After viewing Rendered Small I thought I should take the time to write out what I think about where E. L. Moore stands in the American Folk Art Buildings tradition as it'll be helpful in getting my thoughts together on that subject for the book. I should note that many of the topics I discuss here have been posted before, but they haven't been stitched together as I've tried to do here.
In the video Burke and Campbell (B&C) state that the folk art building era began a few years after the end of the Civil War, and lasted until around the end of WWII. I don’t think there was an abrupt conclusion to the folk art building era in 1945, but instead there was a gradual shift of talents away from making folk art buildings towards creating miniature buildings for model railroads, as well as, to a lesser extent, to some other hobby activities that were starting to take off just after WWII.
That shift started to gain momentum in the mid-1920's, and picked up speed in the 1930's, well before the beginning of WWII. Magazines devoted to what we view today as model railroading began to appear in that period. Model Railway News was the first in the Anglo-American world, and began publication in England in 1925. American equivalents didn’t begin to appear until the 1930's. The Model Craftsman began in 1933, and although it wasn’t exclusively focused on model railroading, it did provide significant coverage. In 1949, The Model Craftsman changed its name to Railroad Model Craftsman, and dedicated itself to being exclusively focused on model railroading. Arguably, the first magazine to exclusively cover model railroading in the US was The Model Railroader. Dating its first issue is a little tricky because it started publication in the summer of 1933, but the first issue had a cover date of January 1934. Lionel's Model Builder magazine, which focused on large scale model train layouts, especially Lionel based, started in 1937, and Louis Hertz's Miniature Railroading magazine began in 1938. Model Builder and Miniature Railroading were relatively short lived, but they were also players in the formalization of US model railroading that began in the 1930s, and boomed post-WWII.
When national magazines appear it's a strong indication that hobbies are becoming organized and commercial. In this case, their appearance was also planting seeds in minds that these hobbies might be something for them, thereby subtly shifting interest away from other possible activities, which is the power of advertising in its many forms.
I should also mention The Railroad Man’s Magazine, which began publication in 1906 in the US, and was the first specialized pulp magazine of any kind. It underwent various title changes, becoming Railroad Stories in 1932, and Railroad Magazine in 1937. It ceased publication in 1979. It didn’t completely die. After its run ended, Carstens Publications, then publisher of Railroad Model Craftsman, bought the remains and merged it with their Railfan magazine. The hybrid continued on until Carstens went bankrupt in 2014. The point here is that interest in railroad subjects was strong enough to support its own groundbreaking pulp magazine in the early 20th century, and in the 1930's and 1940's it too also introduced some model railroading related stories to its pages.
E. L. Moore was a transitional figure in the early part of the post-folk era. His work bridged the sensibilities and approach of the earlier folk art building period and brought them into the post-WWII boom era of model railroading.
Characteristics of traditional Folk Art Buildings
Before I get into ELM’s role, here is a list of some of the characteristics of works in the folk art building tradition and of their creators, so we can get a better understanding of why ELM’s work fits in this area:
1. The models are made from fairly simple materials and tools that are readily found around the home, workshop, or nearby stores. Cardboard, wood, paper, scrap metal, and paint are mainstays. Cast-offs, junk, and recycled materials are sometimes incorporated. Chosen materials often evolve with the artist, but don’t stray too far from their roots. Simple tools are used. Modern craft and hobby lingo would call this a basic form of scratch-building. Obviously, work done in the post-Civil War era is going to use different materials than that done post-WWII, or today, but the basic idea is that common, readily available materials are what’s used.
2. This is often a lifetime activity, or one that has been part of the artist’s life for decades, and only ends when the artist dies. It’s not unusual for the artist to start as a child, but coming to the art when older isn’t unheard of; for a few it’s started in middle age. It’s generally not something an artist picks up for a commission or two and then moves on to something else as if it were just another business assignment.
