Los Angeles - From the Sunset Strip to Abbey Road, Bonhams & Butterfields, the world’s fastest growing auction house, is pleased to announce the record-breaking sale on Sunday, June 25, 2006 of film legend Charlie Chaplin’s trademark bowler hat and cane from his iconic Tramp costume.  A noted private collector acquired the lot - after competitive bidding - for $139,250...breaking a world's record.

“We are a global company with an international vision of customer service and sales,” said Jon Baddeley, Group Head of the Collectibles Department, “the Chaplin hat and cane is a prime example of this – although these items were initially consigned in London, Bonhams draws from corporate resources worldwide to place a lot where the market is strongest, across a nation or around the globe.”

Chaplin’s famous origins of the “Tramp” persona were concocted almost spontaneously in the communal male dressing room at Keystone Studios, Hollywood.  As the legend goes - one rainy afternoon, in early February 1914, Chaplin created an inspiring ensemble of contrasts: he borrowed Fatty Arbuckle’s voluminous trousers, Charles Avery’s tiny jacket, Ford Sterling’s size 14 shoes (which he was obliged to wear on the wrong feet to keep them falling off), a too-small derby belonging to Arbuckle’s father-in-law, and a moustache intended for Mack Swain’s use, which he trimmed to toothbrush size.  According to Ted Tetrick, Chaplin’s Hollywood producer and costumier at the time, the hat and cane were originally within the studio’s costume department and were selected by Chaplin personally.

The bowler hat is stamped with manufacturer’s details inside the leather hatband and original studio label stamped “The Chaplin Studios Inc. California” and ink stamped “Charles Chaplin Film Corporation.”  The cane is 32-inches long and made of bamboo.  Charlie Chaplin, according to auction house specialists, was without doubt, the most innovative and recognizable comic of the silent screen.