Micrographic Portrait of Aaron Lebedeff, 1926

Aaron Lebedeff (1873-1960) a legend of the Yiddish theatre was born in Gomel, Belarus, and as a young man established his reputation as a talented comic actor in the Yiddish theatres of Warsaw and Lodz.  In 1920, the famed impresario Boris Thomashefsky, invited Lebedeff to New York at a time when the Yiddish theater was entering the era of its greatest popularity. With his powerful tenor voice, his exuberance and extraordinary energy, Lebedeff was an instant success.  He was the star of Yiddish vaudeville in America and in 1925 a New York Times article designated him "the greatest comic Yiddish actor of all time." 

This micrographic portrait was presented to Lebedeff as a souvenir from his friend Morris Rund, a well known author and composer of Yiddish songs.  The roundels surrounding Lebedeff's image contain the names of songs composed by Rund and sung by Lebedeff.  This token of Rund's good wishes was given to Lebedeff in 1926, the same year he and his theatrical company were transferred to the newly opened Liberty Theater in Brooklyn.