A letter that baseball great Joe DiMaggio wrote to actress Marilyn Monroe before their divorce sold for $78,125 in an auction of Monroe memorabilia in California, according to a news release from the auction house.
DiMaggio wrote the letter to Monroe following her news conference announcing their divorce, which occurred nine months after their January 1954 wedding. Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills did not disclose the buyer.
Marilyn is an icon who remains a bit mysterious
DiMaggio, a Hall of Fame player for the New York Yankees, did not want to end the marriage and asked Monroe to reconsider, calling the letter “heartbreaking”.
“Marilyn is an icon who remains a bit mysterious and there has never, ever been anyone like her,” auction company president Darren Julien said through a spokeswoman. “Items that were important to her career and life are getting harder and harder to find.”
The auction of more than 300 Monroe personal belongings included a series of love letters written to Monroe by playwright Arthur Miller before he became her husband in 1956. A letter Monroe wrote in response to Miller brought $43,750, the auction house said. Miller and Monroe divorced less than five years after their marriage.
The top-selling item at the auction was a silk overcoat that Monroe often wore in photographs. It sold for $175,000.