International Autograph Auctions have broken the record for the price of a Charlie Chaplin signed photo in their 14th March sale.
Described as 'one of the finest know photographs ot the Little Tramp in existence', the 10 inch x 8 inch sepia photograph sold for €5,500, the equivalent of £4,852, or $5,900 USD.
The photo shows Chaplin in a full length pose as the Little Tramp in an image from the 1928 movie The Circus.
The photo has been signed at the base 'With best wishes. Sincerely Charles Chaplin'.
The Circus was the 7th highest grossing silent film in cinematic history and Chaplin was awarded a special Academy Award for acting, writing and directing the movie.
At the Memorabilia Club we consider Chaplin one of the 'Blue Chips' of autograph investment, on par with Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs.
In 1987 Christie's sold Chaplin’s walking cane, bowler hat and shoes for $150,000, a record price for Charlie Chaplin memorabilia.
As with all memorabilia, provenance is key, and these came from the collection of Chaplin's wardobe manager Ted Tetrick.
One of the quirkiest pieces of Chaplin to appear at auction was his fake mustache from the movie The Great Dictator which sold for $34,470 at Christie's in 2004.
The Celebrity Memorabilia Index had listed the price of a Charlie Chaplin signed photo at £2,950. So the £4,852 auction realisation shows an incredible increase of 64.47%.
'Better than BitCoin' as we like to say.
About your Author:
Adrian Roose has over 30 years’ experience covering all aspects of the rare stamp & memorabilia industry during which he has sold over £50m of unique items, helping build collections for Royalty, household name celebrities and 1,000s of collectors around the world.
Adrian was previously a Director at Stanley Gibbons, a Board Member of Stampex, and Executive Director of Paul Fraser Collectibles, PFC Auctions and JustCollecting, prior to founding The Memorabilia Club.