[CHAPLIN CHARLES]: (1889-1977) English Film Comedian, Academy Award winner. An unusual, unbranded, pendant ink pen ...

[CHAPLIN CHARLES]: (1889-1977) English Film Comedian, Academy Award winner. An unusual, unbranded, pendant ink pen apparently used by Chaplin to write his memoirs My Autobiography (1964). The cartridge pen measures 5.5'' in length and is made of plain black ebonite with a part stainless steel barrel, and stainless steel nib, fitting securely into a plain black ebonite pendant cap. The pen is loosely attached via a red ribbon lanyard to a printed visiting card bearing two addresses in Switzerland and with a brief printed auction catalogue description (in French) neatly pasted to the centre, stating, in part, 'Un stylo plume pendentif en ebonite. Utilise par Chaplin pour de la redaction de sa biographie, publiee en 1964.' Some very minor signs of age wear, otherwise VG £400 - 500 September 1964 saw the release of Chaplin's memoirs, My Autobiography, which he had been working on since 1957. The 500-page book, which focused on his early years and personal life, became a worldwide best-seller, despite criticism over the lack of information on his film career. Along with Chaplin: His Life and Art, it provided the source material for the 1992 feature film Chaplin. Following Chaplin's rise to fame during the silent film era, the comic actor became a worldwide icon and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of cinema. (See also lot 110)