Signed Marilyn Monroe passport photo sells for over $21K at auction
The tiny photo — 2.25 x 2.75 inches — which is inscribed in red ink, 'To Mr. Bolds, Thanks and my warmest regards, Marilyn Monroe DiMaggio,' sold Wednesday for $21,655, according to Boston-based RR Auction.
The famous duo — who tied the knot two weeks earlier — went to a federal building in San Francisco on Jan. 29, 1954, to get passports for their upcoming honeymoon and work trip in Japan.
But the then-27-year-old Monroe — born Norma Jeane Mortenson — didn't have a photo for the travel document, so 'Joltin' Joe' improvised by going to a nearby arcade with a photo of the 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' star, making multiple copies of it.
When the then-40-year-old Yankee Clipper returned roughly an hour later, the 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend' performer signed one of the copies for the passport officer, Harry E. Bolds, SWNS first reported, citing the auction house.
The signed vintage matte image did not ultimately end up in Monroe's passport, but it was apparently one of the copies the famous outfielder made that day.
On the passport application, Monroe put her legal name down as 'Norma Jeane DiMaggio' and she listed the retired MLBer as her emergency contact and put his Bay Area city address down — '2150 Beach Street' — on the document. NYP
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