Debbie Reynolds, over fifty years had been collecting and preserving Hollywood costumes and props from Academy Award winning films including Gone With the Wind, Ben Hur, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and Casablanca. She finally decided to auction the memorabilia with a lot of history and celebrity connection. The first part of the auction was held in June this year and was a grand success by all accounts. Called Profiles in History, the auctions highlight was the iconic dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in the film The Seven Year Itch.
The shot from the film that shows the actress trying to hold down that dress against a gust of wind is the most published photograph of the actress. Marilyn Monroe is still a big brand. And understandably the dress broke all records at the auction and fetched a mind boggling $5.5 million. Debbie Reynolds who was supposed to be close to Marilyn Monroe will be putting up the second part of her collection for auction in December. Named the Icons of Hollywood, it will be a three day event starting from December 16 and will be held at California auction house.
The highlight of this edition of the auction is Marilyn Monroe’s wedding ring from Joe DiMaggio. It is not as famous as that iconic dress but it is expected to generate a lot of interest amongst the bidders. The wedding ring is simple but very elegant. It is made of platinum and is adorned by 35 baguette-cut diamonds. She eloped to get married to Joe on January 14 1954. Unfortunately the marriage could not survive beyond a year. The pre sales estimate for the ring is about $300,000. It is quite possible the final price it fetches in December will be much higher than that.
