A trove of rare photos from the estate of Frieda Hull – a former member of the Monroe Six, the group of loyal fans who befriended Marilyn after her move to New York in 1955 – has been added to the upcoming Julien’s Auctions sale, set for November and also including items from the David Gainsborough Roberts Collection and Marilyn’s own personal archive, as Just Collecting reports. (This follows the sale of fellow Monroe Sixer Jimmy Collins‘ photo collection at Heritage Auctions earlier this year.)
“Hull’s job as an airline employee also enabled her to follow Monroe on the West Coast, and throughout her life she built up an archive of rare photographs spanning the actress’ entire career.
In addition to the photographs that members of the ‘Six’ took themselves, Hull’s collection features a wide range of previously unseen images. They include unseen colour photos of Monroe as she sang ‘Happy Birthday’ for President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden; slides of her on location filming the iconic subway skirt-blowing scene from The Seven Year Itch; and images of her and husband Arthur Miller after the premiere of Some Like It Hot in 1959.
In all, the Frieda Hull collection includes 550 colour and black & white candid photographs, more than 150 slides, close to 750 movie stills, publicity photos and lobby cards, and even personal home movies of Monroe leaving her New York apartment in 1958.
Aside for the photographic archive, Hull’s personal collection also includes memorabilia such as locks of Monroe’s hair, a scarf gifted by Monroe herself, Hull’s original ticket and program to the 1962 JFK Madison Square Garden gala, and a Gladstone Hotel menu autographed by Monroe and Miller.”
Just four years younger than Monroe, Frieda Hull died in Las Vegas in 2014, aged 83. You can read her obituary here. And for an exclusive sneak preview of the Frieda Hull collection, visit Scott Fortner’s blog here.
“It was an absolute thrill to work with Julien’s on the Frieda Hull Collection. I was repeatedly delighted and dumbstruck over the photos in this archive, many of which I’d never seen. Fans will be overjoyed and amazed with these new unpublished images of Marilyn. Below are some shots from my study as part of my sorting process, which was no small task considering the sheer volume of photos. All totaled, an unprecedented 142 lots of photos will be offered in the auction, the majority of which were taken by members of the Monroe Six.”
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