Rare and incredible vintage 11x14-inch matte-finish sepia-tone portrait in 1939's "Hot Mikado"-- an all-Black reinterpretation of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic-- boldly signed and inscribed in black fountain pen in the 1930s. In fine condition, with minor edgewear. Legendary Black dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson revolutionized traditional "buck and wing", flat-footed tap, performing on the balls of his feet with a shuffle-tap style which allowed for more improvisation. He created a unique, jazz-inspired musical sound with his tapping and thralled audiences with his marvelous "stair dance," which involved tapping up and down a flight of steps both backwards and forwards.  In his later years, Robinson was a frequent character actor in musicals, typically cast as butlers or servants. His best-loved films were the four in which he was teamed with Shirley Temple:  The Little Colonel (1935), The Littlest Rebel (1935), Just Around the Corner (1938), and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938).

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