A small passport photo bearing the signature of the late star Marilyn Monroe was sold for over $21,000 at an auction held this week. The photo was taken on a special day she spent with her then-husband, baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, as they were preparing to go on their honeymoon in Japan in 1954.
The photo, measuring just 2.25 × 2.75 inches, was inscribed in red ink: “To Mr. Bolds, Thank you and best regards, Marilyn Monroe DiMaggio.”
It was sold on Wednesday for $21,655 at an auction organized by RR Auction, a Boston-based auction house, according to U.S. media reports.
The famous couple, who had tied the knot just two weeks before the photo was taken, went to a federal building in San Francisco on January 29, 1954, to obtain passports in preparation for their trip to Japan — a journey that combined their honeymoon with work-related engagements.
A Rare Signed Photo from a Honeymoon Day with Joe DiMaggio
At the time, Marilyn Monroe — then 27 years old (her real name was Norma Jeane Mortenson) — did not have a suitable photo for her passport. Joe DiMaggio, who was 40, went to a nearby photo booth carrying a picture of Monroe and had several copies printed.
When he returned about an hour later, Monroe signed one of the copies for passport officer Harry E. Boulds, according to the auction house.
Although the signed photo was never officially used in her passport, it is one of the original prints made that day.
DiMaggio was Monroe’s second husband, following her early marriage to police officer James Dougherty and preceding her final marriage to famed playwright Arthur Miller, from whom she separated before her sudden death at age 36.
