frank bruce robinson papers, 1929-1951

Frank Bruce Robinson Papers, 1929-1951

Overview of the CollectionCreator Frank Bruce Robinson

Title Frank Bruce Robinson PapersDates 1929-1951 (inclusive)

1929 1951Quantity 8 linear feet

Collection Number MG101 (collection)Summary Editions of the Psychiana lessons, typescripts of Robinson's books,

journal articles, and correspondence from students.Repository University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives

Special Collections and ArchivesUniversity of Idaho Library875 Perimeter DriveMS 2350Moscow, ID83844-2350Telephone: [email protected]

Languages EnglishSponsor Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant

awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteMaterial concerning the early life of Dr. Frank Robinson is quite sketchy and necessarily biased asone must rely totally on Robinson's own accounts. He says he was born on July 5, 1886 in New YorkCity; his brother Sydney and others say he was born in a small village in Buckinghamshire, England(Latah Journal (Deary, Idaho) August 12, 1937). Stratford-on-Avon and Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire,are also mentioned as birthplaces in later articles on Robinson. His mother was Hannah RosellaCoope, his father the Reverend John Henry Robinson. In March 1888 his father became pastor of theLong Crendon Baptist Chapel after "a long visit in America. " Long Crendon is a small village with apopulation of less than 100, situated about 12 miles southwest of Aylesbury, at the foot of the ChilternHills, near the River Thames, in Buckinghamshire. When visiting Long Crendon in 1934 Frank wasshown a book containing the history of the Long Crendon Baptist Chapel which included the referenceto the American visit of his parents; however, Rev. Robinson stated he was never in America.

After a few years in Long Crendon the family moved to Halifax, a small town southwest of Leeds insouthwest Yorkshire, known for its cloth trade. It was here in about 1894 that Hannah Robinson died--Frank said he was eight when his mother died. Soon Rev. Robinson moved his four boys a few milesto the southeast to the industrial town of Huddersfield, where he soon remarried. Frank claimed hisstep-mother, Ellen Haigh, was very cruel and often beat him and his brother Sydney. Upon returningto the house one day Frank caught her beating Arthur (aged 10) and became so angry he turned onher and beat her. As a result of this insolence his father forced him to join the British Navy (he was 13or 14 at the time), but he didn't like the navy so schemed to get a medical discharge. He returned tothe family home briefly, but was soon sent, with Sydney, to Canada. This was, according to Frank, in

Frank Bruce Robinson Papers, 1929-1951http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv97133 1

http://www.lib.uidaho.edu/special-collections/index.html

mailto:[email protected]

http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv97133

1900 (the boys would have been 14 and 12); Sydney said it was 1902. After arriving in Montreal thetwo boys found their way to Ontario where both obtained farm work. At this point their paths seem tohave separated. Sydney died in Montreal in 1944 or 45, the youngest brother, Leonard, was killed inWorld War I, and at the time of Frank Robinson's death in 1948 his brother Arthur was on the crew ofan English freight boat (The Psychiana Bulletin, May 1952, p. 7).

Frank Robinson worked at various odd jobs, eventually obtaining employment at Robert Templeton'sdrug store in Belleville, Ontario in 1908. While there he was arrested for passing counterfeit money,but was acquitted of the charge. Nonetheless, it was not long before he was again on the move, thistime settling in Toronto where he worked for Robert's nephew, J.G. Templeton. While there he wasurged by Dr. Elmore Harris to enter the Bible Training College; Dr. Harris even offered to pay hisexpenses. He soon became disillusioned however, and left before the end of term. He joined the RoyalNorthwest Mounted Police (stating on the application that he was born in England) and was sent toRegina, Saskatchewan. After two months he was dismissed as a chronic alcoholic. He then worked asa druggist in various small towns, eventually arriving in Vancouver and Victoria.

In 1910 he entered the United States and worked as a pharmacist in Portland, Oregon before joiningthe Navy as a Hospital Apprentice First Class on the U.S.S. Philadelphia. Again his excessive drinkingresulted in his discharge.

About 1915 or 16 Robinson made his way to Ellensburg, Washington, where he worked at the BallPharmacy. Here his drinking had unusual results. While drunk he found his way to Spokane where heenlisted in the U.S. Army under the name Earl Meyer, stating he was born in Ellensburg. He was sentto Manila where he was later court-martialed for disobedience--he says it was because he refused tohave all his teeth pulled. After spending about six months in disciplinary barracks he was dischargedfrom the army; he was also, at this time, cured of his drinking problems. He worked for a time in SanJose, California, moved to San Francisco in 1919, and then to Oregon where, on his application for ajob in Klamath Falls he again claimed England as his birthplace.

On November 23, 1919 Robinson married Pearl Leavitt of Klamath Falls. They moved to Tucson,Arizona where their son, Alfred, was born on March 1, 1923. A series of moves followed Alfred's birth;first to Los Angeles, then Portland, Oregon, next to Yakima, Washington where they remained fortwo years. Finally, in April 1928 they moved to Moscow, Idaho where Robinson was employed byCharles E. Bolles at the Corner Drug Store. The Robinson's daughter, Florence, was born in Moscow inJanuary 1931.

Robinson began the Psychiana organization shortly after arriving in Moscow, but continued his workat the drug store until his new religion was firmly established. In 1933 he bought William Marineau'sprinting operation in Elk River and had it moved to Moscow where, in addition to printing the Psychianalessons, he established Moscow's second daily newspaper, the News Review, which later mergedwith its rival, the Star-Mirror, to form The Daily Idahonian. The year 1933 also saw the opening of thePsychiana Clinic under Dr. Charles F. Magee. The clinic, located in a former businessmen's club on thecorner of First and Jackson Streets, could accommodate about 30 patients. (A picture of the clinic canbe found in the Psychiana Quarterly, June 1933, p. 16) The Professional Building on Third and JacksonStreets was built by Robinson in 1936. It housed most of the doctors and lawyers in Moscow, as wellas the Exclusive Prescription Pharmacy, one of three pharmacies owned by Robinson, the others beingthe Moscow Pharmacy and the University Pharmacy.

In 1936 Dr. Robinson purchased 160 acres of land and deeded it to the public of Latah County for apark, called, appropriately, Robinson Lake Park. The Soil Conservation Service built a dam, which inturn made a lake of about twenty acres. Robinson started a youth center for Moscow in 1945, but itdoes not appear to have been in operation long.



When Dr. Robinson applied for his passport for his 1934 trip to Europe he stated on the applicationthat he was born in New York City. During a subsequent postal investigation of Psychiana, a religionwhich relied exclusively on the mails, the postal inspectors came across this passport, and in 1936Robinson found himself involved in legal proceedings. A Federal Grand Jury indictment was returnedagainst Robinson in Boise on February 11, 1936; on May 20, after a four day trial, he was acquittedof the charge of having knowingly lied about his birthplace on his passport application. In August of1936 he was involved in a deportation hearing and ordered to leave the United States. Senator WilliamBorah, a good friend of the Robinson family, intervened, and it was agreed that Robinson could re-enterthe United States, having first secured the proper immigration documents. He left for Cuba in August of1937 and re-entered through Florida. In 1942 he became a naturalized citizen.

Robinson never mentions where he received the D.D. and Ph.D. degrees he used after his name,but Rev. Clifford M. Drury, in his article "Psychiana-The New Religion" in the August 3, 1933 issueof The Presbyterian Banner, says Robinson received them from the College of Divine Metaphysicsin Indianapolis. This institution operated a correspondence school and apparently Robinson studiedwith them from 1915-1918. The 1948 information bulletin issued by Psychiana stated the Ph.D. wasan honorary degree from Reed College in San Francisco. In 1945 Bishop Aneed of the ByzantineAmerican Catholic Church raised Robinson to the episcopate of that church, hence the title "Archbishopof Psychiana" [Arthur Carl Piepkorn. Profiles in Belief: The Religious Bodies of the United States andCanada, (New York: Harper & Row, 1977) I, 92].

In 1940 Dr. Robinson suffered a serious heart attack, but recovered and continued his work withPsychiana. He suffered with coronary thrombosis for several years, and shortly after noon on October19, 1948 he succumbed to a lung hemorrhage. On Friday the 22nd Marcus Bach arrived in Moscowto deliver the funeral eulogy. Following the funeral Dr. Robinson's body was taken to Spokane forcremation.

