Fans and collectors leave no stone unturned and readily empty their bank accounts in order to posses significant items of some of their icons. Marilyn Monroe’s items lead the Hollywood Legends sale at the recent Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills.
The most record-breaking sale of the evening was Marilyn Monroe’s former grave marker from Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Originally estimated to sell between $2,000-$4,000 dollars, one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses shook the ground even from her graveyard as the grave marker sold for $212,500. Though it just reads “MARILYN MONROE/ 1926 – 1962”, the marker made it as one of the most irresistible collectible of the quintessential American sex symbol.
Monroe’s legendary status also upped the glamour quotient of the auction as a dress worn by the diva in her final film “Something’s Gotta Give” went under the hammer for $348,000. The figure-hugging silk crepe dress is printed with scattered painterly roses in shades of persimmon and deep cherry with a plunging V back.
Other Monroe-branded items of the evening included a Hugh Hefner signed premiere issue of Playboy Magazine featuring Marilyn Monroe on the cover which sold for $87,500. Also a Marilyn Monroe inscribed drawing of a nude woman sold for $75,000.
Also one of the most adored members of the British royal family, who reigned as People’s Princess, found deep-pocketed fans at the auction. Originally estimated to sell for $60,000-$80,000, Her Royal Highness Princess Diana’s Versace Portrait Gown and Magazine was auctioned for $192,000. The embellished Gianni Versace gown was worn by Princess Diana in a 1991 photo shoot by her official photographer Patrick Demarchelier. The images of Diana wearing the gown were used on the cover of the November 1997 “Harper’s Bazaar Diana A Tribute to a Princess” issue and in “Diana: The Portrait” by Rosalind Coward. This is also the first gown Gianni Versace designed for Princess Diana.
Julien’s Auctions Hollywood Legends 2015 Introduction Video –
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AsUxeDfUg0?rel=0&w=800&h=450] Video of Princess Diana Versace Dress 2015 –
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRjFO9y_Juc?rel=0&w=800&h=450]
