscope is simple, durable and compact, the pictures sharply defined and clear." The projector weighed about 90 pounds and the "model 1898" sold for $100. Since films weren't readily available, simply selling his invention to traveling showmen wasn't enough. Amet needed films to go along with the projector.

A traveling theatrical troop used the Amet Magniscope to show the first moving pictures in the Arizona Territory in 1897. For audiences accustomed to viewing color lantern slides, anything that moved was a wonder to behold on the screen. The first silent films were short—only 2 to 3 minutes in length—and featured circus parades, a winter sleigh ride, a horse-drawn fire department rushing to a call, and even prize pigs at the county fair.

"Boxing Boys" featured Amet's brothers, Percy and Herbert, duking it out in a ring at the Scale Company in Waukegan where the Magniscopes were produced.

Like films produced by others, Amet's first films were straightforward recordings of movement, such as the "Boxing Boys," or his wife and daughter playing in their backyard in Waukegan.

But quickly, Amet began thinking more in terms of each film having a theme or story to tell. His first "theatrical" films featured a marionette and tableau vivant (motionless performance in theater).

Still from "McGinty Under the Sea," the dancing skeleton.

Growing sentiment to free Cuba from the Spanish inspired this Amet tableau vivant "Freedom of Cuba" featuring Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty and little Cuba.

One of Amet's most endearing films was called "Morning Exercise" and featured two young women from Waukegan—Bess Bower Dunn and Isabelle Spoor (George Spoor's sister).

When the Bess and Belle arrived at the inventor’s home on North Avenue in Waukegan, Amet handed each a pair of boxing gloves. Bess Dunn thought she was doing “our town inventor” a favor. “We whipped those long skirts out of the way and had a fine old time.” For several historic minutes, the girlfriends punched each other while Amet took their picture with his camera, becoming the first women in motion pictures.

In 1909, while traveling in Spokane, Washington, Bess Dunn discovered that Amet had sold prints of the film. She was recognized by an usher of a local theater as one of the “boxing girls.” Amet’s film had traveled 2,000 miles and was still being shown 11 years later.

Amet's best known films are related to the Spanish-American War of 1898.

When war broke out, Amet allegedly sent a request to the U.S. War Department asking for permission to travel to Cuba to film the battles. His request was denied, but his enthusiasm for the idea did not diminish. He used accounts in newspapers to re-create the battles.

The land battles were filmed at Third Lake, a favorite fishing location of Amet. He enlisted his brothers and neighbors to be the actors. Shown are a still from the film, and the cast taking a break. Amet Collection, Dunn Museum.

The majority of Amet's work on the theme of the Spanish-American War presented challenges, since it was mainly a naval war. Amet made a series of films showing the naval battles in his backyard, including one titled “Spanish Fleet Destroyed” or “The Battle of Santiago Bay."

Edward Amet standing in his backyard with his set for the filming of "The Battle of Santiago Bay," 1898. (BBDM 61.33)

For "The Battle of Santiago Bay," Amet constructed a shallow water tank 18 x 24 feet with a painted backdrop of Cuba. Five or six of the important naval vessels in the battles, such as the USS Olympia, USS New York and USS Oregon were reproduced at a 1/70 scale in sheet metal, 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 feet in length.

The USS Olympia model built by Amet for the film as shown on exhibit in 2007. (BBDM 61.33.2) Photo © 2007 Jess Smith/PHOTOSMITH

The models were constructed with firing gun turrets, and smoking stacks and flags. The gunfire was replicated with blasting caps, and gunpowder and camphor soaked cotton wadding, which was electrically ignited and provided smoke for the ships’ smokestacks. All of these effects were controlled from an electrical switchboard off camera. Additionally, waves were created by underwater jets and a large fan off camera.

Amet's artful use of special effects was so convincingly portrayed that he was asked to show his “war movies” at the opening of the Naval Training Center Great Lakes in 1911. Amet's "Battle of Santiago Bay" film (right)

The Spanish-American War was a popular topic in all sorts of media, including film. The American Vitagraph Company also made a version of the "Battle of Santiago Bay" in 1898, directed by J. Stuart Blackton. This film (rather than Amet's) is the one most often referenced in the history of early motion pictures, but it is a far cry from Amet's film with its pioneering use of special effects. Blackton's film features small wooden model ships in a bathtub with cigar smoke blown onto the scene by an assistant off camera. If Amet saw this film he probably rolled his eyes and laughed.

To be fair to Blackton, he was pivotal in the early years of the industry, and was among the first filmmakers to use the techniques of stop-motion and drawn animation. He is also considered the father of American animation.

Since most of Amet's films are lost, historians rely on published catalogues of films available for sale. These lists give us insight to the wide range of topics popular with motion picture audiences. Amet's 1898 catalogue listed (in part) the following films (50 feet in length, price $9.00 each):

"Passing of the Milwaukee Fliers on the C & NW Railroad" (train in each direction)

"Mamma's Pets" (old pig and ten little ones)

"Tugs Towing Barge"

"Clothes Race" (swimming contest in Lincoln Park)

"The Ducks" (seventy young ducks in a pond)

"Interrupted Tea Party on the Lawn" (comic)

"Chicago Fire Department Runs"

Amet left for California sometime after 1913, and continued working on motion picture devices. In the image above, Amet (left) is making a film using an early sound recording camera he invented.

For the museum's permanent exhibition on Edward Amet, the staff tracked down a copy of the "Battle of Santiago Bay" from the Killiam Collection* (distributed by Worldview Entertainment), which is probably the best source for silent film era movies. The collection was assembled in the 1960s by Paul Killiam through acquisition from the Estate of D.W. Griffith, and later, a large portion of the collection of Thomas Edison. 

We ordered the film (sight unseen) and crossed our fingers that it was not Blackton's version. Thankfully, it was Amet's film, and all 20 seconds of it plays in the museum's galleries everyday to the delight of visitors.

Special thanks to Carey Williams and Kirk Kekatos for years of research on Amet and his contributions to the early motion picture industry.

*The Killiam Collection was sold and no longer exists. 10/28/19