His wife Pearl, son Alfred and daughter Florence were still living when the four sealed boxes of hispersonal papers were opened January 15, 1980. Pearl Robinson died November 27, 1982.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF PSYCHIANA

While living in Portland, Oregon in the mid 1920's, Frank Robinson had a "vision of the future" seeinghimself at the head of a new religion, one based on I Corinthians 3:16: "Know ye not that your bodiesare the temples of God--and that the Spirit of God liveth in you?" Following this experience Robinsonmoved to Yakima, Washington where he worked at the Pioneer Drug Store for about two years, butfound the late hours left him little time for the development of his teaching. Seeking a location wheredrug stores closed at 6 p.m., he and his family moved to Moscow, Idaho, in April 1928. It was not longbefore he began giving evening lectures in the dining room of the Moscow Hotel on the power of thespirit of God; about sixty people attended his first lecture.

While working at the Corner Drug Store he continually jotted notes to himself, and on a Saturday nighthe locked his door, sat at his typewriter, and in the next thirty-six hours typed the first set of ten lessonsfor his unnamed religion. Borrowing about $2500 from several towns people, Robinson had the lessonsprinted and commenced advertising. According to the Psychiana Bulletin for April 1950, "Psychianawas chartered in the late fall of 1929 and the first Psychiana advertisement was placed shortly after theturn of the year." Before long the advertisements for this new religion appeared in 700 newspapers,86 magazines, and over 18 radio stations. Anyone answering one of these advertisements receivedapproximately 67 pieces of literature over a 22 week span.

In his Strange Autobiography, p. 207, Dr. Robinson relates how he arrived at a name for his teaching.In a dream he entered "a room about twelve feet square painted black and in the middle of it was aHelen Gould canvas army cot. On the cot was a male corpse with hands folded across his breasts.



Standing over the head of the corpse and making downward motions with his hands was a man I hadnever seen before." After watching this procedure for a time Dr. Robinson asked the man what he wasdoing and received the reply: "You ought to know. This is Psychiana, the Power which will bring newlife to a spiritually dead world." Several months after this dream, as Dr. Robinson was passing a clerk'sdesk, he happened to notice a photograph of a student on the desk--a photograph of the same manhe had seen in the dream. He learned this man was Geoffrey Peel Birley, of Alexandria, Egypt, andimmediately wrote him asking for $40,000, a sum which Mr. Birley sent within three weeks. Robinsonvisited Birley in 1934 and in November 1936 Geoffrey Birley spent several days in Moscow visiting theRobinsons [News-Review (Moscow, Idaho) November 2, 1936].

Early in the development of Psychiana Frank and Pearl Robinson would spend evenings attending tothe assembling and mailing of lessons, but as the enrollment increased--within a year the teachingswere being sent to 600,000 students in 67 countries--Robinson had to quit his job at the drugstoreand hire an office staff to deal with the volume of mail. The operations began in a single room of theUrquhart Building, next to the Corner Drug Store, then expanded to three additional rooms in thesame building. Soon a five year lease was signed for offices in the Bratton Building on East ThirdStreet, but in six months this too was inadequate, and in 1932 Robinson bought a quarter block onThird and Jackson Streets which was originally occupied by Short's undertaking parlor. This buildingwas occupied for two years and was later torn down to make room for the Robinson ProfessionalBuilding. It was not long before it became necessary to split the Psychiana operations, the printingand bookkeeping division occupied a building on First and Main (now Dahmen Insurance parkinglot) and the mailing operation, or International Headquarters, was housed near the new ProfessionalBuilding (now the parking lot for Idaho First National Bank). At its peak Psychiana was reported to bethe seventh largest religious organization; it employed nearly one hundred people, mostly women, andhandled up to 50,000 pieces of mail per day. In 1950 a large multi-story building was being planned, butit was never built.

Most of Robinson's early printing had been done by George Lamphere, owner of Moscow's newspaper,the Star-Mirror. In 1933 Robinson discovered he was being greatly over-charged, purchased the ElkRiver paper owned by William Marineau, moved the printing plant and Mr. Marineau to Moscow, begandoing his own printing and started a second paper, the News-Review, which eventually merged with theStar-Mirror to form the Daily Idahonian.

In addition to the lessons, Dr. Robinson also developed a series of radio programs which werebroadcast nationwide in the mid 1930's. He attracted large crowds whenever he lectured and was alsoinvited to speak to classes in religion at several college campuses, most notably to Dr. Marcus Bach'sclasses at the University of Iowa.

By 1936 Robinson was no longer able to handle all the correspondence and give lectures so he hiredCharles Wesley Tenney, a retired Methodist minister associated with the Idaho Institute of ReligiousStudies on the University of Idaho Campus. Tenney answered almost all of the student mail until hewas forced by the Methodist church to sever his relations with Psychiana. He went to Portland wherehe worked as a hospital orderly. His place as Robinson's assistant was taken by William Walter DeBolt,who, soon after his work with Psychiana began, was expelled by the Church of God. He left Psychianaafter several years to become pastor of the Methodist church in Lind, Oregon.

When Frank Robinson died on October 19, 1948, his son, Alfred, who had assisted his father since1947, attempted to continue operations, but after several years he was forced to close, the rapid risein postal rates being given as the main reason. The last mailings were sent out in 1952, and in January1953 all operations ceased. The sorting of the remaining lessons and other material took several years.By 1955 the University of Idaho Library was fortunate enough to have obtained copies of the lessonsand books authored by Dr. Robinson. In August 1955 Robinson's widow and son delivered four sealed



boxes to the Library. After a period of twenty-five years these boxes were opened; the contents aredescribed in the following inventory.

Content DescriptionIn August 1955 Alfred Robinson and Pearl Robinson gave the University of Idaho Library manyPsychiana related items including four large boxes which were to remain sealed for 25 years. Theseboxes were opened in January 1980 and the contents sorted; the material is now contained in sevenfile boxes. Included in the three boxes of correspondence are letters between Psychiana headquartersand students in eighteen countries. Carbon copies of Psychiana's replies are attached to most ofthe original letters from students. The letters from students which Robinson used in his publicationsare marked with quotation marks; occasionally words were changed or sentences rearranged. Theremaining boxes contain copies of all the Psychiana lessons, copies of Psychiana Weekly and othersimilar publications, typescripts of speeches and articles by Frank Robinson, broadsides used inadvertising, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, a scrapbook of clippings kept by Robinson, andphotographs.

This is a very important collection not only for those researching Dr. Frank B. Robinson and the impactof Psychiana, but also for those interested in non-orthodox religion. Anyone interested in effectiveadvertising methods would also find this collection useful.

The contents of each section of this collection are described in the following Description of Series.

Administrative InformationArrangement

The correspondence between Psychiana and its students is separated by year and arrangedalphabetically within the year. In cases where two years are involved, i.e., the student wrote inDecember and the answer was written in January, the year of the student's letter determinesplacement. Multiple letters from a single student within the same year are in chronological order.

The lessons are in numerical order within each series, i.e., Basic Series, Advanced Teaching, etc., thenplaced in chronological order by copyright date. The newspaper clippings and typescripts of speechesare also in chronological order.

The typescripts of articles are in alphabetical order by title; where more than one version of a workexists the various versions are numbered. The photographs have been separated into severalcategories according to subject. Many of them are also available in the Special Collections Libraryphotograph collection, and are completely cataloged therein.

Detailed Description of the CollectionSeries I. Correspondence , 1935-1941; 1947-1949

With the exception of the last three folders in Box 3, all the correspondence is between Psychiana andits many students. Robinson admits in several of his books that, due to lack of space, many thousandsof letters were destroyed, which accounts for the fact that the correspondence in this collection does



not begin until 1935. There is only one letter in 1935, one folder for letters dated 1936, two folders for1937, one for 1938, one for 1939, two for 1940, and one for 1941. Then there is a gap before the lettersare resumed in 1947 for which there are nine folders. These years are contained in the first file box.The majority of letters are dated 1948, and these occupy one and one half file boxes. The letters for1949 and the folders of miscellaneous correspondence complete the third box.

The replies to the earlier letters are signed by Frank Robinson and C.W. Tenney, with Robinson'sletters being the more personal; Tenney seems to have used a form letter. In 1940 and 1941 W.W.DeBolt was also signing letters, and from 1947 to 1949 Alfred Robinson answered most of the student'sletters.

