Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-09-10
Tm PROPERTY ROOM.

looking room, sea ttered around which wert
faded velvet and aiken costumes in such
profusion and variety that one might sup
pose all the Hamlets, Macbeths, 0phelias
and Paulines had been selling their cast.of
clothing to the little old man who, sitting
in the midst in chair that looked as
though it had been handed down from the
middle ages, rested his arm on a table OF
the Renaissance period. On another table
were goblets and platters of gilded wood.
! Mirrors in gaudy frames, borders and
chandeliers were suspended from the walls
and ceilings, a skeleton stood in little
second. hand box. Office in one corner, and
three or four skulls were grinning from a
! hanging shelf. An old drop-curtain was
rolled up on the floor, row of footlights
rested on the surbase, wings of a forest
scene and a castle dungeon were leaning
against the walls, and an old orchestral
railing was used as sort of Office partition.
| Everything about the place had an old
| look, and even the voice of the little old
man who sat IN the twilight gloom sounded
| old, worn out and second hand, like his
stock in trade.
| "I've been in this business about fifteen
years, he said "but I'd had good deal
Of experience in the theatrical line for some
time before started at this trade. L was
scene-shifter. 1t saved me a heap of
trouble when | began here, for I'd got kind
o familiar with the value of things, and
didn't get stuck on prices like a greenhorn.
Do you see them things around here?
Why, there isn't one o them l can't get
rid of at double the price paid for it.
There's lots of people that want second.
hand theatrical goods. A good many buy
or hire costumes Of me for fancy dress
balls and parties, and l have calls from
amateurs who want to get an outfit for
private theatricals. But my best business
is done with the little strolling companies
that go all over the country performing in
villages and towns that are off the route of
big troupes. Sometimes they're only part
Of circus or a variety show, but generally
they re separate companies. Most of the
time they're on the road, and it isn't often
they get into town-rarely more than once
or twice year-but when they do, they
want some traps, and as they don't make
much money they get EN- second hand
Sometimes, when business is bad, they 60
TO pieces, and then l buy up all their
effects, so that often l get back things that
l sold years ago. Occasionally, if these
troupes run across each other on the road
they'll buy or swap properties, and by the
time the traps get back into my hands
again they may have done service in five
or six companies.
"Now, shouldn't wonder" he contin-
ued, taking yellow skull off the hanging
shelf, and throwing himself into the appro.
pirate attitude-''I shouldn't wonder if
dozen or more Hamlets had said Alas,
poor Yorick, over this here skull. Almost
everybody, you know, thinks he can play
Hamlet, and now they tell me even women
are getting the Hamlet craze. See that
black costume there? That's for Hamlet.
That pea-green dress is for Ophelia when
she's mad, and that helmet there's for the
ghost When 1 first got it it looked like
the helmet of Prussian soldier, but l
fixed it up, and now it's quite the thing.
The last ghost that had it liked it so much
that he bought it out and out himself, in
stead of letting the company get it, and
when the ghost died in earnest l got it
back. don't think III keep it long. Any
ghost that has 50 in his pocket can have it.
It's high price. l know, for the ghost;
for the ghost isn't very paying part. 1
guess Hamlet's right when he says Alas,
poor ghost =
cts queer how these little companies
run into the line of tragedy. OF course
they're not all tragedies like Hamlet.
But it's curious that people care more for
it than they do for all the blood snd.thun-
der plays, with the heavy villain pursuing
the spoony lovers. l haven't got much
lying around that does for comedy. That's
because people to whom these companies
play don't care for comedy, or perhaps be-
cause the companies can't play comedy.
At any rate, it's either the heavy business
or variety properties they ask for.
But these strolling companies arn't the
only people of whom l buy. Whenever
there's an auction at theater, here or in
the neighborhood, l attend it. OF course,
competition there is much brisker than in
the regular course of trade; but sometimes
I-make first-rate bargain. Now, there's
that drop-curtain pointing to the one
rolled up on the floor, that didn't cost me
more than $40, and it ought to fetch
couple of hundred. Then | can get chairs,
and good ones, too, all the way from forty
cents to 81, and sell them at profit of at
least fifty cents. can't make so much on
scenery. The scenes are generally too
large for the amateurs, and too good for
the strolling companies. If it's forest
scene they want, they take the first they
come across, no matter how faded it is,
and set some sign painter to work on it
with pot OF green paint. If it's palace,
they spill little yellow or red, or other
bright color, over it. Will you have
stage drink ?" the little old man went on,
taking one of the gilded wooden goblets
from the Renaissance table, or will you
partake Of some wooden fowl, with a
wooden fork, from wooden plate?''
The reporter glanced at the skeleton in
the box Office. ''Now, that skeleton,
continued the dealer, following the glance,
has history. Sometimes you know the
strolling companies go into the spectacular.
Red and blue fire, waterfall and the like
were the first requirements. Then walk
ing skeleton appeared in New York spec
tacle, and after that every spectacular
show in the country had to have one. It's
easy enough to get skeleton, you know,
and when you've got him all you have to
do is to tie some thin but strong cords to
| his joints AID have somebody pull the
cords from above. Then he'll kick up his
| legs and throw around his arms. In one
the strolling companies they had man
who did nothing but attend to the walking
skeleton. He took particular pride in hav
| ing the skeleton as lively as possible, so
that after while the walking skeleton of
that company became famous. But the
man became in time pretty hard drinker.
He lost his self. control more and more, and
the walking skeletons activity fell off.
Finally the manager had to discharge the
man. Bat he had become SO attached to
the skeleton that he used to hang around
the company and beg permission to manage
the cords. Finally, while the troupe were
travelling through the west, he got SO bad
that he had to be sent to hospital, where
he died. He had lived on the company's
charity ever since his discharge, and, being
a pauper when he died, was claimed as a
subject by some of the physicians. The
manager, however, protested, but was f.
nally satisfied by promise that he should
have the skeleton. He got the skeleton,
and it remained the property of the troupe
until the troupe broke up. Whenever the
light was turned on and the birds of evil
omen tapped their wings, that skeleton
walked the stage over which in the flesh
he had guided his predecessor.
"What is your price for him ?" we asked.
II