Signed Portrait by Chaplin, with moustache added.!

Chaplin playfully adds a moustache to his portrait! A marvellous early signed approximately 9" X 7" formal Witzel portrait of Charlie Chaplin. Signed, circa early 1920s, by Chaplin in bold fountain pen ink, 'Yours truly, Chas Chaplin'. He adds, using the same pen, a playful moustache to his portrait. In very fine condition. The first time we have encountered this particular flourish by Chaplin on one of his photographs - rare and desirable in this format! Chaplin first appeared with his trademark facial hair in the 1914 film Making a Living. After selecting his wardrobe, he decided to add a fake moustache, apparently due to the fact that producer Mack Sennett had expected him to look older. Chaplin also felt that the toothbrush moustache - as it became known - had a comical appearance, and was small enough not to hide his facial expressions. The moustache became Chaplin's instantly recognisable attribute in this role as the tramp; a distinctly working class, anti-fashionable embellishment.…