An original 1954 passport photo with inscription – ‘To Mr. Bolds, Thanks and my warmest regards, Marilyn Monroe DiMaggio’ – was sold for $21,655 as part of a Fine Autographs and Artefacts event at Boston-based RR Auctions last week.
“On January 29, 1954, just two weeks after their highly publicised wedding, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio visited the Federal Building in San Francisco to obtain their passports for an upcoming trip to Japan. This trip was part of their honeymoon plans, soon to be a mixture of business and pleasure: Monroe performed for U.S. troops in Korea in February, and DiMaggio consulted with various Japanese baseball teams for their upcoming spring training. However, when they arrived at the Federal Building, the passport process was put on hold when it was discovered that Monroe didn’t have her requisite passport picture.
The fast-thinking DiMaggio had an idea. He left Monroe at the office, where she continued with the paperwork, and he whisked over to a Market Street arcade with a photograph of his famous wife. A half hour later, he returned with a group of passport-sized photos and handed one to passport officer Harry E. Bolds, the very ‘Mr. Bolds’ inscribed on the offered photograph. Although this is not the specific passport used in Monroe’s booklet, this photo (given the recipient’s name and identical imagery) appears to be one of the handful that DiMaggio had hastily developed.
On her passport application, Monroe listed her legal name as ‘Norma Jeane DiMaggio’ … The address she provided, ‘2150 Beach Street,’ was DiMaggio’s residence in San Francisco, where the newlyweds were staying … The Monroe-DiMaggio trip proved to be a turning point and a glimpse into each other’s true nature and celebrity status. While Monroe’s performances for the troops in Korea were met with overwhelming adoration, DiMaggio reportedly felt uneasy about the attention she received …”
A separate print shows Marilyn and Joe together, with both front-facing, as per passport requirements. Their sober expressions contrast slightly with the solo shot, where Marilyn is (almost) smiling.
An accompanying newspaper clipping notes that Marilyn’s thumb was in a splint. Asked how she injured it, Marilyn told a reporter, ‘I bumped it.’ The accident is thought to have occurred during their brief honeymoon in Palm Springs, though exactly how she was hurt remains unclear. She was still wearing the bandage when they arrived in Japan.
Marilyn also fielded questions about her suspension from Twentieth Century-Fox after refusing to work on The Girl in Pink Tights. She felt it was too similar to films like The Bowery (1933) and Coney Island (1943), already remade as Wabash Avenue in 1953, with Betty Grable starring in both. While not stated in the article, Marilyn is also thought to have objected to Frank Sinatra appearing in Pink Tights for a higher salary, although he wasn’t under contract at Fox. Having bounced back from a prior career slump with his Oscar-nominated performance in From Here to Eternity (1953), Sinatra was in demand.
Asked what she would be doing while Joe coached Japan’s baseball team, Marilyn replied coyly, ‘if I get a chance … a little sightseeing.’ The journalist probed further, querying if her bosses at Fox were aware of her travel plans. ‘I’m sure her studio knows about this,’ Joe interjected. During their two-week stay, Marilyn’s tour of US military bases in Korea made headlines around the world. After the newlyweds returned to California, her suspension was lifted and Pink Tights was permanently shelved.
Also featured in this auction was a $5 cheque signed by Marilyn to Helen Hunt, chief hairdresser at Columbia Pictures, on November 18, 1950 – which sold for $6,873. Miss Hunt first met Marilyn during her brief stint at the studio in 1948, giving her a Rita Hayworth-style hairdo for her first lead role in the low-budget musical, Ladies of the Chorus.
It has been a busy time on the auction circuit, with the signed mortgage deed for Marilyn and Arthur Miller’s country farmhouse at Old Tophet Road in Roxbury, Connecticut sold for $6,000 at University Archives.
At Heritage Auctions, meanwhile, an Actors Studio sign similar to the one featured in a famous 1956 photo of Marilyn fetched an incredible $65,625 – but Marilyn’s Theda Bara costume from her ‘Fabled Enchantresses’ shoot with photographer Richard Avedon failed to meet the $200,000 reserve.
The biggest news of all, however, was the $14.75 million sale of the ‘Rosebud’ sled from Orson Welles’ masterpiece, Citizen Kane. This is another coup for Heritage, where a pair of Judy Garland’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz sold for $28 million in 2024, breaking the record for highest selling costume piece of all time, previously held by Marilyn’s white dress from The Seven Year Itch.
The Marilyn Report 
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