It was claimed that in its first year the Psychiana teaching was sent to 600,000 people in 67 countries,and that it eventually was sent into 74 countries. Included in this sampling of correspondence are lettersfrom all the 48 states, the territories of Alaska, Hawaii, the Panama Canal Zone, and the Canadianprovinces, of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.More distant letters came from Australia, Barbados, British Guyana, Ceylon, China, Costa Rica, Cuba,England, Germany, Holland, Jamaica, New Zealand, Philippine Islands, Puerto Rico, South Africa, andthe Gold Coast in West Africa--a total of 18 countries. The students came from all economic levels,from the poor and unemployed to laborers, those owning small business such as grocery stores, thoseemployed in management positions in large corporations, doctors, lawyers and even some ministerssubscribed to the lessons. Students ranged in age from a young man who began studying Psychiana atthe age of 16 to Alex Anderson, who said in his 1948 letter that he was 102 years old. Many wrote yearafter year giving progress reports and requesting more lessons or books.

Most of the incoming letters tell of benefits received through the study of Psychiana, improved health,better jobs, more harmonious family life, etc. A few letters inquire about missing lessons or lettersreceived from the accounting department, some correct Robinson's Biblical references. In 1937 thereare many letters relating to the postal investigation of Psychiana; Dr. Robinson asked his students tosend him copies of the letters they sent to the postal inspector in Seattle, and these letters are includedin the collection.

Students often sent Robinson newspaper clippings or articles they felt he might be interested in,including one of Herbert W. Armstrong's "World Tomorrow" radio broadcasts, and the pamphlet "TheCult Called Psychiana Exposed by the Sunday School Times" (1939) [Box 1, folder 1940 A-J]. Theyalso included original art work, poems, articles, and music. Many students sent their photographs andphotographs of their families.

Among the more interesting letters is one in 1940 in which the writer claims to have had aforeknowledge of Dr. Robinson and Psychiana as early as 1916. There is also, in 1937, a letter from awomen in Tacoma mentioning the recovery of her son after a telegram was sent to Robinson for help.From her letter and Robinson's reply it is evident that this is the telegram he mentions in several of hisbooks as the one he read to the audience in Portland's Shrine Auditorium. (see Strange Autobiography,p. 268; also Lecture I, National Convention, 1937 in Box 5) In another 1937 letter a student mentionedto Dr. Robinson that he was copying his lessons to share with others. Robinson immediately repliedtelling him to stop copying the lessons or he, Robinson, would sue the student for violation of copyright.In 1948 a student sent short book reviews of Robinson's books, the most common criticism being thelack of proof-reading. Another student, a vegetarian, sent her interpretation of the Biblical story of thefall of man saying man's sin was eating meat. In 1949 Alfred received a letter which concluded "Youhave certain natural endowments, in other words, native ability, you have passed through experienceswhich brought acquired ability, and these are your personal capital stock, and if you develop this capitalstock along the original lines which you surely must be able to do, you will make a good landing, butif you try do what somebody else has done in the same manner, form and spirit, you will end like BertHubbard [i.e., you will fail.]" There is one unintentional touch of humor on the part of the Post Office; anFrank Bruce Robinson Papers, 1929-1951http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv97133 6


envelope addressed "The Archbishop of Psychiana, Moscow, Idaho" was stamped "Missent to PriestRiver."

The final three folders in this series contain miscellaneous items of correspondence. In the first folderis a twenty-two page carbon typescript dated November 27, 1951, entitled "Psychiana Form Letters."Each paragraph has a title, and all Alfred Robinson had to do was to jot the appropriate title on the topof a student's letter and a secretary could type a suitable reply.

The second folder contains miscellaneous correspondence involving Frank Robinson. A chronologicallist of the letters is as follows:

1. A printed copy of a letter signed Geoffrey Birley, dated 24th October. This letter was used in follow-up material.

2. A carbon copy of a letter from the acting Third Assistant Postmaster General to the Postmaster,Moscow, Idaho, dated May 14, 1931, explaining why Psychiana Monthly was denied admission assecond class mail material.

3. An undated memorandum from Frank Robinson headed "Instructions for Elmer and Jennie after I'mgone East."

4. A typed letter to Frank Robinson from his brother Arthur, dated Liverpool, August 11, 1934, in whichArthur says he is sorry he did not see Frank when he was in Europe.

5. A typed letter to Frank Robinson from Arthur Robinson dated December 15, 1935 on the subject oftheir father. This letter also includes a page from a handwritten letter which Arthur received from hiswife.

6. A letter dated March 15, 1938 from A.C. Plagge, the Psychiana representative in Holland, dealingwith legal matters.

7. A typed letter from Senator Henry C. Dworshak dated September 20, 1939.

8. A postcard from Alfred Robinson postmarked Oberlin, Ohio, April 7, 1941.

9. An undated copy of a telegram from Frank Robinson to Senator W. Lee O'Daniel concerning aspeech of O'Daniel's. (Fall 1942?)

10. An undated typed draft of a bulletin in the form of a letter to Mr. Green of the National BetterBusiness Bureau in which Robinson charges the bureau with being an un-American organization. 4. p.

11. Frank Robinson's printed Xmas message to students.

The third folder contains the correspondence between the University of Idaho Library and Psychiana.It commenced in May 1949 when librarian Lee Zimmerman wrote to Alfred Robinson requesting copiesof his father's writings to place in the library's Pacific Northwest Collection of Idaho authors. WhenPsychiana announced its closing in 1952 Zimmerman again wrote Alfred requesting additional copiesof books, lessons, and other interesting material to add to the library's collection. This correspondencecontinued into 1953 and 1954. In 1955 Alfred delivered to the library a large amount of material.The complete list runs to three typed pages and is included in the folder. The folder also contains aphotocopy of the trust conditions regarding the four sealed boxes.

Series II. Psychiana Lessons and Publications



This series contains a complete record of the printed Psychiana lessons beginning with thosecopyrighted in 1929, as well as typescripts for several other series of lessons. There are alsoPsychiana lessons in Dutch and Spanish. The Psychiana organization published a magazine knownvariously as the Psychiana Monthly, Psychiana Quarterly, Psychiana Weekly and Psychiana Bulletin;some issues of each are in this collection. Other informational pamphlets and lectures are alsoincluded.

The Special Collections Department of the University of Idaho Library has a four volume bound setof the Psychiana Lessons printed in 1951 (Day-NW BL 2775 R6 L4). The contents are as follows:v.1. Primary Series; 20 lessons, Beginners Course--formerly Advanced Course Number One. v.2.Advanced Teaching Number One; 10 lessons--formerly Advanced Course Number Two. v-3. AdvancedTeaching Number Two; 30 lessons--formerly Major Teaching or Master Series. v.4. New Psychiana;27 lessons. An effort has been made to correlate the lessons contained in the file box with those in thebound volumes.

Description Dates

Psychiana Lessons (not found in bound volumes) ca. 1929

Psychiana Lessons (not found in bound volumes) ca. 1932

Psychiana--Advanced Course Number 1(v.1 of bound lessons) - This folder contains lessons 4, 10, and 11 only.Although they do not have specific titles, each is preceded by a short letterfrom Dr. Robinson explaining what the lesson is about. Lessons 4 and 11 haveexamination questions at the end; lesson 11 contains Robinson's "rags toriches" story. A complete set of the 20 lessons in this teaching in English is inthe folder labeled "Psychiana in Spanish."

ca. 1932

Psychiana--Advanced Course Number 2(v.2 of bound lessons) - The ten lessons in this group have no distinct titles.The course deals more with the Spiritual Realm, whereas the AdvancedCourse Number 1 dealt with the Scientific Realm.

ca. 1932

Psychiana--Advanced Teaching Number 3(not found in bound volumes) - This course contains 40 lessons and has beendivided into two folders. Some covers in folder one have been mislabeledAdvanced Teaching Number 2. The introduction to this set of lessons statesthat this is the final course required for those qualifying for the Psychianaministry. It is basically a theological study, with several lessons taken from theaddresses of George H. Cless., Jr. Lesson thirty-three contains the story of thepost office investigation of Psychiana and also Robinson's deportation hearing.

ca. 1936

Man Can Now Talk With GodMaster File - Dr. Frank Robinson explains in a letter "To My StudentsEverywhere" that this is a re-writing of the Psychiana Lessons. This foldermay be considered a "master-file" for the first seven lessons as it containstwo copies of each lesson, one with the titles printed in black, and the otherwith titles printed in red, and also some introductory material printed in two

ca. 1938



Description Dates

styles--single and double column. Various changed of wording in the "StudentRegistration Certificate" are also represented. Stapled to each lesson is thematerial which was sent with it to the student.Included with each study lessonare the introductory letters from either C.W. Tenney or Frank B. Robinson,the study lesson itself, printed letters from students which tell of the benefitsreceived from the teaching, the illustrations by Stephen Bern Dahlman, andthe Students Registration Certificate which is numbered to correspond tothe lesson with which it was sent. Some of the material has pencil notationsconcerning the date it was first used or the date it was withdrawn.The non-lesson material includes 6 items.

