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Permalink Reply by Marijane Gray on April 1, 2014 at 11:45am

Unfortunately anything with an Elaine Barrymore provenance is a fake. The name Elaine Barrymore is notorious among collectors of Marilyn memorabilia and is almost synonymous with 'fake'. Auction houses like Julien's, Christie's, and Heritage refuse to consign anything with provenance from her. Elaine Barrymore never met Marilyn Monroe. They were not next door neighbors in New York City, as many of her LOAs state. Although they did live on the same street, it was at different times- Barrymore did not move there until after Marilyn's death. In fact, Elaine Barrymore did not live in the United States for the entire duration of Marilyn's career. She and her mother moved to Haiti in the early 1950s and did not return to the US until 1963, a year after Marilyn died.

While Marilyn's friends and colleagues are exceptionally well documented, there is no record of Elaine Barrymore. Not a single photo of them together, not a single piece of correspondence, and Barrymore does not appear in any of Marilyn's meticulously kept address books where she diligently recorded the numbers of all her associates.

For someone who never actually met her, there are literally hundreds of fake Marilyn items out there from Barrymore, and many of them were not manufactured until after Marilyn's death.  The idea that Marilyn would be giving away hundreds of items, including jewelry, handbags, and even underwear (yes, I've seen it!) is absolutely ludicrous.

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Permalink Reply by Dustin Rouse on April 1, 2014 at 2:50pm

But Elaine Barrymore was held in high esteem by most people I thought?

Could it be that somebody else is faking her COAs?

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Permalink Reply by Marijane Gray on April 1, 2014 at 5:39pm

Yes, it could be that someone else is faking the COAs. That's a definite possibility. There is a certain person who is well known for selling fake memorabilia with forged COAs with the names of people loosely associated with Marilyn on them, and it wouldn't be outside the realm of reason to suspect that they are the person behind all the Barrymore COAs as well. Either way, I would advise anyone not to purchase an item with Barrymore provenance.

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Permalink Reply by Dustin Rouse on April 1, 2014 at 7:35pm

Do you know if Marilyn Monroe wore tan Hana Mackler shoes for her performance in the movie "The Prince and the Showgirl?"

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Permalink Reply by Marijane Gray on April 2, 2014 at 9:06am

I got those shoes pulled from that auction. This is the message I sent to them about them. (Marilyn did wear a size 7, though)

The letter of provenance is a forgery. It is signed 'E.Murray.' The only E. Murray in Marilyn Monroe's life was Eunice Murray, her housekeeper in 1962. Eunice Murray died in March 1994, two years before this letter was written. As to the content of the letter, it is also completely implausible. The film 'The Prince and the Showgirl' was filmed in England in 1956 (not 1957) and used an entirely British crew. The idea that a British production crew member somehow traveled to America and was received at Marilyn's personal apartment and gifted with these shoes is impossible. It is also impossible that the same crew member was showered with the dozens and dozens of items that the copies of this fake LOA appear with.

This LOA has been traced back to a certain disgraced memorabilia seller who has a habit of forging LOAs with the names of Marilyn's friends and associates. The handwriting on all these forged documents match. That particular seller has been permanently banned from eBay and has had several court cases against him for memorabilia fraud.

On top of that, these shoes were not manufactured until 1973, eleven years after Marilyn's death. The mark on the bottom that says 'VeroCuoio" was not implemented until that year. You can read more about this branding here: http://www.verapelle.info/home/index.php
(I can translate it from the Italian if you need me to)

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Permalink Reply by Dustin Rouse on April 2, 2014 at 9:19am

Thank you for writing this, and taking the time to get the items pulled from Pristine Auction. I have to admit that I did have my doubts the moment that I saw both of these items, but you have just confirmed my suspicions!

Thanks again.

Dustin

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Permalink Reply by Marijane Gray on April 2, 2014 at 2:34pm

Aw, thank you so much! I only know anything about Marilyn memorabilia, but I do run a facebook page to help other fans of hers be able to spot fake items. I just hate seeing people get ripped off by scammers.

https://www.facebook.com/MarilynCollectors.MonroeMemorabilia

Permalink Reply by Marijane Gray on April 2, 2014 at 6:30pm

Thanks so much! Sounds like I'm really going to enjoy it here! I appreciate the warm welcome. :)

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Permalink Reply by Dustin Rouse on April 2, 2014 at 6:35pm

Hopefully you will. They can be a critical and rude group too though, I will warn you.

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