Babe Ruth had Christy Walsh, and Charlie Chaplin had Alfred Reeves. It was Reeves who brought the Little Tramp to Hollywood, who did behind-the-scenes legwork to foster Chaplin's artistic pursuits, and who ran the Charlie Chaplin Film Company. (See Reeves pictured here in between Chaplin and Buster Keaton.) On April 6, 1927—when his world-famous star was still dealing with a studio fire, a public divorce, and a long-delayed release of The Circus—Reeves replied to an autograph request on official Chaplin Film Company stationery with this very telling line: "...we beg to tell you that Mr. Chaplin has been away from the Studio for quite some while." Reeves then adds, "However, the book you sent to be autographed has been placed upon his desk to await his return." Here is that very autobiography, My Trip Abroad, which measures 6x8 and features as fine a jet-black signature as one could possibly imagine on the highly displayable half-title page. The fabulously bold, elegantly executed script rates "9-10", and the EX-MT page is snugly protected inside the VG book. Other signed copies with lengthy inscriptions have been priced at several thousand dollars, yet a sleek, signature without such personalization remains far more desirable. Full LOA from JSA.
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