Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Pauline Berry on July 21, 2014 at 6:41am

Without a doubt genuine. Lucky You. If this is clearly real pen on an actual photograph and not a copy, which I am sure it isn't :-)

Signed between 1952 and 1956 I would estimate. 

Permalink Reply by Bryan Heinze on July 21, 2014 at 6:51am

Thanks for the reply Pauline!  I hope that is the case that it is genuine!  I've been a bit of a Marilyn fanatic since I was a teenager.  I'll be 38 in a couple weeks... lol.  I did a bit of research before I bought this item.  I studied her autograph, looked at many genuine signatures of hers vs. the secretarial ones and vs. the plain forgeries.  This item is signed in red ball point pen.  I've heard some prior debate about how she used to sign only in red pen, or perhaps rarely did...but I know this is untrue.  This photo is in red ballpoint pen... I've tried doing some research on the company that signed the certificate, but didn't have much luck.  I think I'd like to take this photo in person to a good autograph specialist one of these days just to make sure.  Knowing what her signature can sell for, if this is real, then I think I got a decent deal on it.... I paid about 3500.

Permalink Reply by Pauline Berry on July 21, 2014 at 7:01am

Excellent Bryan, I feel bad pointing out forgeries on here, as is the usual. Yours fits well into her signature range. I did a bit of a blog here:

http://marilynmonroeautographs.blogspot.com

loads to compare it to. I am 100% sure.

Depending on the auction because its a proper signing on a photograph it can sell for anything from what you paid for it to $8,000 - the only not so good thing is the fading. If it were clearer it could go higher, but I notice the slightly faded ones are worth a little less. 

I wouldn't even bother with another COA, lots of fake ones have them. This is just my opinion, but I have no doubt at all. I think the red pen is neither here nor there for authenticity.

But there were a lot of secretarials signed in red including one on  "Antiques Roadshow" they said was genuine, but it was clearly a secretarial. And included on my other blog:

http://marilynmonroesecretarials.blogspot.com

This is what muddied the waters about the red pen "legend".  

If you take it to a decent auction house they will do the inspection and authenticity test. Profiles in History seem to do a lot of Marilyn, although they did screw up an item or two on their last big Marilyn auction, which I commented on on the secretarial blogsite.

What does it say exactly? it seems to be to someone in particular and "my pleasure" something. 

Permalink Reply by Bryan Heinze on July 21, 2014 at 7:13am

The sentence above reads "It is my pleasure".  I've seen samples of her handwriting before... certain words on this, like "Pleasure" seem to be almost a little too neat looking for her handwriting... I've been on the fence about this item ever since I bought it.  I hope it's genuine though! :)

Permalink Reply by Bryan Heinze on July 21, 2014 at 7:30am

Thank you for the links.  I've viewed those pages before, but always nice to refresh my memory! :).  Out of many of the genuine signatures displayed on that page, I think mine is fairly similar to this one... The handwriting seems similar and they both have that slant when she dots the i.

Permalink Reply by Bryan Heinze on July 21, 2014 at 7:06am

I was actually guessing this would have been a bit later in her career.  I know in the early 50's, her signature had a well defined letter Y on her first name.  Later in her career, the Y seemed to just be an extension of the letter L as shown in my photo.  Here's another picture I just took of it... the signature is a little more legible in this one :)

Permalink Reply by Pauline Berry on July 21, 2014 at 7:29am

That's a much better view and signature not as faded as I thought.

I remember this photo/pose was on the program of some event she attended. I would need to look it up, it wasn't a famous event in her life's timeline, some kind of charity occasion, but she was at the table holding up this very photo, clearly on the event's program. I wonder if this came from that event and it was cut from the program? Just a thought. Or has it got 20th Century Fox on the back?

The wording is unusual, she was very standard with "Love and Kisses" in fact, I can't recall her writing anything else similar except to people she worked with such as Alfred Eisenstaedt, who photographed her at her home. I think she used the word "pleasure" in that dedication to him. I think you are right about the time frame, no earlier than '54.

Permalink Reply by Bryan Heinze on July 21, 2014 at 7:38am

The back of this photo is blank... little aged looking, but no markings.  I would like to find out more about this.... if it were from some event where she was signing these particular photos.  If this is indeed genuine, I would very much like to find a little about the backround story of it.  I agree about her choice of words on this one... I've seen "Love and Kisses" a lot, etc... but haven't exactly seen this phrase written by her before.

Permalink Reply by Pauline Berry on July 21, 2014 at 7:49am

I will try to remember where I saw info about that event. If it was to do with that event it might explain the care taken, and she was able to take her time writing this auto - seated at a table perhaps? her actual signature is completely "normal", fairly rushed as usual, but the word pleasure was obviously not rushed. It so does look like her hand-writing though, as in the dedication part IMO.

Getting late where I am. Will have a think to see if I can get you any relevant info tomorrow. Nice auto!

Permalink Reply by Bryan Heinze on July 21, 2014 at 7:52am

Funny that you mention about it maybe being cut out of a program... because when looking closely at the photo, the edges of it don't look factory cut or perfectly straight, but as if this photo were cut out of something.  You might be on the right track! :)

Permalink Reply by Pauline Berry on July 21, 2014 at 2:55pm

Permalink Reply by Pauline Berry on July 21, 2014 at 3:45pm

Banshee luncheon April 1955. More photos here: http://www.thisismarilyn.com/the-banshee-luncheon-april-26-1955-123...

The photo has a graphic in the way on the program so this isn't much help.

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