Johns Hopkins University Paul Robeson collection
Scope and Contents
The collection contains ephemera documenting Robeson's career from 1924 to 1973, including: programs, souvenir books on his life story, magazines, playbills, photographs (black-and-white movie stills), broadsides, and phonograph records.
Dates
- 1924-1978
Creator
- Johns Hopkins University (Collector, Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is housed off-site, unless otherwise stated at the file-level, and requires 48-hours' notice for retrieval. Please contact Special Collections for more information.
Collection is open for use.
Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Special Collections department. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Biographical / Historical
Born on April 9, 1898, in Princeton, New Jersey, Paul Robeson went on to become a stellar athlete, civil rights activist, and an immensely popular singer and actor, known for his stage and film performances in The Emperor Jones and Show Boat. Robeson spoke out against racism and became a world activist, yet was blacklisted during the paranoia of McCarthyism in the 1950s. He died in Pennsylvania in 1976.
Extent
1.01 Cubic Feet (1 flat box and 2 phonograph record boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Born on April 9, 1898, in Princeton, New Jersey, Paul Robeson went on to become a stellar athlete, civil rights activist, and an immensely popular singer and actor, known for his stage and film performances in The Emperor Jones and Show Boat. The collection contains ephemera documenting Robeson's career from 1924 to 1973, including: programs, souvenir books on his life story, magazines, playbills, photographs (black-and-white movie stills), and broadsides.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by series which represent distinct accruals to the collection. See series-level descriptions for accrual and acquisition information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The items in the collection were purchased at different times. Please see each accession for individual acquisition information.
Description Control
Notes, folder titles, and descriptive summaries have been copied directly from the dealer or bookseller's description in most instances.
Processing Information
This collection was processed in 2015 by Jordon Steele, with additional processing by Annie Tang and by Kristen Diehl in 2019.
- African American actors
- African American singers
- American Labor Party
- Austin, Warren Robinson, 1877-1962
- Brown, Lawrence, 1907-1988
- Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894-1971
- Motion pictures, American
- Patel, Rajni
- Robeson, Paul, 1898-1976
- Theater
- United States
- ephemera (general object genre)
- invitations
- phonograph records
- photographs
- playbills
- posters
- programs (documents)
- specimens
Creator
- Johns Hopkins University (Collector, Organization)
- Council on African Affairs (Organization)
- Title
- Johns Hopkins University Paul Robeson collection
- Author
- Jordon Steele, Annie Tang, Kristen Diehl
- Date
- 2015, 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
The Sheridan Libraries
Special Collections
3400 N Charles St
Baltimore MD 21218 USA
specialcollections@lists.jhu.edu