Complaint of the Young Movie Star against Her Elderly Husband (and Famous Film Magnate). [Los Angeles]: Privately Printed, [1928].
First Edition. Tall octavo, original printed stiff wrappers. Uncommon Hollywood item, 32 pages, "Being an exact and complete copy of the allegations of one of the youngest wife and mother complainants ever to place on record her grievances against an older husband: of his extraordinary and immoral demands on her before, during and after her becoming a mother: of his public and private allegations against her: altogether the most sensational divorce plea ever made before the superior court of Los Angeles, California." Privately printed edition of the divorce complaint of Lita Grey Chaplin. In 1924, when she was 16 years old, she became pregnant by Charles Chaplin, who was then 35. Chaplin, who could have been imprisoned for having sexual relations with a minor, married her in secret in Mexico to avoid a scandal. The marriage lasted three years before collapsing in a sensational divorce in 1928 which was one of the most sensationalized media scandals of its day, with Chaplin hit with the largest divorce settlement ever awarded. The legal complaint, with details of the star's sexual life, infidelities and proclivities as published here, tame as they may seem today, were at the time considered near pornography and sold 'under the counter' at the shocking price of $5 (near $50 in today's terms). Near Fine.
Price: $250.00