3. It’s a compulsion. A compulsion to create something that expresses something important to the artist, and that something has buildings as its core means of expression. In particular, buildings from some time and location in the artist's own life, or have a deep meaning for the artist. This compulsion doesn’t mean the works always ignore the market and the artists live in poverty, only that the work isn’t created solely based on market demands. Commissions, sales of works, articles and stories, even at times commodification, and so on, aren’t unusual. The artists haven’t taken vows of poverty or exclusion from the world, it’s just that the work, to a large degree, is self-propelled.
4. Personally, I don’t like the term ‘folk art buildings’ as it carries all sorts of unconscious associations about the works and their creators. It’s easy to find pieces that have been cunningly created to cash in on subconscious assumptions about folk art buildings; these are imposter works. For example, one stereotypical aspect is that of crude construction. Just because the materials are simple, unassuming, cast-offs, or junk, doesn’t mean they’ll be used without skill in a clumsy and unthoughtful manner. Manufacturers of knock-offs will often focus on what they think is folksy crudity to signal to uninformed buyers that they’re getting real folk art. In many cases it’s only associated documentation that will help distinguish the real deal from the clever imitations.
5. The artists in this field tend not to be professionally trained in the arts. This doesn’t exclude those with arts training, it just means that it’s an activity that’s usually undertaken by non-professionals.
E. L. Moore as a traditional Folk Art Buildings artist
ELM’s work ticks off many of the above boxes. The key ones though are: use of simple, readily available materials of his era, a compulsion to express a personal vision in buildings, and prolific output. As well, he brought a few other unique aspects to his work: humour, the ability to construct and photograph scenes, and story-telling, And then there were the characteristics that allowed him to bridge to the modern world of the model railroading artist-writer: the ability to write construction articles for magazines on a more-or-less production line basis (which, as well as better than average model building ability, this required skill in technical writing, drafting, and photography), and skill as a professional photographer and photo processor.
Here are some examples of his work that can readily be considered examples of traditional folk art buildings:
1. Churches and school houses:
2. Cabins, which I think go back to his days in the Great Smoky Mountains (B&C exclude cabins in their collection, but for ELM they are part of his re-creation of the world he knew and loved, so they can’t be ignored):
3. Models of non-railroad buildings that made up the fabric of life in the early years of the late 19th and early 20th century:
Outhouses & More Outhouses (a humorous take on a necessity of the time)
4. Models that documented industry in and around Charlotte:
HOJ POJ Mfg. Co. (which was based on Barnhardt Mfg Co., of Charlotte)
1900’s Foundry (which was based on Cole Mfg. Co., of Charlotte)
Clarabel Hotel (based on his Oakland Avenue apartment building)
There are other examples in his published articles, but in many cases the models have not survived the years and are now lost.
ELM often wanted to focus on making these sorts of non-railroad buildings for Railroad Model Craftsman articles, but its editor was constantly reminding him to stick to railroad oriented subjects, as that was what the magazine was mainly about, and what readers wanted to read.
I should note that the B&C collection does contain a significant number of railroad oriented buildings, as well as miniatures they admit were likely once part of model railroads. However, the folk art building field wasn’t limited to railroad specific buildings, and its artists typically built a broad range of subjects. Many model railroaders focus only on railroad buildings, but ELM’s output ranged over many types.
E. L. Moore as a bridge between eras
The reason ELM could make the transition between eras was because of his love of railroading, especially that of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the skills he brought to the table. In the late 1940’s, up until the early to mid 1970’s or so, the model railroading magazines, especially Railroad Model Craftsman, were on the look out for writers who could regularly and reliably produce articles on how to construct little buildings for model railroads. Each month those magazines would feature a project or two on how to make a miniature building, so a steady stream of articles was required. ELM had all the right qualifications: a strong interest in railroading, good model making skills using simple materials, not to mention he could write, draw, and photograph with skill. And although he often said he didn’t work to schedules and did as he pleased, the evidence shows he had a strong work ethic and produced articles like clockwork, which is just what the magazines needed. He was also fortunate in that the publisher of Railroad Model Craftsman, Hal Carstens, and an editor at Model Railroader, Bill Rau, also had strong interests in late 19th and early 20th century railroading, so the stars seemed to have aligned for him. ELM didn’t let this opportunity pass him by, and he produced a large number of articles on building railroad-oriented buildings, but they were always suffused with the folk art sensibility.
