American Historical Ephemera and Photography, Featuring African Americana

6 1/4 x 9 1/4 in. handbill announcing a solo performance by Paul Robeson as part of a "Negro Song Jubilee" at the County Center in White Plains on 16 April 1931. [New York]: n.p., [1931]. Upper portion of handbill features bold text reading, "Old Spirituals in a Modern Setting." -- 6 1/4 x 9 3/8 in. flyer a performance by Paul Robeson at Town Hall on 19 October dubbed "Return of the Great Negro Singer in a Program of Negro Spirituals and Other Songs." New York: Metropolitan Musical Bureau, Inc., ca 1930s. The song list is featured in the lower portion of the flyer. -- 5 1/2 x 8 3/4 in. program for Stoll Picture Theater advertising the return of Edgar Wallace's Sanders of the River starring Paul Robeson and Leslie Banks on front wrapper. Marlow, Buckinghamshire: A. E. Simpson, printer, ca 1930s. -- 14 x 11 in. lobby card for the film Tales of Manhattan. N.p., 1942. -- 6 x 9 in. flyer advertising a production of Othello, starring Paul Robeson, playing at the Erlanger Theatre in Chicago. [Chicago, IL]: n.p., ca 1945. -- 7 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. flyer promoting Paul Robeson's performance at Hunter College Assembly Hal on 10 January 1947. New York: Metropolitan Musical Bureau, Inc., [1947]. -- 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. handbill promoting a recital given by Robeson at the Queen's Hall in Westminster, proclaiming, "Paul Robeson sings for China!" London: Farleigh Press, n.d. -- 7 x 5 1/8 in. press photograph featuring Paul Robeson with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Vishinsky. New York: Acme, 1950. Robeson met Vishinsky at the Russian embassy during a reception celebrating the Russian Revolution. -- And 6 other items including a lobby card for Dark Sands, a photograph of Robeson as Toussaint Louverture in Black Napoleon, a promotional featuring a still from Tales of Manhattan, and 3 flyers promoting musical performances. -- Together, 14 items featuring Paul Robeson or promoting his performing work. Conditions vary, though most items are affixed to mats with contemporary tape on verso, and some items feature heavy creasing, toning. Generally fair.

Paul Leroy Robeson (1898-1976) was an American film and stage actor, notably known for his roles as “Joe” in the London production of Show Boat, and as Othello at the Shubert Theatre in 1943, for which he received a Donaldson Award; the run of Othello starring Robeson remained the longest-running production of a Shakespeare play until 2011. He became active in several social justice campaigns and eventually the Civil Rights Movement. Advocating for Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War, Robeson became active in the Council on African Affairs; later, his sympathies for communism and the Soviet Union and his criticisms of United States foreign policy caused him to be blacklisted during the McCarthy era. He received the Spingarn medal from the NAACP in 1945; his efforts to end Apartheid were posthumously recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in 1978. Robeson is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the American Theater Hall of Fame; he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.