Ahead of Merry Merry Marilyn, today’s online event at Julien’s Auctions, I’m looking at items that defined her legacy – but first, here’s a test shot from her shelved last film, Something’s Got to Give.
SOLD for $256
Andy Warhol unveiled his Marilyn Diptych shortly after her death in 1962. His pop art masterpiece graced posters for a 1971 exhibition at London’s Tate Gallery (left); and a printing plate for a TV Guide cover story in 2001 (right.)
SOLD for $7,680 (left) and $192 (right)
A hardcover book featuring eighteen pages of images from Marilyn’s ‘last sitting’ with Bert Stern for the Autumn 1962 edition of Eros, an art magazine published in New York.
SOLD for $576
A limited first edition hardback copy of After the Fall, signed by Arthur Miller. His 1964 play shocked audiences with its frank portrayal of a doomed relationship, seemingly inspired by his marriage to Marilyn. A photo of the couple at a press party for Let’s Make Love (1960) is also included.
SOLD for $768
A first edition hardback copy of Fred Lawrence Guiles’ Norma Jean (1969), one of the earliest full-length biographies, with one of Marilyn’s own favourite photos by Cecil Beaton on the cover. By 1995, when Guiles signed this copy for Monroe fan Steve Campbell (‘who clearly loves Norma Jean as much as the author does’), two revised editions had appeared, but the original version remains the most desirable.
SOLD for $1,152
Above, at top: a brochure for the touring exhibition, Marilyn Monroe: The Legend and the Truth, from its 1972 stop in Tokyo. An image from Milton Greene’s ‘black sitting’ made the cover; while another photographer, Andre de Dienes, signed a small photo of himself standing by Marilyn’s graveside in Los Angeles.
SOLD for $192
And below: two jigsaw puzzles featuring nude photos of Marilyn by Tom Kelley and Bert Stern, produced in 1973 as exhibition merchandise in partnership with Playboy.
SOLD for $512
Above, at top: a first edition hardback copy of the controversial bestseller, Marilyn (1973), signed by author Norman Mailer and Lawrence Schiller, whose photos of Marilyn were featured alongside others who captured her image on film.
SOLD for $512
And below: a British press kit for Of Women and Their Elegance, the 1980 book featuring Milton Greene’s portraits of Marilyn and other stars. In the accompanying text, Norman Mailer attempted a ‘imaginary memoir’ in Marilyn’s literary voice.
The folder includes a small folded poster; a single sheet of black and white images; a reprinted black and white photo from the Black Sitting; around 40 film strips; three photocopied pages of reviews; and a 15 page excerpt from the book.
SOLD for $192
A portfolio featuring six prints by the Spanish artist Jose ‘Pepe’ Gonzalez, each with related text in the lower corner as well as a facsimile signature and date; all in their original folder dated ‘1979’ and noting a Barcelona address where they were printed.
SOLD for $1,024
A first edition hardback copy of My Sister Marilyn (1994), signed by co-authors Berniece Baker Miracle (Marilyn’s half-sister) and Mona Rae Miracle (Marilyn’s niece.)
SOLD for $512
And finally: at left, a poster of Marilyn in 1956, sipping champagne in the pool at the Greenes’ family home; at right, a group of nine Monroe-themed Christmas ornaments from Ashton-Drake Galleries.
Poster SOLD for $320; ornaments SOLD for $576
You can read all my posts on Merry Merry Marilyn right here.
The Marilyn Report 
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