1). "A Brief History of This World Movement With Explanation of thePhenomena Which Follow It." By Charles Wesley Tenney, 4 p.

2). "To All Students; A Few Words With Dr. Robinson Personally," 1 p.

3). "To My Students Everywhere," 1 p.

4). "To The Residents of The State of Idaho" signed C.W. Tenney. 1 p.

5). "My Dear Friend" signed C.W. Tenney. 1 p.

6). "Dear Fellow-Student" signed C.W. Tenney. 1 p.

Man Can Now Talk With God(revision in v-3 of bound volumes) - In their original published form there were105 lessons, each one four pages in length. Lessons 1-64 are complete inthemselves, but from 65-105 the ideas continue from one lesson to the next.When these lessons were revised in 1949 and renamed the "Master Series" theoriginal 105 lessons were-combined and reduced to a series of 30 lessons.

ca. 1938-1941

New Psychiana (1)(Not found in bound volumes) - This is a series of single spaced typescripts oflessons numbered 5-17. Lesson 13 is called the half way point, lesson 14 isheaded Part 2.

New Psychiana (2)This is a set of double spaced typescripts for 26 lessons, with correctionsmade in green ink. It appears to be the same as the 1950 revision of AdvancedTeaching Number Three, with a different numbering system (i.e., typescriptlesson six is lesson three of the printed version, typescript lesson seven isprinted lesson four). Missing numbers include 9, 13, 18-22. Page one of lesson24 is also missing.

1947

The League of Eternal Life 1946



Description Dates

This folder contains single spaced typescripts for 26 two page lessons whichwere written between May 27 and 31, 1946. These lessons were designedto be received each week, rather than every other week as were most ofRobinson's lessons.

Psychiana in DutchThe Dutch translations of the Psychiana lessons were published in the Hagueby A.C. Plagge in 1938.

1938

1). A folded advertisement for De God then Niemand Kent (The God NobodyKnows), and eight printed form letters from the "Psychiana Studie-Groep:Nederland en Koloniën" which appear to be advertisements for the lessons.

2). Psychiana publications. Vlugschrift [Pamphlet] 1 & 2. The first being theDutch translation of "Why I Founded 'Psychiana'", the second the "IntroductoryLecture."

3). Psychiana Lessons 16-20, the translations of which appear in volume one ofthe bound lessons.

4). A magazine entitled Psychiana, dated 15 Juli 1938. This is not a translationof the Psychiana Quarterly, but a journal published by Plagge for the Studie-Groep.

Psychiana in SpanishThe material in this group has been divided into three folders, the first containscopies of thirty-five Psychiana broadsides with typescripts of the Spanishtranslations attached. The second and third folders contain the printed Englishversion of the two introductory lectures and the Advanced Teaching NumberOne, each with the typescript of the Spanish translation inserted. The printedversion of the Spanish translation of lesson one is also included; it was notedthat the wording in the printed version differed from the typescript.

Psychiana Monthly - The only issue in the collection is v.1, no.6 December 1931

Psychiana QuarterlyThe issues in this folder are v.2, no.8, June 1933; v.2. no-9, September 1933;v.5, no.4, December 1935; v.6, no.1, March 1936; v.6, no.3, September 1936;v.7, no.1, March 1937.A Psychiana Quarterly for December 1932 is part of theC. Ben Ross Papers (MG091, file box 5).

Psychiana WeeklyInside the front cover of this bound volume which contains numbers 1-52 of1940 is a note written and signed by Frank B. Robinson stating: "This is theonly volume of the Psychiana Weekly in existence." There is a biography ofC.W. Tenney in the January 13 issue, an article on Senator William Borah in



Description Dates

the February 3 issue, one on Walter Winchell on March 2, lead articles on Hitleron June 8 and August 31, and a brief biography of William Walter DeBolt onNovember 2. There are also many comments on Hitler and the war, as wellas anti-communist remarks. Attacks on orthodox religions are also prominent,such as the attack on the Presbyterians on May 11 and the Methodists onAugust 3. Each issue contains testimonials and a question and answer section.Many of the answers reveal a rather sarcastic side to Robinson's character,such as the question in the January 27 issue when a student asks Robinsonwhere he got his degrees and he replies: "That's none of your business...."

Psychiana Weekly/Monthly Transitional NotesThis folder contains the April 13, 1940 copy of the Weekly, marked withchanges for a monthly publication. It includes a pencil sketch of the lay-out forthe front page for the July 1947 issue, with a typescript of two articles entitled"Back Again" and "Our Progress". There are also typescripts for several shortarticles, one on Alfred Robinson, another on Marcus Bach's book They HaveFound a Faith, and a third on group meetings. No copies of the 1947 monthlypublication are included in this collection--if indeed it was ever published.

1947

Psychiana BulletinThis began in January 1950 as a 6 page, 81/2" x 11" publication, then inFebruary 1951 changed its format to 12 pages, 51/2" x 8". Issues included inthis collection are January 1950 to June 1952, with the exception of the August1951 issue which is missing. Each issue contains articles by "The Wayfarer,"Pamela Dawn, Marcus Bach, and Frank Bruce Robinson. The June 1952 issuewas the last one published.

TestimonialsThis folder includes six typed pages containing portions of letters receivedfrom students. Pages 1-3 contain 30 one sentence statements; the writers areidentified by city only. The final three pages contain entire paragraphs takenfrom letters; the writers are identified by name and complete address. Theseexcerpts were used in the various Psychiana publications such as the Weekly,Monthly, and Bulletin, as well as in the follow-up material.

A Tribute to Dr. RobinsonA three page printed copy of Dr. Marcus Bach's tribute to Frank B. Robinsonwhich he read at the funeral in Moscow on October 22, 1948, is the only item inthis folder.

1948

Psychiana Information Booklets

1). "Psychiana." Visitors Week21 p.This contains a one page history of the movement and pictures of individualstaff members. All photographs are identified and comments made about theworkers.

March 12-17,1934



Description Dates

2). "The Amazing Story of 'Psychiana'"19 p.This is mostly photographs, with commentary, of the Psychiana operations.

1935

3). "What is 'Psychiana'?"4 p.This is a short informational pamphlet.

1939

4). "What is 'Psychiana': a concise yet comprehensive brochure explaining indetail the whole 'Psychiana' movement"31 p.This contains pictures of the Psychiana operation as well as pictures ofindividual staff members. Also included are copies of letters received fromstudents and some Stephen Bern Dahlman illustrations.

1940

5). "It Takes a Lot of Employees for the Psychiana Religion"4 p.This is basically pictures of individual staff members, unfortunately thephotographs are unidentified.

1945

6). "The Psychiana Religion Information Bulletin, 1948"This is present in two forms, a 9 page typescript and the 5 page printedbooklet. The final page of the typescript contains corrections by, and a shortletter from, Alfred Robinson.

1948

Introductory Lectures

1). Why I Founded Psychiana3 copies.

1929

2). Lecture 12 copies.

1929

3). Introductory Lecture2 copies.

1929

Hymn Books

1). The Church of "Psychiana" Hymn BookContains 76 hymns, both words and music. Omitted from the collection isRobinson's favorite hymn, "Lead Kindly Light."

undated

2). Two mimeographed pages, includes only words to "Oh, Dem GoldenSlippers," "The Quilting Party," and "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny."



Description Dates

3). Five mimeographed pages, includes only words to "Silent Night," "Harkthe Herald Angels Sing," "O Jesus I Have Promised," "Do Not Pass Me By,""Haven of Rest," "Jesus Savior Pilot Me," "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning,""Sometime We'll Understand," and "Blest Be the Tie That Binds."

4). Four mimeographed pages. Hymns For Use In The Frank B. RobinsonCampaign. Includes only words to "I Love to Tell the Story," "Tell Me the Old,Old, Story," "Faith of Our Fathers," "Blest be the Tie," "Let the Lower Lights BeBurning," and "What A Friend."

