When Morace Park bought the $5 can of nitrate film from eBay he got way more than what he paid for. Inside the can he discovered what his friend John Dwyer, a former member of the British Board of Film Classification, would later tell him contained footage of Charlie Chaplin.

The film, titled Charlie Chaplin in Zepped features:

"…footage of Zeppelins flying over England during the First World War, as well as some very early stop-motion animation, and unknown outtakes of Chaplin films from three Essanay pictures including The Tramp. These have all been cut together into a six-minute movie that Mr Park describes as "in support of the British First World War effort". It begins with a logo from Keystone studios, which first signed Chaplin, and there follows a certification from the Egyptian censors dating the projection as being in December 1916. There are outtakes, longer shots and new angles from the films The Tramp, His New Profession and A Jitney Elopement."

What a find!

We bet the seller is kicking themselves right now!

[Image via AP Images.]