CHARLIE CHAPLIN - CHAPLIN CAMERA EXPECTED TO SELL FOR THOUSANDS

An historic camera belonging to screen legend CHARLIE CHAPLIN is expected to fetch thousands when it goes up for sale at a London auction this summer (07). The Bell and Howell 2709, which was used to film many of Chaplin's masterful silent films, including 1921's The Kid and The Gold Rush (1925), is estimated to sell for $180,000 (GBP90,000) when it is auction off Christie's. Chaplin purchased the camera in 1918, a few years after he had moved from England to the US to pursue a career in the performing arts. Christie's spokesman, Michael Pritchard says, "It is quite possible that the Bell and Howell continued working on Chaplin's 'silent' productions of the 1930s, among which City Lights and Modern Times are the most highly regarded."