Evening star., 1897-02-13
AHEAD OF THE SHOW
Decorating Dead Walls With The
atrical Posters.
A TASK THAT ALLOWS NO DELAY
Why the Aspect of the Bill Boards
Changes Weekly.
AN IMMENSE UNDERTAKING

| The whole general appearance OF the
streets of Washington undergoes a weekly
| change that is st first felt vaguely, and
then sharply noticed. This change con-
sists in the matter of decor ration-the lurid
| ornamentation of bill boards. the garish,
| vari-hued displays of paper in shop WIN
| dows. On Thursday morning the man
| who walks rides to his office becomes
| idly aware that along the entire length of
his route his eye is being treated to a new
kaleidoscope, but he does not generally
| take the trouble to analyze the phenome-
non. On his way home on Thursday even-
| ing. however. the thing is made plain to
| him. He ptrceives that it was the COM
| pletely charged panorama of the dead
| walls ana fences and the transformed as
pect Of the smaller shop windows that un-
consciously wrought upon him Oh his
| morning trip. But ii is not for several
Gays that he begins to examine the free
| snow of the streets in detail When he
| does begin 10 do this the efforts of the
theatrical bill poster have Eot been in
| vain.
The bill-po ster is a handicraftsman I'm
| the Whole public eye. He likes Washing
| ton. he hourishes here He comes IN num-
| bers to enjoy the Washington winter, after
a spring, summer and part OF an autumn
ahead of a Circus, what time the gorgeous
! everywhere the thrice welcome herald of
teNtrish joys to come, the courier of hap
piness for children of all ages. the cheer
rui emb2zoner oil things that never were
on land or sea. Here he remains until the
| croccses begin to pop. Then he is off
again. The bill poster is not engyved by
the conditions of ordinary life. In large
mee sure, he resembles the typical printer
| In that today he may be quite content in
Washington, while tomorrow's sun will
discover him equally happy in Lexington,
derer.
1t takes three days to thoroughly "bill''
Washington for the theatrical attractions
OF week. although after the bill posters
nave been at the job single day there is
| a. good deal to show for their labor, for
tfese men work with almost incredible
swlitresS as matter of neces sity Theatri-
cal Dill posting is no longer done by the
advance employees of thea trical companies
as was formerly the case. All of the cities
nave biu-posting firms, which handle the
paper OF the travelling organizations by
contract. The amusement outfit Ships its
posters ahead to the bill-posting firm for
spreading, and the latter does the rest.
Police Censorship.
Theatrical organza tions that are 10 yisi.
! Washington ship their posters to the BILL
posting firms here, so that they arrive
promptly on the Wednesday preceding the
Monday upon which the first performance
| IS booked to take place. Then the bill
| posters are all ready to take it in hand and
paste 1T broadcast throughout the city
sut before they can do this there Is In
washington, alone of all cities in this
country, little ceremony to be gone
through of a censorship character which
several other great municipalities are
thinking of adopting. That is, every bit of
theatrical paper that Is publicly exhibited
| on the streets of Washington must first be
passed upon by the police of Washington
A lew years ago the posters of extrava-
ganZa and opera bouffe companies became
somewhat too risque for general accent.
ance in this town, and the police depart
me1t was asked to undertake a censorship.
Thus, when the theatrical posters arrive at
the officers of the bil-posting companies
here on Wednesdays a captain of police is
on hand to have look at them. Each of
the posters is spread out before him for
examination. If the captain of police
deems it fit for public exhibition. ali well
and good If he does not, it simply can't
be put up and there is no appeal from mis-
decision
Nowadays the censorship does not often
have to be exercised. for the photographers
Lor theatrical companies took their Gle
from this very institution of police inspec.
ton OF their work in this city and as n
mere matter of business common sense the,,
ceased the issuance of paper of such a
doubtful character that it stood a cnaace
to be utterly thrown out in so imp ortant
a theatrical city as Washington. Even the
posters that arc really not indecent or sug-
erous a portion of the female form are re-
qulred by the police censor here TO be
| toned down by the pasting over the too
mucn exposed figure of large, well-h!ding
date bills.
The police censor finishes his work of in
spection Wednesday night. and the bill
posters start out to work Thursday mora
ing. They divide the city up into districts.
In proportion to its size there are said TO
be more dead walls ana fences in Washing
TON than III any other city in the United
states, owing 20 the great amount Of build
ing that is always going on here and thus
the bill posters gang who work a Wash
ington district have got their work cut out
for them. The bill posters travel in dis
trict gangs OF two, and occasionally three,
men, three men comprising a gang when
the posters to be put up are unusually
large. The gang go out in a cart piled
nlsh With he paper the paste barrel in
the forward end, under the eye of the cart
driver, WHO is alsr the paste mixer
The young fellow of the gang who Is
only learning to be bill poster. does the
stripping of the dead walls and fences
Inat is, he works like beaver. in pulling
ana scraping on the posters of the previous
week. Then, while the passed bill posters
are separating the sheets, he gives the wall
or fence a coat of paste.
AS has been said, the bill posters do their
work with the greatest rapidity Their
iabors look simple enough, but bill posting
is trade that requires both deftness and a
knack tlck Ior unraveling puzzles. People who
stOOu anu WdIcneQ posters a
thelr Work-and who has not?-will under
stand the necessity for this latter aualifi-
cation The sheets. for instance, compris-
ing 2o-sheet poster are indiscriminately
dumped from the wagon on to the ground
ana to the onlooker it would appear that
the bill poster is in for a big job OF bringing
order out Of confusion SO that he can 20
on with his work of posting He doesn't
appear to have any trouble at all, however.
put goes right ahead, and when he wants
certain sheet to fill in his mosaic picture
n hiS hon
end of his brush. 1t Is a process of separa-
tion which the layman cannot well see
through.
Their Work In Detail.
1t Is interesting to watch a bill poster at
work In a high wind. When the force of
the wind is compelling the whole world tn
chase Its hat, and people have to walk
backward the better to oppose themselves
TO Its strength, the bill poster calmly goes