Series III. Writings

This series contains typescripts of articles and portions of books written by Frank Bruce Robinson. Inmany cases there are both original and carbon typescripts; some manuscripts also contain corrections.Both these conditions are noted in the following description. While some of these manuscripts havebeen published there are also several important unpublished items; in some cases only a smallportion of the original manuscript has been published. An attempt has been made to identify thepublished portions of the manuscript material, but anyone familiar with Robinson's published works willunderstand the difficulty of this task. The headings used in the following list are those used on the filefolders.

Description

Amazing StoryThis typescript, which takes its title from the chapter headings, comprises only chapters 4 and5 of a work written in 1946 and apparently intended as part of Robinson's novel The Wanderer.Pages 140-150 of the typescript correspond to pages l08-117 of the novel--this is the sectiondescribing Robinson's arrival in Moscow and the beginning of Psychiana; typescript pages 168-170describing the dream which gave Robinson the name "Psychiana" correspond to The Wandererpages 117-119, otherwise no part of this manuscript has been published. Chapter 4 is entitled "InWhich We Read An Amazing Story," chapter 5 "In Which We Continue Our Amazing Story." It existsin this collection in two forms, the original typescript containing pages 117-139; 151-157, and thecarbon of the typescript which includes pages 140-150. Since the missing pages in the originalcorrespond to the printed version of The Wanderer it can be surmised that when Robinson decidedto omit the rest of the material in this typescript he took the original of pages 140-150 to incorporateinto the final version of the work. Corrections have been made on the original typescript in greenink.The story contained in these two chapters deals with the attacks on Psychiana by the BetterBusiness Bureau and the Methodist Church, and the articles written by Collier's, The LutheranCompanion, and The Sunday School Times. There is also a brief reference to the Moscow YouthCenter which Robinson started in 1945. In chapter 5, C.W. Tenney's relationship with Psychiana isgiven prominence. Beginning on page 131 Robinson relates the incident of the Gamaliel windowhe donated to the First Presbyterian Church of Moscow, but which was rejected by the elders of thechurch because they did not like the scriptural reference: "If this work be of God you cannot stop it,but if it be of man it will come to naught."

Believest Thou This (1)



Description

Both the 151 page original typescript and a carbon copy of the typescript are included in thiscollection. They include the title-page, chapters 1-5, and the first page of chapter 6 of a book aboutFrank Robinson. Although the title page reads: Believest Thou This / by Dyson Battley / Copyright1946 The Bobbs-Merrill co., it is evident from reading the manuscript that the book was actuallywritten by Robinson. No part of this book is found among his published works.The manuscriptcontains many biographical details, including Alfred's experiences during the war, which are notfound in Robinson's autobiography. There are also some misstatements of biographical information.In conversations between the author and Robinson, Robinson expounds on his theory of eternal life,stating that before long man will learn the secret of living forever on this earth. Some of the incidentsrelated here are also related in other works, but with different characters, e.g., the incident of theChina pheasant which was killed by Robinson's car and restored to life by Robinson is also relatedon page 170 of The Wanderer, only it was the Wanderer who restored the bird's life. Likewise,on page 56 of the typescript the author states it was he who made out the $5000 check for anadvertising bill and mailed it, whereas in Robinson's autobiography, 2d ed., p. 213, Robinson statesa clerk (whom, incidentally, he had to dismiss for forging his name to checks) made out the checkand Robinson himself mailed it. The author of this manuscript claims to have witnessed severalhealings and on pages 146-147 asks Robinson to explain the psychology he used in healing ayoung woman of a heart condition. This explanation is perhaps one of the most interesting sectionsof the entire manuscript.

Believest Thou This (2)This second version of "Believest Thou This" bears no resemblance to the previous manuscript ofthe same name. It was written by Frank B. Robinson in 1946; only one chapter, both original andcarbon typescript, 21 pages in length, exists. The title page for the original is missing, but the carbontitle page is included with the manuscript.As in "Believest Thou This" (1) Robinson describes his caras a two-toned green Cadillac. Some of the incidents which he relates are found in other publishedworks, but there are several other amusing anecdotes which are worth mentioning. On page six herelates that he was in Virginia to see an ill student when he was detained by police as a suspectedbank robber--the robber also had a two-toned green Cadillac. He was taken to police headquarterswhere he was identified by an F.B.I. agent familiar with his work. When he told the police his missionhe was given a police escort to the next town where his student lived. Other interesting incidentsrelated in this short manuscript include Robinson's meetings with President Roosevelt (pp. 14-15),Billy Sunday (pp. 17-18), and an unidentified pair of evangelists in California (pp. 19-20).

Believest Thou This (3)In its third form "Believest Thou This" is similar in style to Robinson's other published works. It waswritten in 1946 while he was visiting with Alfred and Annette in their home in Los Trancos Woods,near Palo Alto, California. It too, exists in both original and carbon typescript, although chapter oneof the carbon copy is missing. The entire manuscript is six chapters, 104 pages, in length.Manyof the statements on comparative religion, the operation of the 'God-Law' and manifestations ofhealing are found in his other writings. Robinson's theories of eternal life on this earth, hinted at inthe previous versions of "Believest Thou This" are more fully developed in this version. On page31 of the typescript he states: "To subscribe to a religion which offers less than eternal life on thisearth is to subscribe to a religion that limits God. Any religion which limits God is a false system ofreligion."Chapter 5 deals with attacks on Psychiana by organized religion and the Better BusinessBureau. The incidents involving the Lutheran Pastor Oliver and the Presbyterian Church's return ofhis check for a window for the new church are also related in the manuscript "Amazing Story."



Description

The Better WayOriginally thought to be an unpublished manuscript, this 269 page carbon typescript proved to bethe typescript for the book God In The Dark, published in 1948. This folder also includes a sevenpage addition to the last chapter. Some minor changes in wording were noted when the typescriptwas compared to the printed volume.

The Flame"The Flame" is a single chapter, 26 pages in length, of a projected book. It exists both in the originaland carbon typescript. The "Flame" referred to is another name for what Robinson has called the"Spirit of God" (see the manuscript "The Pioneer", p. 14). There is, beginning on page eleven, adescription of Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire, both when Robinson lived there as a child andwhen he visited in 1934.

God vs. the AxisTwo titles typed on page one, "The Discovery of God," and "Rediscovering God" were discardedin favor of the above title. This typescript includes chapter 1, entitled "This Godless World" (pp.1-8), chapter 2, "Religion without God" (pp. 9-17) and chapter 4, "The Madness of War" (pp.26-37). Judging from internal evidence, the manuscript was written in 1943, and although the ideasexpressed and the illustrations used are similar to those in Through War To God, the manuscriptdoes not form a part of the printed work.

I BelieveThis 31 page typescript is simply a compilation of brief statements on a series of miscellaneoustopics such as Reality, Success, Fate, Money, Justice, and Health. It bears no relation to any ofRobinson's work, and is written in a style dissimilar to his.

Out of This Chaos--What?Written during World War II, this twelve page typescript opens with the statement that a newcivilization will be the result of the chaos war has created, but soon Robinson returns to his themesof the similarities between religions and ends the typescript with a description of the beginning ofPsychiana. The manuscript exists in both the original and a carbon copy; pages one and two of thecarbon have corrections in blue pencil.

The PioneerThe title for this 20 page typescript is taken from the first sentence in which Robinson states thatman has a desire to pioneer into the unknowable realm of God. It is a restatement of his belief in theGod-Power, comparing the contacting of the "Power" to the use of electricity in the home: flip theswitch and it's there. This typescript also contains a reference to the Spirit of God as the "Flame".There is a brief biographical section on Robinson's early life in Long Crendon, mistakenly placed inWarwickshire in this manuscript. The original copy has a few corrections in red pencil; the carbon isnot corrected.

Quiet Talks With GodIn 1942 Dr. Frank Robinson wrote a series of 101 newspaper columns entitled "Quiet Talks WithGod." Each column also had an individual title. They exist in several forms in this collection. In thefolder labeled "Quiet Talks (1)" number one is printed on a piece of newsprint 9" x 12"; numbers twothrough six are printed of 9" x 12" glossy paper with corrections marked in pencil; numbers 7-101



Description

are typescripts, each one being two pages, double spaced. Numbers seven, eight, and nine weremis-titled "Quiet Talks About God." Many of the typescripts have corrections in green ink or redpencil. The folder labeled "Quiet Talks (2)" contains mimeographed copies of all 101 columns, eachon a single 91/2" x 12" sheet of paper. There is also a single 14" x 19" sheet of newspaper layoutcontaining the first six talks.