Documentation and some other artists that bridged the eras
E. L. Moore wasn’t the only folk artist to bridge the eras. A few others that have some associated provenance include:
1. Laurence T. Gieringer, the founder and owner of Roadside America in Pennsylvania
2. Adolph F. Frank and all the unnamed and unsung people who built Christmas Gardens and Christmas Yards.
3. Roye England, the founder of the Pendon Museum in England. The folk art building tradition, like model railroading itself, isn’t limited to the US, but spans the world, and the tradition of making little buildings may go back as far as 4100 to 3300 BC .
4. George Iliffe Stokes. Another artist from England.
There are many model makers in magazines from the 1940’s and 1950’s whose work has the folk art style, but it’s unclear if they started out making miniature buildings outside of model railroading, or simply adopted the style from what they saw when they started in the hobby. Lloyd Giebner is one of those.
It’s difficult to identify bridging artists, or the stories of folk art building artists in general, as many lack a documentation trail. One thing B&C note in their video and website is that a documentation trail is missing for most folk artists.
The E. L. Moore Way: A folk art process
After I had studied a lot of ELM’s articles, letters, photos, and models, I tried to summarize his approach to model building, which I think is a quite different one than you’re likely to find in print or online for the majority of model builders. This is no doubt because he didn’t start out as what we’d call a model building hobbyist. Here’s my list of key points to his approach:
1. Know your compelling interests
This list doesn't have any particular order, but this item is definitely first. His interest was in the world he inhabited in the later 1890’s and early 1900’s, the time of his youth. One has to figure out where one’s interests lie. Neither I nor ELM can help with that. One might know them already; it might take a whole lifetime to figure them out.
2. Read a lot
ELM reported that in the 1950’s he had a personal library of maybe 1,000 volumes. He read at least one newspaper every day, and frequented the public library. He sometimes reported when he was feeling particularly lazy he'd lay around in bed and read a book with a cat nearby.
3. Write a lot
He wrote a few thousand manuscript pages and spent lots of time writing letters. He noted he did all his important communication from the seat of his pants while at his typewriter. Writing is a powerful way to learn and understand even if what you write doesn't lead to publication.
4. Learn how to take photographs and process pictures
He was a photographer who developed his own photos. These days everything is digital, so you don't need to hassle with chemicals and enlargers and stuff like he did. I've done plenty of old-school photo processing and I'll never go back to that even if Ektachrome is going to be re-released. Photography allows you to understand scene composition. A significant part of the field of model railroading has been driven forward by people who were either professional photographers or highly skilled amateurs - there's a hidden history there.
5. Learn how to draw plans
You don't need to be an artist, but you do need to know how to draw elevations and floor plans to help you understand the size, proportion, spacing, and detail of what you want to build. Whether you do it on a computer or a piece of paper is irrelevant.
6. Be a storyteller
ELM was a consummate storyteller. He had something to say and said it. And said with humour and style. More often than not, buildings were a stage for his stories. You don't need to copy his style, but finding your own is important.
7. Ditch your tv
He reported that he didn't own a television and was saving the experience of watching it for his old age :-) Today we'd probably include ditching any service that provides the endless stream of pap that was once the exclusive domain of over-the-air broadcast tv, not too mention the new nonsense brought to us by the Internet. Although, he seemed to relish being a featured guest on an episode of Carolina Camera in the early 1970’s.
8. Walk, don’t drive
He didn't own a car and walked most places, although he could get a ride when he needed one. You can see and experience more and get a better sense of a place when walking, but it makes you an outcast and limits what you can do. It's a trade-off, and maybe not always a good one for getting by in society.
