Europe, Weird, Odd & Just Plain Fun



A negative of one of the first ever professional photographs of Marilyn Monroe has sold at auction for £3100. The image, taken by Joseph Jasgur on 6 March 1946, shows a smiling Monroe with her hair loose in soft curls.

Marilyn Munroe as 20 year old factory worker Norma Jeane Baker

Marilyn Monroe as 20 year old factory worker Norma Jeane Baker. Image by PA

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge, from Henry Aldridge and Sons, in Wiltshire, said it was bought by a man who collects showbiz pictures.

The image was part of some informal test shots that proceeded a formal shoot, and it came before her first modelling portfolio was presented to Ben Lyon, casting director at 20th Century Fox.

On the day of the shoot, back in 1946, Mr Jasgur received a call from Monroe’s modelling agency asking him to take a few test shots of an aspiring young model.

This shot was taken on that day – a time when the future film star was the unknown Norma Jeane Baker, a 20-year-old factory girl dreaming of becoming a model.

Monroe would go on to dazzle Hollywood and spark international headlines as a global star.

The auctioneer said the true value in this image lies in the fact that it is sold with the copyright to reproduce and distribute the image as the winning bidder wishes.

(Press Association)