The Wanderer (1) & (2)The Wanderer(1) contains a carbon typescript of pages numbered 136-154 which correspond topages 119-135 of the fourth chapter of the printed version of the work. The original typescript in"The Wanderer" (2), numbered 155-166, is headed "Chapter 5 -- In which we see 'The Wanderer' inAction." Although chapter 5 of the published book has the same title, this typescript does not form apart of the final version.

Psychiana Lead ArticlesThese forty-nine typescript articles of varying lengths were written in 1939 and apparently wereintended for the Weekly. They are dated in pencil on the top of the first page of each article fromJanuary 4 to December 28, but include no year; they do not appear in the 1940 issues of the journal.Newspaper clippings and other printed material are attached to the typescripts; notes regarding typesize are also indicated. There are many corrections made in red pencil.

Psychiana Miscellaneous ArticlesApproximately twenty three items are contained in this folder. Although many of the articles are notdated, they seem to have been written between 1937 and 1948. Included are typescripts of articles,some designated for the Bulletin, and typescripts for advertising circulars, including one measuring101/2" x 43" which Robinson wanted inserted in the largest newspaper in Spokane." The typescriptof the first of a new series of lessons "Psychiana for Christians" is in the folder as are two articlesand a printed circular for the "American Fifth Column Movement."

Series IV. Lectures and Broadcasts

This series contains typescripts of speeches and transcriptions of Robinson's radio broadcasts. Theyare interfiled and arranged chronologically by year; since many of the folders contain more than onespeech, no attempt was made to organize them by month. Some speeches contain no dates, but anattempt was made to date them from internal evidence. The University of Idaho Special CollectionsLibrary also has the broadcast recordings for "Flashes of Truth" and the "Psychiana Program."Unfortunately the lack of proper audio equipment prevents one from comparing the typescripts with theactual speech.

Description Dates

Success or Failure -- Wealth or Poverty -- Which? (Large Lecture)This "lecture" was designed to be read--not delivered orally. It is also called"Introductory Lecture Two" of the Psychiana lessons. In this series it exists inthree forms; a fifteen, page published booklet, 51/2"x 8"; a ten page publishedbooklet, 51/2"x 8"; and finally as a twelve page carbon typescript.

1929

Transcription Copy, 1-6 1929?Frank Bruce Robinson Papers, 1929-1951http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv97133 16


Description Dates

These appear to be brief radio advertisements for a free copy of Robinson's sixthousand word lecture on Psychiana which was available from the radio stationcarrying the advertisement. Each typescript is two pages in length.

The Bibles of the Xtian ReligionThis is a twenty-two page original typescript of an address delivered at thePhilharmonic Auditorium, Los Angeles, on January 5, 1930. The introductiongives a brief history of man and the similarities between the various religions.Robinson then gives a brief description of the history and various translations ofthe Christian Bible.

1930

Easter Lecture"Did Jesus Christ Rise From the Dead?" This 37 page original typescriptfocuses not only on the scientific impossibility of the resurrection, but also onthe many contradictions in the Gospels. Pages 7 and 8 are missing, but sincethe first several lines on page 9 are crossed out, one can assume the missingpages were cut from the speech. There are some corrections, both in penciland green ink.

1933?

Easter SundayRobinson's first speech to a Spokane, Washington audience was deliveredon April 1, 1934, at the Masonic Temple. The 15 page carbon typescript wastyped from notes taken by secretaries during the speech itself. (Offering wastaken, and several applause notes are included in the typescript.) The contentis similar to the 1933 speech described above.

1934

Radio AddressUnlike Robinson's other speeches, this address on behalf of Klamath Fallsmayor Willis Mahoney in his unsuccessful bid for the Oregon governorship, ispurely political. The speech was broadcast over radio station KEX on May 17,1934. Robinson was Mahoney's chief financial backer and notes in ink on theback of page six of the typescript indicate that he believed fraud and votingirregularities were the cause of Mahoney's defeat.

1934

Doctor Robinson's Fireside HourThe carbon typescripts for two of these 15 minute radio programs are foundin this folder. The first is dated October 26, 1934, the other is undated, butsince it is for the second program one can assume it is for the November 2broadcast. In these programs Robinson played hymns on his pipe organ andalso commented on the circumstances surrounding the writing of the hymnsplayed.

1934

Trinity Auditorium, Los AngelesThis appears to be a transcription of short-hand notes taken during the speechdelivered on January 6, 1935. It is an original typescript, 16 pages in length. Inhis speech Dr. Robinson reiterates his religious theories.

1935



Description Dates

Flashes of TruthThe transcripts of the first six, of a total of fourteen, "Flashes of Truth"broadcasts are in this folder. Programs one through four are five pages inlength; in addition to Robinson's organ playing, a "Guide" interviews himabout his beliefs. In programs five and six, which are six pages long, the stylechanges slightly. After an introduction and organ selection Robinson proceedsto lecture for the remainder of the program. These 15 minute programs wereprepared by the Izzard Company of Seattle, and recorded by MacGregor andSollie studios in San Francisco.

1935

Psychiana Programs 7-18These typescripts are for a series of 15 minute radio broadcasts which wererecorded by MacGregor and Sollie studios of San Francisco. Robinson opensand closes each program with an organ selection., and again, as in "Flashesof Truth", the interviewer, who is designated in the script as "Guide", questionsRobinson about his philosophy. There are many corrections and deletionspenciled on the typescript.

1935

New Visions of GodOn six consecutive evenings in January 1935 Robinson held a series oflectures in Los Angeles. The outlines for the first four lectures and thetypescripts of lectures five and six are in this folder. Attached to the typescriptsare pages from Robinson's book Crucified Gods Galore.

1935

Psychiana TranscriptionsSix transcriptions, or radio announcements, prepared by the Izzard Company,advertising Robinson's six thousand word treatise and informing the radioaudience when his radio programs were broadcast are in this folder. There arealso two cue sheets for closing statements by local radio announcers.

1937

Radio BroadcastsTranscripts for these programs were prepared in September 1937 by theIzzard Advertising Company of Seattle. The script for program number oneis missing, number two is entitled "Peace, Happiness, and Abundance", thethird, "Realization", the fourth "Cosmic Rays", and the sixth "Call to Arms." Onlyprogram five has no individual title. The program consisted of an introduction bythe announcer, a brief inspirational talk by Dr. Robinson, during which he oftenread a letter from a student, then a summation and closing statement by theannouncer, sometimes including an excerpt from a student's letter. There arenumerous penciled changes on these typed scripts.

1937

National Convention SpeechThe three lectures delivered at the Psychiana National Convention in Portland,Oregon on November 28, 29, and 30 are stapled together, but numberedseparately. Lecture one is 17 pages, lecture two is 12 pages, and lecture threeis 9 pages. The first lecture is a general introduction to Psychiana and containsexcerpts from student's letters, lecture two is entitled "Can A Dying Church

1937



Description Dates

Be Saved?" and lecture three includes a testimonial and several questionsfrom the audience. The typescripts appear to have been transcribed fromstenographic notes made at the convention, not the typed copy from whichRobinson spoke.

Radio BroadcastsThese six broadcasts, prepared by the Izzard Company in March 1938, aresimilar to the previous broadcasts. The "Guide" enters Robinson's home whileRobinson is playing the organ, they have a brief conversation during whichletters from students are read, then Robinson plays another organ selectionwhile the announcer tells the radio audience how to obtain Robinson's sixthousand word treatise on Psychiana. As with the other radio scripts, there aremany penciled changes on the typescript.

1938

National Convention SpeechesThe Psychiana National Convention on October 2-4, 1938 was again held inthe Masonic Temple, Portland. During these three days Dr. Robinson deliveredfour lectures, the typescripts of which are 12, 16,13 and 18 pages respectively.Dr. C.W. Tenney's introductory remarks are included with lectures one, two,and four.

1938

Jack Holden BroadcastThis is a five page typescript of a program of music and conversation withChicago radio announcer Jack Holden, Dr. Robinson and tenor Henry Burr. Itappears to be the first in a series of projected "Quiet Talks With Henry Burr andDr. Frank B. Robinson of Moscow, Idaho."

1938?

