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Official account for the Scott Fortner Marilyn Monroe Collection, the world’s largest private collection of Monroe’s personal property & archives.

Marilyn as adorable Elsie Marina in The Prince and

Marilyn as adorable Elsie Marina in The Prince and the Showgirl, 1957. 🤴🏼❤️👧🏼

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No, these aren’t Marilyn Monroe’s shoes (obvio

No, these aren’t Marilyn Monroe’s shoes (obviously), but If you’ve got the collecting bug then you can understand just how phenominal it is that an original pair of ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz sold at @heritageauctions yesterday for a whopping $32,500,000.00. That’s thirty-two million, five hundred thousand dollars. The hammer price was $28 million.

What’s truly incredible is that there were at least three to four bidders bidding near the end, and they were bidding in million dollar increments!

The shoes are now the most expensive piece of movie memorabilia ever sold. Of course, the prior record was held by Marilyn and the white Travilla costume worn in Seven Year Itch. It sold at auction in 2011 for $5,658,000.00. 👠 👠

Fun Fact: Did you know Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe were friends?

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#judygarland
#wizardofoz
#rubyslippers
#thewizardofoz
#record
#auctionresults

In an astonishing result, a pair of original ruby

In an astonishing result, a pair of original ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz just sold at auction moments ago for a whopping $32,500,000.00 with premium. That’s thirty-two million, five hundred thousand dollars. The hammer price was $28 million.

The shoes are now the most expensive piece of movie memorabilia ever sold. Of course, the prior record was held by Marilyn and the white Travilla costume worn in Seven Year Itch. It sold at auction in 2011 for $5,658,000.00.

The ruby slippers are lovely, but I’ll stick with Marilyn’s white Ferragamos, which are part of my collection. 😂

Fun Fact: Did you know Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe were friends?

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#judygarland
#wizardofoz
#rubyslippers

480 Lexington Avenue, the site of Marilyn Monroe P

480 Lexington Avenue, the site of Marilyn Monroe Productions offices.

Thanks to @julieafarin for sharing these present-day photos of 480 Lexington Avenue in New York, which was the actual site of Marilyn Monroe Productions. In this photo, Marilyn stands next to the door of her newly formed production company in 1955.

Interesting point of note, the outfit she wears in this photo, a black wool skirt and jacket with a mink fur collar, is part of the the Marilyn Monroe Collection today.

Another interesting artifact that today is part of the collection: An original matchbook with the name of Marilyn’s newly formed company, which was handed out to guests at the party Marilyn held announcing its formation on January 7, 1955 (last photo).

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Featured artifacts from the Marilyn Monroe Collect

Featured artifacts from the Marilyn Monroe Collection: Two late ’40s photographs, signed and given to friend (and reported love interest) Mr. Bill Pursel. Marilyn gave these photos to Pursel during their last meeting in Las Vegas. From the book “Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed” by Michelle Morgan:

I was packed to go home early the next morning; it was around 7:30 pm, and I called her to say bye. She said she had a couple of pictures for me and could I come by in the morning. I said we are leaving at dawn, could I come by now? She said OK!

So, I drove to her apartment, and she answered the door with a smiling “Hi.” She was in a white terrycloth bathrobe, did not invite me in and said, “I’ll be with you in a minute,” then disappeared…leaving me standing in the hall. There were two large suitcases just inside the door, and both had the initials RR on them.

Norma Jeane came back to the door and asked me if I had a pen. I didn’t. She said hers was about out of ink, but she would try to make it write, and she again disappeared for a few moments. When she reappeared, she handed me two large photos. I said thank you, she smiled, and said, “I hope you like them.” We just stood there looking at each other. Finally I said, “Goodbye,” and she responded “Bye.” I turned walking away feeling like an intruder, which, I guess I was.

The imprints of Marilyn’s inscription and autographs can still be seen in the photos today. On one she wrote, “I’ll never forget all our wonderful times Bill Love Always, Marilyn.” On the other, “With love Bill To a wonderful guy Always, Marilyn.”

Also shown here (pic #6), Bill Pursel himself in the late 1940s, around the time he knew Marilyn.

Pursel passed away on June 1, 2017, what would have been Marilyn’s 91st birthday.

#marilynmonroe

Planing for the premiere of “The Prince and the

Planing for the premiere of “The Prince and the Showgirl” at Radio City Music Hall on June 13, 1957.

Shown here is an exceptionally rare photo of Marilyn in 1957. She’s with Russell V. Downing (left) Music Hall president, and Robert Taplinger, vice-president at Warner Brothers. They are meeting to plan for the premiere of Marilyn’s latest film, in which she costarred with Sir Laurence Olivier. This news item appeared in the May 18, 1957 issue of the Motion Picture Herald.

Why is the photo and caption outlined in red wax pencil? Because Marilyn paid a service to “clip and highlight” all news articles where she was mentioned. This page from the Herald was part of her personal archive of clippings, and today it is part of the Marilyn Monroe Collection, along with several hundred other newspaper and magazine clippings.

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NJ ➡️ MM #marilynmonroe

NJ ➡️ MM

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In follow-up to my last post, a few more items fro

In follow-up to my last post, a few more items from the recent Studio Auctions auction that are not authentic.

A purse said to have been Marilyn’s sold for $2,925.00.

A pair of shoes said to have been Marilyn’s sold for $2,500.00.

A sweater said to have been Marilyn’s received no bids.

It really is a crime when unscrupulous dealers and auction companies prey on unsuspecting fans who only want to feel the joy of owning a piece of history. Dealers will often create fake letters of authenticity around people who actually were a part of Marilyn’s life. In this case, there is zero record of a “confidant” of Marilyn’s named Angela Alexandra, who reportedly said Marilyn gave her these pieces because Marilyn was moving out of her recently purchased home in Brentwood. None of it adds up. Alexandra is not listed in Marilyn’s 1962 address/phonebooks, which I own.

As always, please do your due diligence in verifying the authenticity of items you’re considering buying. I recommend acquiring only pieces that came from Marilyn’s actual estate, and/or items that can be unequivocally verified as having been owned by Marilyn. Buy only from reputable auction companies. These days, I’d say avoid eBay at all costs.

To close out this post, I’m sharing pieces from my collection that Marilyn actually did own: A pair of her white Ferragamo high heels, sold at the 1999 Christie’s auction, and her wool sweater, sold at Julien’s in 2005.

And, you can always reach out to me if you’re considering buying a Marilyn Monroe artifact. I’m happy to provide my opinion.

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I’ve seen many shenanigans over 20+ years of col