Charlie Chaplin

The Little Tramp

This very rare and hard to find "Charlie Chaplin" ornament was produced in Germany by skilled artisans for Merck Family’s Old World Christmas 1995 collection. This long retired ornament has an Old World Christmas catalog number of #2487. Made of hand blown glass, this “Little Tramp” measures approximately 6”.

Vintage Old World Christmas ornaments with the trademark Star Cap, like this Charlie Chaplin ornament, were carefully mouth blown, one at a time, into a finely crafted porcelain mold. After the insides were coated with a wash of silver for reflection, they were then hand-painted with brightly colored lacquers and then carefully adorned with sparkling glitter, Venation dew or with other adornments such as the felt bowtie that this Charlie Chaplin ornament sports. After the ornament stems were snipped, the trademark Star Cap was attached; no two ornaments are alike. It took approximately seven days to create one of these magnificent collectible ornaments.

Sir Charles Chaplin (1889-1977) was best known as Charlie Chaplin. He was an English comic actor and film director of the silent film era. He became one of the best-known film stars in the world before the end of the First World War. Chaplin used mime, slapstick and other visual comedy routines and continued well into the era of the talkies, though his films decreased in frequency from the end of the 1920s. His most famous role was that of The Tramp, which he first played in the Keystone comedy Kid Auto Races at Venice in 1914. With Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith, he co-founded United Artists in 1919.