9. Visit with friends
ELM wasn't a recluse. Although he didn't own a car, if you were in town there was an open invitation to drop by, and many like-minded model railroaders did.
10. Use common, inexpensive, readily available materials
He was a man of modest means. When he visited a hobby store he was known to spend an hour or so carefully browsing the entire store and in the end only buy a few pieces of balsa and some miscellaneous supplies. Although, he usually purchased via mail order when he needed supplies in bulk and a good deal. But still, he produced some great projects from just balsa and card. Limitations can stimulate creativity. Many of model railroading's greats created impressive stuff with little. His limitations were imposed by a lack of cash, but it didn't stop him.
11. Minimize the use of ready-made parts and kits
He hated building kits and didn't use many ready-made parts and materials in his scratch-builds. Any use was often with reluctance when prompted to do so by an editor who wanted him to use advertisers goods, but sometimes it was of his own volition. Brick papers and sheets often show up in his builds. How are you going to be unique if you're relying heavily on mass produced products?
12. Build regularly
He said he was quite lazy and didn't work to any schedules. That is b.s. :-) He worked for long stretches everyday for weeks, and months, and years on end. It probably didn't feel like work because it was all self-directed. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, which included breaks and goofing-off. His only boss was himself.
Many high profile model makers stick to whatever got them into the hobby, and their overall influence can become limited. In fact, most writers of articles on how to construct miniature buildings adopt a rather prosaic style, or have it forced on them by editors. ELM took the art of how-to articles and model buildings further as he became established in the publishing industry. Here are a few examples of how he went beyond both traditional folk art, and conventional model railroading:
1. Story oriented builds
These were articles where a fictional tale-tall, usually involving fictional (?) friends and relatives, was the basis of a project. Often the story was told both in an article’s text and in the photographs via staged scenes. Some examples:
RMC Paper Company (ELM notes in the article's introduction that he worked at a paper plant at one time)
2. Fantasy builds
Some examples of his flights of imagination:
Cannonball and Safety Powder Works (An all-time classic)
3. Adoption of commercially produced model railroad products
As his career as a model railroading writer progressed, ELM did adopt a few commercial items in his projects; some at the insistence of editors that wanted his stories to use advertisers' products. Commercial brick paper is one example. At first he made brick and block walls by scribing sheet balsa with either a wood burning or scribing tool, but as the 1960's progressed, he was encouraged to use brick papers. He even used styrene once to build some cars for his RMC N-scale project layout. There was never a complete adoption of commercial products in his projects, but there were concessions made from time-to-time for the realities of the modern modern model railroading world.
4. Commissions
ELM made miniature buildings for friend’s layouts, and possibly did a few commissions. Most notable were the models he built for Bart Crosby. I think there were others, but documentation in this area is weak. Here are some possible examples:
A letter about 4 kits he was building for Bart Crosby
5. ELM designs converted to mass market plastic kits.
Nine of his articles from the late-1960’s were turned into mass market plastic kits by the AHM company. Many continued to be manufactured for 2 or 3 decades beyond their late 1960’s release, and a few, as well as their re-boxings and derivatives, have been offered for sale worldwide at various times by companies that include Tyco, Pola, Atlas, Faller, Hornby, IHC, VAU-PE, Playcraft, Walthers, and Model Power. Some kits, like the Schafer Brewery, continued to be available well into our century.
ELM had the most projects converted to plastic kits than any other writer of his era, and maybe of any era.
These kits also ushered in the era of model buildings kit-bashed from plastic kits that took off in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The most prominent and respected kit-bash pioneer of that time, Art Curren, credited the E. L. Moore plastic kits as being instrumental in starting the field. This is a clear example of how the folk art era helped create the new era of plastic modelling. Kit-bashing spawned many articles by many different authors in the 1970’s and 1980’s that used those ELM designed plastic kits as their basis.
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