Marilyn Monroe’s Signed Passport Photograph Sells for $21K at Auction
A signed passport photo of Marilyn Monroe, taken the day she and her new husband, baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, were preparing for their 1954 honeymoon to Japan, has sold for over $21,000 at auction.
The tiny photo of Monroe — measuring just 2.25 x 2.75 inches — was sold last week by Boston-based RR Auction for $21,655, according to Fine Books Magazine. The rare image features a red ink inscription by the actress that reads: “To Mr. Bolds, Thanks and my warmest regards, Marilyn Monroe DiMaggio.”
According to RR Auction, the story behind the photo begins on January 29, 1954, two weeks after Monroe and DiMaggio’s widely publicized wedding, when the couple visited the Federal Building in San Francisco to obtain passports for their upcoming trip to Japan. The trip, which was part of the couple’s honeymoon, would mix work and leisure. Monroe was set to perform for U.S. troops in Korea in February, while DiMaggio planned to meet with Japanese baseball teams during spring training. But the passport process hit a snag when officials discovered Monroe did not have the required passport photo.
DiMaggio, best known for his 13-year career with the New York Yankees from 1936 to 1951, quickly came up with a solution. The baseball star left Monroe to continue the paperwork and rushed to a Market Street arcade with a photo of her. He returned with a set of passport photos about 30 minutes later and gave one to passport officer Harry E. Bolds — whose name is written on the photo. While this photo wasn’t used in Monroe’s actual passport, it appears to be one of the prints DiMaggio had developed that day, based on the name and matching image.
For Monroe, the moment behind this passport photograph marked a rare period of stability and a brief sense of home. She also listed DiMaggio as her emergency contact, underlining the trust she placed in him at the time. The address she provided, “2150 Beach Street,” was DiMaggio’s home in San Francisco, where the couple was staying. The signed photo is especially notable for featuring the star’s legal married name, “Norma Jeane DiMaggio,” which she used until her separation from DiMaggio later that year.
“Marilyn Monroe was a global icon, even in something as ordinary as a passport photo,” Bobby Livingston, Executive Vice President at RR Auction, tells Fine Books Magazine. “But this photo also shows her as a newlywed dealing with real-life chaos. It’s a rare slice of Hollywood history.”
Image credits: All photos via RR Auction.
