The Price of Marilyn Monroe Memorabilia

Bonhams just recently closed its auction for some very interesting Marilyn Monroe memorabilia. Some of the items -- and the price they fetched -- might surprise you. Have a look:


A sepia photograph by Cecil Beaton, 1956
Sold for $2,074


A receipt for Monroe's hairdo for JFK's birthday party, 1962
Sold for $488


Two Marilyn Monroe rare black and white photographs by Andre de Dienes
Sold for $366


A set of never-before-seen black and white 'wardrobe shots,' 1950s
Sold for $110


A Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller group of airline tickets, 1960
Sold for $427


A group of never-before-seen black and white snapshots from Korea, 1954
Sold for $2,196


A receipt for a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne
Sold for $397


Another pair of rare black and white photographs by Andre de Dienes
Sold for $366


And a set of documents relating to Monroe's purchase of her Brentwood home, 1962
Sold for $488

The Beaton portrait is my favorite and worth far more than the winning bid, I think...

There's more Marilyn memorabilia at Bonhams.com.

I wonder who walked away with the Dom receipt!

The Paris Apartment

Found in an old issue of Marie Claire Maison is a profile of a luminous Paris apartment...







My favorite details: The painting of the woman in the yellow dress over the mantel in the pink salon; the mirrors and art in the kitchen; the red painted bookshelf (with books facing forward); the deco vase filled with knitting needles; and the cat perched on a stool.


The article -- a bit tattered from hanging on one of my inspiration boards -- appeared in the May/June 2008 issue of Marie Claire Maison. Photography by Adrien Dirand.

Beautiful Iran

These beautiful photos were taken by my friend Shokoofeh. (You can see them on her flickr page). I'm thinking today of her and all the women of Iran, with much sadness over the death of Neda Agha-Soltan.

Nivea Made Chic

Who knew a face cream could be so glamourous...



This ad series in Italian Vogue makes the cream look like La Mer...



I have to admit I love Nivea's vintage packaging. I bought two little blue tins in a Rome pharmacy. (They were much easier to pack than the stovetop milk steamer, the 20 wool shawls, and the tomato masher!)

Crazy Blog Crush

Julia.
Love her blog. She went away to London a week ago and took a break from blogging. I was lost. Funny how that happens. Now she's back. Life can resume.

Black and Light

Random bits of inspiration:
A page from a 2006 Anthropologie catalogue (above)...and Mario Sorrenti's portrait of Kate Moss from 30 Days of Fashion (below)...



An image torn from a March 16, 2009 copy of The New Yorker...



It's an unattributed photograph from "Valentina: American Couture and the Cult of Celebrity," at the Museum of the City of New York.

All wonderful...

A Monday in Summer

This is such a lovely photo. It reminds me of summer vacation in the mountains (I wish I were there now)!

Happy Monday everyone!

UPDATE. Sale alert. Farmhouse Wares is having a 15% Summer Solstice sale!. Link here

(Photo via Art Star.)

A Domino Favorite: Carolina Herrera Jr.

I love this article about Carolina Jr.'s Madrid apartment



It appeared in the Domino premiere issue, Spring/Summer 2005



I adore the blackboard, the Moroccan mirror, the antique Suzani, the red tupils. And the vintage copy of Kenneth Tynan's Bull Fever...



The settee as bed footboard is so clever.



And look at this fantastic bathroom. The clawfoot tub is wonderful amid the antiques.



And here's Carolina's shopping guide to Madrid:



I'd love to spend an afternoon at the Rastro flea market!

Click photos to see them large on my flickr page. I'm hoping to post Domino articles every Sunday. You can visit last week's feature {here}. xo

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PS: Speaking of shopping, I wanted to mention that my friend Tina Tarnoff is having a sale on her wonderful papercut silhouettes in her Etsy store. Buy one, get one free! (For two days only).



Sale ends tomorrow night. Here's the {link}!

Sundays

My very stylish friend Monica Corcoran posted this fantastic photo on her Facebook page today. Monica says: "Sunday is all about...the bed, the newspaper, and the breakfast. Monocle, optional."
LOVE IT!

Weekend!

Hello everyone. Happy Friday. What are you doing this weekend? I'm going to a Stanley Cup party tomorrow and then working in the garden. Will also try to finish organizing my magazines. (Almost done!)


Photo by Rodney Smith

Shokoofeh

So many of us have been very concerned about our dear friend Shokoofeh at the blog A New Simple Something. It's not easy to be a young woman blogger in the country where she lives, especially now. I was very relieved to see that she was able to update her blog today with this beautiful picture. She is so brave and I'm so proud to know her.

The link to her lovely blog { here }.

UPDATE: A note from Shokoofeh:

"My heart has became an assortment of pain, hope, love and fear.
I don't know if you can feel what I am talking about. your country, your land, your people, your future, your love are just not in your hands and your heart is beating for them...
it's not easy. it's not easy at all...
but you and other lovely people are relieving our pain just by thinking about us ... and it's admirable indeed..."


dear, dear girl. please be safe

Clouds

Over the Alps and on the move...

Very cool!

(Top photo by T Kelly Photo. Video by Munich Time-Lapse.)

Ruffian Inspiration

The Assouline book about the two men behind the NYC-based fashion label, Ruffian, is finally in bookstores. It's a really wonderful account of the creative process that goes into making a classic, yet edgy, line of women's clothing...


If you don't know about Ruffian, check out my post at Ms. Muse! There's more from the book, "Ruffian Inside Out," and a link to the very chic
Ruffian website...

Click Here!

Let me know what you think!

Audrey Response

My dears, since I posted the Audrey photos more than 1,000 people have visited the full set on Bob Willoughby's flickr page. I'm so happy! Thank you so much for your amazing response. Audrey Hepburn is, indeed, an important role model to an entirely new generation. Her grace and beauty are timeless.

Now I'm heading off to have frozen yogurt for dinner. See you back here tomorrow!?

UPDATE FRIDAY: MAKE THAT MORE THAN 21,000 VISITS TO WILLOUGHBY'S AUDREY SET! THANK YOU HUFFINGTON POST!


(Photo from Spanish Glamour via Pony Ride.)

Rare Audrey Hepburn Photos

Last year, longtime Hollywood photographer Bob Willoughby quietly posted some of his unpublished photos of Audrey Hepburn on his flickr page...



"This year (2008) I am 80," Willoughby explained on his page. "In the process of going over my prints recently, I realized that I have a lot of photographs that the galleries have never shown...and that I feel should be seen."



He put up 46 remarkable photos of the iconic actress in a flickr set that has now received more than 9,000 views (but deserves far more!)

Do you want to see it? The link {here}.




Marvelous.

Cloudy with a chance...

It's been so gloomy in Los Angeles...



But it doesn't really matter when your vantage point is Malibu...



My friend Veronique de Turenne blogs daily about the changing sky, and other scenes, on her beautiful blog Here in Malibu. She always transports me to the gorgeous beach town, home to some of the world's richest and most famous people. It's not uncommon to run into Barbra Streisand at the Starbucks.

Check out Veronique's observations and photos{here}

Adorned

In addition to saving magazines, I also hang onto old Anthropologie catalogues...



I'm probably sounding like some pulp magpie...



Oh well...



The pictures are lovely...



of both girl and beast.

And unlike foreign magazines (which I also love), at least the catalogues are free.


PS: This catalogue is from several seasons ago. I think!