A Dog's Life (1918)

Formerly from the collection of Sir Richard Attenborough, who purchased the poster when he was making his film on Charlie Chaplin in the early 1990s.

This is one of only three known surviving examples; two of which have the same blue background and the other has a white background. This rare and important piece of film history is a true museum piece.

Released in 1918, A Dog's Life was Charlie Chaplin's first film after signing with First National, a landmark deal that gave him complete creative freedom and earned him an unprecedented $1 million contract. Running approximately 33 minutes across three reels, the silent short was written, produced, directed by, and starred Chaplin as his iconic Tramp character. In the story, the Tramp rescues a stray dog named Scraps, who later helps him and Edna (his love interest) find a brighter future. More polished and emotionally rich than Chaplin's earlier work, A Dog's Life marked an important stage in his development as a filmmaker. Hailed by some critics as "cinema's first total work of art," the film also laid the foundation for Chaplin's first feature-length feature film, The Kid (1921).