Paul L. Robeson Autographs, Memorabilia & Collectibles
PAUL L. ROBESON
Born: April 9, 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey
Died: January 23, 1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died: January 23, 1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Athlete, singer and actor Paul Robeson (1898-1976), who was well known in both the U.S. and England as an actor and concert singer by 1925, had first appeared in the United Kingdom in 1928, when he reprised his role as Joe in a London production of Show Boat. That year, he also began the first of many concert appearances in the British Isles, including a number of appearances at Albert Hall and Sunday afternoon concerts in Drury Lane. In 1928, he was also profiled for the "New Yorker" magazine., Best known for his rendition of "Ol' Man River" (from Show Boat), Robeson began his ties with the Soviet Union in 1934, when filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein invited him to Russia. Robeson was impressed with the country's equal treatment of the races and made a number of trips to the U.S.S.R., including opening 1959 with a Kremlin gala hosted by Nikita Khrushchev. His Soviet sympathies led to his being put under surveillance by the FBI in 1941 and put on the 1947 "black list" of suspected Communists, a charge that was later refuted. His "manifesto-autobiography" Here I Stand (1958) helped restore his passport, and upon being released he planned a world tour. However, ill-health and paranoia of CIA operatives (whom Robeson and his family accused of tampering with his mental stability using a CIA mind depatterning program called MKULTRA) pushed Robeson into a suicidal manic depressive state, and after attempts to end his own life, he was hospitalized. Between 1961 and 1963, he received ECT treatment in London, though with no psychotherapeutic care, his conditions only worsened. His family eventually relocated him to a Berlin hospital where he was treated. While he recovered, he lived out the remainder of his life deeply affected by his psychological trauma, and by the time he returned to the United States, his conditions forced him into solitude.
2004 The South Bank Show (Other), 2004 TV in Black: The First Fifty Years (Other), 1958 Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium (in person), 2004 The Ninth (Other), 1979 Killer of Sheep (Sound), 1999 Charlie Rose (in person), 2007 Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind (Sound), 2007 Brush with Life: The Art of Being Edward Biberman (Other), 2007 Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson (Other), 1942 Tales of Manhattan (Performer), 1940 The Proud Valley (Performer), 1937 Big Fella (Performer), 1936 Show Boat (Performer), 1933 The Emperor Jones (Performer), 1926/II Camille (Performer), 1938 Canciones de Madrid (in person), 2008 Jonathan Meades - Magnetic North (Sound), 1989 The Show Boat Story (Other), 1999 American Masters (Other), 2011 War on Terror (Sound), 1995 The Universal Story (Other), 1979 Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist (Other), 2004 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the (Sound), 1959 Unser Sandmännchen (in person), 2004 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the (Other), 1990 That's Black Entertainment (Other), 2011 Sing Your Song (Sound), 2002-2013 Democracy Now! (Other), 2011 Sing Your Song (Other), 2004 Broadway: The American Musical (Other), 1939 Land of Liberty (Other), 1960 Spectacular (in person), 1959 Monitor (in person), 1985 Musical Comedy Tonight III (Other), 1954 Das Lied der Ströme (in person), 1991 People's Gala Concert (Other), 2007 Pete Seeger: The Power of Song (Other), 1998 Cold War (Other), 1998 Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood (Other), 2001 Freedom Highway: Songs that Shaped a Century (Other), 1942 Native Land (Performer), 1937 Jericho (Performer), 1937 King Solomon's Mines (Performer), 1935 Sanders of the River (Performer), 1930 Borderline (Performer), 1925 Body and Soul (Performer), 1975 Black Shadows on the Silver Screen (in person), 2012 Out of My Dreams: Oscar Hammerstein II (Other), 1971 Film Night (Other), 2009 Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me (Sound), 2009 Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me (Other), 1998 Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist (Other), 2013 Timeshift (Sound), 1975 Brother Can You Spare a Dime (Sound), 2013 Timeshift (Other), 1975 Brother Can You Spare a Dime (Other), 2003 Great Performances (Other), 1936 Song of Freedom (Performer)
Paul Robeson - Other (December 20, 1995 - December 31, 1995), Paul Robeson - Other (September 28, 1988 - October 9, 1988), Othello - Performer (May 22, 1945 - June 10, 1945), Othello - Performer (October 19, 1943 - July 1, 1944), John Henry - Performer (January 10, 1940 - January 15, 1940), Show Boat - Performer (May 19, 1932 - October 22, 1932), Black Boy - Performer (October 6, 1926 - November 1926), The Dreamy Kid / The Emperor Jones - Performer (February 11, 1925 - March 1925), All God's Chillun Got Wings - Performer (May 15, 1924 - October 24, 1924), Taboo - Performer (April 4, 1922 - April 1922)
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PAUL ROBESON Pictured in an affixed newspaper photo with Michal Hambourg and her father Mark Hambourg, Robeson signs an album leaf in blue ink. Signature: "Paul Robeson", 5x5½, affixed to 5¼x6¼ sheet. Magazine photograph, b/w, 5x3, affixed at upper margin. Imprinted caption affixed at lower margin: "A FAMOUS TRIO. read more...Sale Price $126.00
$140.00
