CHARLES SPENCER CHAPLIN, KNOWN AS CHARLIE CHAPLIN (1889-1977) Portrait photograph with personal dedication

Lot 923
12 00015 000
Signed and dated “Charlie Chaplin” Hollywood, January 30 [19]28”. Elegant half-length portrait in profile on the left Copyright on the back and bottom right of the photograph “Strauss Peyton © 1921”. Dedication to Jacques Benoist Mechin, French intellectual, journalist, historian, musicologist and politician (1901- 1983). “To Jacques Benoist Mechin with my sincere re gards. ...” Charlie Chaplin actor, director, screenwriter, editor, composer, film producer, legendary British comedian and humorist, the world’s first movie star. The Strauss Peyton Studio in Kansas City, formed in 1908 by the photographic duo Benjamin R Strauss and Homer K. Peyton, is still open today and has continued to be a major contributor to the world of portrait photography. Homer Peyton was an extremely talented artist who excelled in manipulating image. He created unique works of art by adding pencils or crayons to the negatives to create a unique background. He also sculpted shadows and added a wider range of tones to portraits to enhance their depth. From 1908 to 1927, Strauss and Peyton photographed celebrities, musicians, and members of society’s elite who came to town to attend theatrical and film performances.