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Marilyn Monroe

Hi All

I am very new to autograph collecting and I wanted to share a story about how I came to take such an interest in it.

My work is located with in an older area of the suburb and next door live an eldery lady who I can to know after helping her shift some boxes in her home.

I am currently studying part time at uni my BA. of History and got talking to her about her travel in the USA int he 1950's right up until the 80's. She showed me a box with autographs she collected including Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis, Linda Darnell, Jean Harlow, Sharon Tate and Mary pickford amongst others. As I was going through them I saw a Marilyn Monroe autograph.

It was on a My Heart belongs to daddy sheet music from the movie lets make love. I said to her that I would get it framed for her which I did and upon taking it back to her she gave it to me.

Her story goes she was in Hollywood during the release of the film and a lady who was lucky enough to get her autograph hated Marilyn and she offered her $5 for it and she accepted.

Now I have the autograph bug and and trying to collect some more from the golden age of Hollywood

One thing she did have and she has since passed away was a letter written by Peg Entwistle who committed suicide by jumping off the Hollywood sign in 1932. I am trying to locate this letter

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on July 26, 2013 at 5:32am

I have no doubt that the check blank is real and the stamps and punches certainly appear real. That leaves the signature itself. I wonder if it is a secretarial signature? Has there been a study of that and also of Hedda Rosten's signature on the back? If someone took a blank check and used a old typewriter and had a PAID stamp and punch made they went to an extraordinary amount of work. Granted forgers especially old ones did at times do this but not usually on something as mundane as a check. If they did go to this much trouble I would think they would have done better with the signature itself. Normally it is the signature that looks perfect and the material it is on suspect. I have several checks of various people some a few days apart one will be quite discolored and the other pristine. So I am personally still a bit up in the air. It might be worthwhile to create a Marilyn Monroe Autograph Study on here if there isn't one already. I would enjoy seeing it. Also I think the Rosten autograph needs to be examined closer.

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Permalink Reply by Pauline Berry on July 26, 2013 at 7:11pm

Here is another "Do Not Buy" on Ebay!

I didn't sell last time for this "bargain price" of $1,895.

They put the prices up to make it look more authentic. Price certainly doesn't guarantee authenticity - although this seller does, with nothing at all to back it up.

"nice Marilyn auto"

I am going to start work on a blog at blogspot to organize a timeline of Marilyn's hand-writing for reference, then I will run it past a few experts, such as Bob Shinn, to check what I write is correct.

Permalink Reply by Simon Gandossi on July 27, 2013 at 8:12pm

Hi Pauline

I was a little worried about the autograph when I got it, so a few months ago I sent it of to a forensic document examiner to have it authenticated. It cost well lets says I had to put in a bit of overtime at work to pay for it but I finally received result last friday. The examiner authenticated it as Marilyn autograph and had also written he spoke with a colleague who was an avid Marilyn collector and he said from what he saw he was certain it was. I am not sure hoe reliable these examiners are but was recommended to use this company buy a museum in hollywood

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Permalink Reply by Pauline Berry on July 28, 2013 at 4:20am

Hi Simon

I have made two blogs, one dedicated to all authentic Marilyn signings, and the other to all the known secretarials, that I have seen anyway. They are grouped in type and chronological too. I think anyone can become something of an expert if they look through both and also see the way her signature didn't change all that much over time, although there is a lot of variation, which sounds like a contradiction, but you will know what I mean if you have a look.

I'm glad you are happy with the authenticity of your signing. I recently purchased a secretarial, and its on the secretarial blog, but its still beautiful and I like it.

Anyway, I hope its a good reference for people trying to work out mysterious Marilyn signings:

Marilyn Monroe Autograph Examples

Marilyn Monroe Secretarial Examples

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Permalink Reply by Simon Gandossi on July 28, 2013 at 5:24am

Hi Pauline

to be honest I was not going to have it authenticated , just to add to the mystery of it. I also have a sharon tate autograph and several stars from the 30's including rita hayworth, mary pickford and jean harlow.

If I win lotto ill be buying a lot more things about Marilyn

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on July 29, 2013 at 5:20am

The term "forensic document examiner" is a term that sometimes makes me cringe since there are some very inept people that call themselves that. I am not sure who your examiner was but you might run the name on a search here just to see if any red flags arise. All examiners including the top ones of PSA-DNA and JSA all make mistakes and errors some more than others. With an autograph as desirable as Marilyn Monroe it is a good idea I think to have it looked it if you are going to sell it. If you are just going to keep it then probably not too big a deal. An examiner with a rather dubious track record can often taint even a legitimate autograph. I know I have passed on a few because of this. So it is always good to check the reputation of the examiner before selling if you are unsure of them.