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PAUL ROBESON His ink signature on a 4¾x3 sheet. Feared as a communist, Robeson was blacklisted in 1950. Signature: "Paul Robeson", 4¾x3. Actor, singer and athlete Paul Robeson (1898-1976), who was praised as an "eloquent, impressive, and convincing" actor, was tapped by playwright Eugene O'Neill to star in a revival of his The Emperor Jones (1924). read more...Sale Price $180.00
$200.00
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PAUL ROBESON His signature in purple pencil on an album leaf. Signature: "Paul Robeson", 4¼x3½ album leaf. Ink date (unknown hand) at lower right corner: "Golden Green/19-4-30". read more...Sale Price $126.00
$140.00
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PAUL ROBESON The African American star singer, actor and activist pens a note for a fan. Autograph note signed: "For Brian/All best to you/& thanks to your Dad/Paul Robeson", 1p, 8x10. London, 1958 September 28. Signed on verso of a mimeographed performance schedule for "Sunday Night at the London Palladium". read more...Sale Price $270.00
$300.00
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PAUL ROBESON The actor signs a note with his best wishes on a 4¼x4 piece of paper. Autograph Note signed: "To/Manfred/All best wishes/Paul Robeson" in pencil, 4¼x4. Actor, singer and athlete read more...Sale Price $225.00
$250.00
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PAUL ROBESON The actor signs a 4¾x3 card with his best wishes. Autograph Sentiment signed: "Best wishes/Paul Robeson", 4¾x3. Actor, singer and athlete Paul Robeson (1898-1976), who was read more...Sale Price $225.00
$250.00
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PAUL ROBESON The actor signed this 7x6 album leaf in March of 1949. Autograph Sentiment signed: "Kind wishes/Paul Robeson/Mar. 1949", 7x6. In 1949, Robeson had embarked on a European tour read more...Sale Price $225.00
$250.00
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PAUL ROBESON and ELISABETH SCHUMANN Robeson signs "Best Wishes" on a small 6x5¼ card, including a signature of Schumann on the verso Autograph sentiment signed: "Best Wishes/Paul Robeson" and, on verso, "Elisabeth Schumann", 6x5¼. read more...Sale Price $252.00
$280.00
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PAUL ROBESON Rare youthful image of the international star and activist. Blacklisted during the McCarthy era, Robeson suspected himself a victim of CIA brain experimentation. (3½x5½) Photograph signed: "Best Wishes/Paul Robeson". Sepia, 3½x5½. read more...Sale Price $680.00
$800.00
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PAUL ROBESON Vintage photograph of the international singer and actor, Black activist who was banned during the McCarthy Era. (3½x5½) Photograph signed: "Best wishes/Paul Robeson". Sepia, 3½x5½. read more...Sale Price $510.00
$600.00
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PAUL ROBESON Rare youthful image of the international star and activist who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. (3x5) Photograph signed: "Best Wishes/Paul Robeson". Sepia, 3x5, irregularly cut. Ink notes (unknown hand) at lower margin: "Actor 1928". Photograph by Sasha, London (stamp on verso). read more...Sale Price $510.00
$600.00
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Singer, actor and Civil Rights activist signs the inside cover page of J.D. Yanson's Foreign Trade in U.S.S.R. Robeson, an anti-imperialist and communist supporter, was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. read more...Sale Price $288.00
$320.00
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PAUL ROBESON. Original Drawing signed: "with best wishes/+ congratulating you/upon a fine sketch./Paul Robeson". B/w ink drawing, 3x5 overall, image 2¼x3 (one surface). On thick paper, affixed to brown cardstock. read more...Sale Price $450.00
$500.00
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PAUL ROBESON. Post Card Photograph signed: "Paul Robeson". Sepia, 3x4¾. Singer, actor and athlete Paul Robeson (1898-1976), the son of a former slave and an All-America football player at read more...Sale Price $765.00
$900.00
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PAUL ROBESON Robeson signs a program for his title role appearance in Othello at the New York City Center of Music and Drama Program signed: "Kind wishes/Paul Robeson" on cover, on which is imprinted a portrait and facsimile signature of William Shakespeare, 24p, 6¾x9¾. New York, 1945 May 20. read more...Sale Price $450.00
$500.00
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PAUL ROBESON The actor, singer and activist signs a program for his Harold Holt Nationwide Tour. Program signed: "Kindest Wishes/Paul Robeson" on photograph on back cover, 20p, 8¼x10½. London, 1958. read more...Sale Price $288.00
$320.00
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PAUL ROBESON. Program signed: "Thanks/Paul Robeson", 16p, 6½x8¼. "International Celebrity Subscription Concerts, Season 1934-5, Director Harold Holt...Paul Robeson with Lisa Minghetti and Simon Barer", London. The lyrics to the songs sung by Robeson are in the program. read more...Sale Price $288.00
$320.00
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PAUL ROBESON The American singer who later became known as an anti-imperialist signs the cover of a Russian songbook Sheet music signed: "Paul Robeson" at upper margin of front cover, 36p, 5¾x8¼. Moscow 1934. Songbook, printed in Russian, with words and sheet music to 24 Russian songs. read more...Sale Price $405.00
$450.00
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PAUL ROBESON Sheet Music signed: "Paul Robeson" at upper margin of front cover, 4 pages, 8½x11¾. Circa 1938. Printed in Russian. Actor and singer Paul Robeson (1898-1976) began his ties with the Soviet Union in 1934, when filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein invited him to Russia. read more...Sale Price $405.00
$450.00