American Spiritual AwakeningThe American Spiritual Awakening was launched in Los Angeles in September1941. Robinson and Ernest Holmes, Dean of the Institute of Religious Scienceand Philosophy, Los Angeles, shared the stage for the five talks. Robinsonreturned in October to deliver yet another lecture. Folder one contains thetypescripts, both original and carbon, of Robinson's speeches on September22 (9 pages), September 24 (7 pages) and October 12 (9 pages). The secondfolder contains the heavily corrected typescripts of Holmes's speeches onSeptember 21 (7 pages), September 23 (14 pages) and September 25 (8pages); Robinson's introductory remarks are also included. A note attachedto the first speech reads "The original transcription of this first meeting wasdestroyed--so this is only about half of what was taken down."

1941

Series V. Clippings and Articles

As is true with many people in public life, Robinson kept many newspaper and magazine articles abouthimself and his movement, as well as clippings of interest to him or which supported his theories.Some of these clippings he pasted in a brown photograph album; these have been left in the album.Clippings supplied by the Pacific Press Clipping Bureau and clippings of articles which Robinsonfound interesting, but which were not about him, were found in a large envelope; these have now been



mounted. Robinson also kept entire magazines and in two cases copies of The Daily Idahonian. Itemsin this series have been sorted according to type of material and the contents of each folder are listedunder the folder heading.

Description

Clippings About RobinsonThe clippings in this folder were mounted on approximately fifty sheets of legal size paper. On onesheet are several very unfavorable items, one calling the movement "one of the most barefacedconfidence games ever dished out." There are many clippings dealing with Robinson's trial andsubsequent acquittal, over forty-five clippings about his deportation hearing, and several articlesannouncing his re-entry into the United States from Cuba. Newspaper advertisements for hislectures in Los Angeles are also represented. There are three unmounted items. Selected articlesare listed below by page number.

Miscellaneous ClippingsA third folder contains an assortment of miscellaneous clippings found among Robinson's papers.

ScrapbookItems in the scrapbook are in chronological order and are listed below by page number. Somepages contain more than one article, other articles occupy more than one page. Some pages areblank.

Magazines

Newspapers

Series VI. Photographs

There are many photographs in this series, most of which were used to illustrate magazine articlesdealing with Psychiana. A few family photographs are included as are pictures of celebrities whichRobinson requested. The photographs have been separated by subject; a brief description of eachof the seven folders is given below. Each photograph contains two sets of numbers separated by ahyphen; the first number is the folder number., the second the number of the print within the folder.Since the Special Collections photograph collection contains a majority of these photographs, file cardswere not made for the card catalog, however, a complete list of photographs will be found in the filecards maintained for the inventory of the Robinson papers.

Description

Folder 1. Frank Bruce Robinson, NegativesOf the nine photographic negatives in this folder, two show Robinson posed with his car, 1-2 givesa good view of the front of the Robinson home in 1932 before it was enlarged. There are fournegatives of Robinson seated at his organ, 2 distant views showing the pedals, and two close-up views; a print for 1-6 is included. Negatives 1-7 and 1-8, with their accompanying prints, showsuccessive cuts from the deGueldre photograph of Robinson. The final negative is a portion of the "ITalked With God" advertisement; the envelope in which the negative has been placed also contains



Description

the original magazine advertisement from which the negative was made and a photoprint made fromthe negative.

Folder 2. Frank Bruce Robinson, PhotographsThere are thirty-two different poses in this folder, the earliest is dated about 1910, the latest 1948.Different sizes or printings of the same picture are given the same number, the suffix a, b, etc.,being added to differentiate the pictures. Some of the pictures are autographed, some mounted or infolders. In addition to the publicity pictures there is a series of three photographs, 2-24, 2-25, 2-26,which show Dr. Robinson at work in his bedroom study. Photograph 2-27 was taken at the RotaryConvention in San Francisco in 1947; 2-29 and 2-30 show him with his Duesenberg. Photograph2-31 which was mailed to Alfred in January 1948 is probably the last photograph taken of Dr.Robinson.

Folder 3. Robinson Addressing GroupsThese photographs show Robinson speaking to gatherings of Psychiana students and otherinterested people in Spokane, Los Angeles and Portland. Robinson used these photographs toillustrate his books and also in his advertising.

Folder 4. PsychianaThe four negatives and forty-four photographs in this folder represent the growth of Psychiana. Theyshow the various buildings occupied by the organization and the staff, both clerical and printing,as they go about their daily tasks. Many views of the individual departments were used in thearticles published about Psychiana in national magazines. Some of the pictures have notes eitherpenciled or typed on the back. There are several views of the Robinson Professional Building andthe Psychiana International Headquarters Building which was next to it. There are also photographsof Rev. W.W. DeBolt and C.W. Tenney, Robinson's assistants. A picture of Stephen Bern Dahlman,the artist who illustrated many of the Psychiana ideas, is also in this folder.

Folder 5. Robinson FamilyThis folder contains eight negatives of Robinson and several unidentified friends, two smallphotographs of Robinson in Pompeii, a profile portrait of Pearl (Mrs. Frank) Robinson, fourphotographs of Alfred, two of Florence and one snap shot of Alfred Bruce Robinson, Jr., Dr.Robinson's grandson.

Folder 6. Robinson and FriendsIncluded in this group are three negatives taken at the Uniontown Stock Show, photographs ofMarcus Bach, Tommy Burns, Henry Burr, Thomas Dewey, Rev. Bebe H. Patten, and one of FrankRobinson with Red Skelton. Some of these photographs are signed.

Folder 7. MiscellaneousThe major portion of this group of negatives and photoprints are of the covers of Robinson's bookswhich were used in advertising circulars. (See Broadsides in Box 7). The other items are a negativeand photoprint of the Psychiana pin, three negatives for what could be a Christmas card, and thenegative for the aerial view of Robinson Lake Park.

Series VII. Miscellaneous



There are several folders of material which did not fit into any of the regular series; this material isdescribed below under the appropriate folder heading.

Description Dates

Student LiteratureRobinson's students often sent him articles,- poems and songs which theyhad written. Many of these endeavors found their way into various Psychianapublications. In addition to the works listed below, many student writings areattached to letters in Series I.

Pictures of Jesus

Letterheads used by Dr. Robinson

Lists of Newspapers Regularly Used for Dr. Frank B. Robinson's 'Psychiana'Advertising

1942

Aneed, Antonius JosephIn 1945 Bishop Aneed raised Frank B. Robinson to the episcopate of theFederated Independent Catholic and Orthodox Churches. There have sincebeen questions as to Bishop Aneed's own consecration.

Psychiana PinsSeventy-five Psychiana pins were found with the Robinson papers. Dr.Robinson described the emblem as "a beautiful gold-plated two color emblem.The red flame of truth tops this beautiful pin. In the middle, in blue is the'Psychiana' P, and the whole design is very beautiful." A later advertisementdescribes the emblem as the "flame of truth held high by the hand of the truthseeker."

Series VIII. Broadsides

This series contains examples of many of the advertising broadsides sent by Psychiana to students andprospective students. The largest single type of material was labeled on the original folders "Follow-ups." These are the letters and broadsides sent to anyone answering a Psychiana advertisement. Indescribing the contents of the follow-up folders a Group refers to the entire series of mailings, a Set isthe material included in a single mailing. Some years include more than one group.

Items in this series are arranged by type of material or subject content. Since some items wereduplicated many broadsides will be found in more than one folder. An alphabetical list of folderheadings, with a brief description of the contents, follows.

Description Dates

American Spiritual AwakeningThis folder contains material on the American Spiritual Awakening, thePsychiana Spiritual Awakening, and the Psychiana Revival. There are two



Description Dates

broadsides on the Institute of Religious Science, Los Angeles, which wasaffiliated with the Psychiana movement.

ArticlesThese are mostly single page reprints of articles by or about Robinson.

Dahlman, Stephen Bern. DrawingsA Psychiana student from Grand Forks, North Dakota, Stephen Dahlmanillustrated many of Robinson's ideas. This folder contains ten drawings, 81/2" x11", plus three on larger paper with a note from Robinson signed 'Doc.' Theseillustrations and others not represented in this folder are also found in thefollow-ups.

Direct MailThe direct mail approach was used between 1947 and 1949. The items inthis folder include post cards and other types of come-on advertising, some ofwhich include dates used in pencil on the sheets. Some sheets also have a listof other items which were mailed with them.

