 Charlie Chaplin's Books and Music CDs Linda Wada - ednapurviance.org |
| Books This is a huge list! There are so many books on Chaplin, I’m not going to try to list them all here, but The Chaplin Library has nearly 600 hundred Chaplin books to view. Also, the Chaplin Database makes for easy searching for Chaplin books. Because of this, I will only list a few here I found that would be great for any Chaplin collection. 'My Autobiography’ By Charles Chaplin 'My Life in Pictures' By Charles Chaplin 'My Father, Charlie Chaplin’ By Charlie Chaplin Jr. 'Chaplin, His Life and Art' By David Robinson (special note: There are three verisons of this book in print:1985, 1994 and 2001 UK release) ‘The Chaplin Encyclopedia’ By Glenn Mitchell ‘The Legend of Charlie Chaplin’ By Peter Haining ‘The Films of Charlie Chaplin’ By Gerald McDonald, Michael Conway and Mark Ricci ‘Charlie Chaplin’ (French) By Maurice Bessy 'Making Music with Charlie Chaplin' By Eric James Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema by Jefferey Vance Chaplin: A Photo Diary by Michel Comte I will be listing more over time, but this is just a few to get you started. Remember too, that many of these books have photos and stories on Edna Purviance. |
 'My Life in Pictures' British edition, 'Chaplin' 1994 edition and 'The Chaplin Encyclopedia' paperback. |
| Music CDs There are some very good CDs available of Chaplin's music. I do have a longer list in the Chaplin Music Guide. It includes original film recordings that are available and the latest, like the Carl Davis's, Charlie Chaplin The Essential Film Music Collection. Even so, this is the hardest group to find for the average shopper. Unless you live in a very large city or overseas, like in Europe, they are not very common to find on the shelf in America. The best source is the internet. Music CDs do show up on e-Bay and Amazon, but I highly recommend buying directly from the publisher and/or author. In that way, you support the creator, instead of the middle man. And you will get the best product, especially when it comes to books. On e-Bay, just be sure to check out the seller's feedback rating before bidding and know ahead of time what you are willing to pay. No point paying someone on ebay more than the price of the item if currently available elsewhere. Also, some music stores can order in-print CDs. Ask at your favorite music store to see what might be available. As for just looking, my best luck has been overseas. If you know of a friend or family member heading overseas, you could ask their help in looking up CDs for your collection. Unlike DVDs, I did not have any problem playing music CDs or cassette tapes I purchased overseas. If you are really lucky and go to lots of sales, you may find something. With a lot of searching the real fan could find real gems, but it does take time and effort. So just keep your eyes open for the places to look. But if you are just starting and wanting to know what would be good, here is a very short list of my favorite music CDs which would be great for anyone's collection: Charlie Chaplin City Lights- 1989 Conducted by Carl Davis - The City Lights Orchestra Charles Chaplin Film Music - 1996 The Kid, The Gold Rush, The Circus and Modern Times Conducted by Carl Davis Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin "Oh! That Cello" Music of Charlie Chaplin - 1998 Thomas Buckmann and Johannes Cornoin "Charlie!" Music from Charlie Chaplin Classic Films - 1989 & 1993 New Orchestra arrangement - The Munich Symphony Orchestra conducted by Francis Shaw - released by Legacy in 1989 and Silva Screen in 1993 (note: This collection is not the same musical arrangement as Chaplin's, but does have music not available in the Davis collections. Included are 'Love Song' from the unmade film 'The Freak', 'Peace Patrol' and 'This is My Song') Available on CD and tape There are more, of course, but this is just a few music CDs to get you started… |
 These three are excellent for any collection.  SMILE - Originally the theme music of 'Modern Times' was not called 'Smile' until 1954 when John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons wrote the lyrics. Nat 'King' Cole was the first to record 'Smile' in 1954. It reached #10 on the billboard charts. From Linda Wada Private Collection |
Best Sources DVDs, Videos, Music CDs and Books Ebay, Amazon and Half.com are the best on-line sources, but don’t forget to search out other bookstores and CD sellers that are on the web for rare finds too. If you only have room for two music CDs for your collection you can't miss with the Carl Davis's 'City Lights' and 'Chaplin Film Music' collection. These would be great for anyone who has an interest in film music. When traveling always check out book and CD stores, especially overseas. Some of my best finds has been at really out of the way bookshops that don’t get much foot traffic. But if in London, check out the many fine bookshops there too. If used, sales like, estate sales, car boot sales, yard sales, flea markets, charity shops, antique shops and resale stores can be interesting sources. I found a wonderful framed Chaplin poster at a charity store once, so second-hand stores can be a good options for rare finds. Check Edna's Place blog for latest news on book releases, as well. We also have our own book, The Sea Gull "A Woman of the Sea" about Edna's lost film available for purchase at ednapurviance.com. So keep an eye open, for you never know what you might find! Check out Edna's Charles Chaplin's Music and Book page.  |
Check out this link to Bernd Kunze Chaplin Site to see some rare album covers of Chaplin's Music. Also visit the London Journey section with a report on the Edna Purviance Collection in London and The Charlie Chaplin Film Festival at the Royal Festival Hall in London. For DVD and VHS collections in England check out Garen Ewing's  For USA Charlie Chaplin DVD and VHS collections check out Edna's  Thanks for visiting! Linda Wada ednapurviance.org Special thanks for editing help from Wes Wada |
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