FinancialThere are only two items which give any indication of the financial aspectsof Psychiana. The sheet which is included in an envelope containing threebroadsides mailed to Robinson when he was in California, gives a breakdownof income by source for the date of February 23, 1947, and includes the incomefor the day, the month, and the year to the date of the sheet. Also includedis a similar sheet for February 23, 1946. The second item is a copy for anadvertisement in the Spokane Press entitled "A Suggestion For Those NotQuite Sure Where to Place Their Surplus Funds," with the recommendationthey invest in Psychiana. An accountant's statement of Psychiana income,profit and loss for the nine months ended September 1932 is part of theadvertisement.

Follow-upsThe folder contains 3 sets or mailings, each containing a letter, broadsides,and a lecture. Also included are several miscellaneous broadsides which werediscontinued May 1, 1935.

1935

Follow-upsThere is one group of six sets, some items include the date new material wasadded to the mailing. There are also two miscellaneous sets.

1936

Follow-upsIncluded in this folder is one group of nine sets which have been dated, andone group of six sets, some with pencil notes concerning their use.

1937

Follow-ups 1938



Description Dates

This folder includes a list of the contents of each set mailed between January1 and September 27, 1938, a group of seven sets which include the first fivelessons of "Man Can Now Talk With God," and many miscellaneous sheets,some with notes as to when used, when pulled, and supply on hand.

Follow-upsAmong the items in this folder are several 1938 follow-ups with notes abouttheir discontinuance in 1939, two groups of follow-ups started and stoppedin 1939, a group of seven sets started in May containing notes as to mailingfrequency, and a group of six sets dated September 1939.

1939

Follow-upsThe only items included in this folder are material relating to the "SpiritualBlitzkrieg," including three blitzkrieg pins, the pamphlet "What is 'Psychiana',"and some undated broadsides.

1940

Follow-upsThis folder contains miscellaneous broadsides, some with pencil notes relatingto replacements.

1941

Follow-upsBesides some miscellaneous dated broadsides, this folder includes threegroups of follow-ups, one with six sets, one with eight sets, and the other withfive sets.

1942

Follow-upsThis folder contains a single group of eight sets.

1943

Follow-upsContained in this folder are one group of two sets with a note that these setswere discontinued, a group of five sets dated May 1944, and an undated groupof four sets.

1944

Follow-upsThere are two groups in this folder, one with six sets, the other with five. Unlikethe other follow-ups, both these groups are headed "Invitation Number One,Two, etc."

1946

Follow-upsThere are two dated groups in this folder, one containing six sets, the othertwo.

1949

Follow-upsIncluded in this folder are twenty-one letters, with all enclosures, whichwere mailed to students and former students. Each envelope is labeled,

1950



Description Dates

giving the date of the mailing and the mailing list used. There are also someadvertisements for books.

Follow-upsThe contents of this folder are similar to the 1950 folder. It contains twenty-fivecirculars, and besides the date sent and list used, there is also a key which,when the order form was returned, could be used to indicate from which groupthe reply was received.

1951

Letters from Robinson, PrintedThese letters were used in many of the follow-up mailings and include copies oftelegrams to Mussolini and Churchill, letters addressed "Dear Fellow Student"which accompanied the lessons, and Robinson's 1947 Christmas message.Various printings of the same letter are represented in this folder.

Letters to Robinson, PrintedIncluded in this folder are the letter from Geoffrey Birley, one headed "What aWorld Famous Surgeon Thinks of Psychiana" in both Dutch and English, andother testimonial letters which Robinson included in the follow-ups. As in theprevious folder, various printings of the same letter are included.

Letters Sent With LessonsEach lesson sent to students had a letter from Dr. Robinson. In this folderthe first group has one letter only, the second has seventeen letters; the thirdcontains forty-five, each with questions about the lessons.

Letters, Overdue AccountsThere are several types of material in this folder, notices which were attachedto lessons, brief notes about finances, and letters. The letters were sent in aseries, and, after sending four or five letters and receiving no reply from thestudent, a letter was sent by the Psychiana Legal Department which threatenedto turn the account over to a lawyer in the student's home town for collection.There are 38 separate items in this folder.

Messages to StudentsAmong the items in this folder are the two free booklets, the PsychianaCreed, information on establishing a Psychiana Sales Agency, and the "DailyProcedure for every 'Psychiana' Student."

Miscellaneous BroadsidesThis folder includes order forms for lessons, printed letters, and other items,many of which are found in the other folders in this series.

Order Forms, BooksThis folder contains book lists, a publications catalog, special offers andvarious advertisements for individual books, with order forms printed at the



Description Dates

bottom. Mounted on Robinson s stationery is the first order for Gleams Overthe Horizon, which was received on January 10, 1939.

Order Forms, LessonsThere are eleven sets of order forms which were sent with various followups,special offers to students, and application blanks for advanced courses. Someof the forms are dated to indicate when they were used; some have been filledin by students.

Paste-upsThis is an interesting folder as it not only contains paste-ups for newadvertisements, but also changes made in earlier advertisements. There areoften notes to the printer concerning type size or color.

Pictures Used as EnclosuresRobinson at his desk. 1943.Robinson at his organ. undatedRobinson at hisdesk reading mail. undatedRobinson addressing a class at the University ofIowa. undatedAmerican Spiritual Awakening (Robinson-Holmes) Los Angeles.1941.Robinson at Trinity Auditorium, Los Angeles. 1935.

Psychiana Church MaterialCertificate of MeritCertificate of ApprovalCertificate of LifeMembershipInstructions for Psychiana church groupsApplication for Ordinationas a Minister in the 'Psychiana' faith Requirements for OrdinationCertificate ofOrdination (copy)The Church of Psychiana. Articles of Faith.

Quiet Talks With GodIn an attempt to place his newspaper column Robinson sent a letter to allAmerican newspaper publishers enclosing a card giving rates charged for thecolumn based on the circulation of the paper. Also included in this folder areseveral advertising broadsides.

Speech and Convention AnnouncementsBroadsides dealing with the Convention at Trinity Auditorium, Los Angeles in1936, the National Convention in Portland in 1937, and a speech at the ShrineAuditorium, Portland, in 1937 are included in this folder.

War MessagesDuring World War II, Robinson made several prophecies about the war; thesewere offered free in two advertisements "Death to the Axis" and "Is God Dead",both printed in 1942. Also included in this folder is the "Robinson Plan for WorldPeace", "The War is On", "The American Fifth Column", a pamphlet entitled"Blitzkrieg for God" and a Blitzkrieg pin, as well as many other broadsides.

Series IX. Items Not In File Boxes



The items in this series were included with the Robinson gift but were not in the sealed boxes. Becausethey are oversized it was not possible to place them in a file box. A complete list of these items follows.

Description Dates

Pharmacy Licenses (framed)

Oregon. Board of Pharmacy May 22, 1920.

Arizona. Board of Pharmacy November 2,1922.

California. Board of Pharmacy June 25, 1924.

Idaho. Department of Law Enforcement July 17, 1929.

Certificates (framed)

National Geographic Society. Membership October 31,1933.

Mark Twain Society. Honorary Member September 26,1944

Photographs (framed)

Aerial view of Robinson Lake and Park

Frank B. Robinson with Group Attending Psychiana National Convention,Shrine Auditorium, Portland, Oregon

October 2-4,1938

Frank B. Robinson Addressing Audience, Trinity Auditorium, Los Angeles January 27,1935

New York Evening Graphic Seventh Annual All Sports Dinner, Hotel Astor, NewYork

May 19, 1932

PosterAdvertisement for addresses in Trinity Auditorium, Los Angeles, January 27-31,1935. 14" x 221/2"

RecordsGood news - the peaceful program. June 6, 1947. 1 side. SoundworkshopFlashes of Truth. 16 sides. MacGregor & Sollie RecordingLaboratoriesPsychiana. 4 sides. MacGregor & Sollie Recording



Description Dates

LaboratoriesPsychiana. 28 sides. Izzard Radio ProductionsPsychiana Program.14 sides. MacGregor & Sollie Recording Laboratories

Names and SubjectsSubject Terms :Psychiana movementReligious institutions -- Idaho -- Moscow -- History -- SourcesCorporate Names :Psychiana ReligionOccupations :Founder of Psychiana, a mail-order religion based in Moscow, Idaho.Other Creators :

Personal Names :Robinson, Frank B. (Frank Bruce), b. 1886--Archives.

Finding aid prepared by Judith Nielsen1980



frank bruce robinson papers, 1929-1951

Documents