'Antiques Roadshow' guest says 'I'm floored' after hearing value of her Marilyn Monroe signed photo
Marilyn Monroe was one of the biggest stars in the history of cinema, and anything related to her is considered iconic. That's why it’s not surprising that a signed picture of hers would sell for a price going into five figures. To one guest on “Antiques Roadshow,” this came as a surprise, and she admitted to being “floored.” She had a signed picture of Monroe that was originally owned by her uncle. Turns out that her uncle helped her with singing lessons and even drove her around at times.
“I had an uncle, Jack Petrie, who was a gifted musician, and he played for Fred Karger off and on, who was in charge of the music for Columbia Studios,” the guest said. “Fred Karger was her [Marilyn Monroe] vocal coach, and somewhere in there, Jack met Marilyn. He accompanied her on the piano a few times. He met my Aunt Paula, who was a housemate of Marilyn's, and Fred Karger's mother had a house that she allowed young starlets to live in.”
The guest then said that her uncle had once picked her up at the airport in Los Angeles and that her grandparents were there at the same time. That’s when Monroe is supposed to have signed the picture. “That's why it says: ‘To Mom and Pop Pete,’” the guest added. Expert Laura Woolley was impressed with what she saw, and the story made the picture just that much more valuable.
“I think people instinctively know, but don't often state openly, how visible is the signature? Because she signed this across her hair, it's a huge plus for value,” she said. The expert then revealed that a conservative value for the picture would be $20,000 to $30,000. This was a lot of money, and the guest had a hard time believing what she heard.
“I'm floored. I lived with this photo from the time I was a child, had no idea, and it's just been hanging around. So that's amazing, that's amazing,” she said. Woolley said that she wouldn’t be surprised if the picture brought more money. The Monroe picture isn’t the only valuable signed item on the show, however. Her former husband, Joe DiMaggio’s bat, was also appraised for a lot of money in a different episode of the show.
The guest said that he had purchased it at the time for $147, which did not sit very well with his wife. The guest claimed to have met the baseball superstar later in 1994 to ask about the bat. “Well, you got my bread-and-butter bat,” he had said, going on to describe how he makes them to his liking.
The expert was in awe of the item and gave it a six-figure appraisal. “I am super excited about this bat. I would place the value at auction of $80,000 to $100,000,” he said. The guest was pleased to hear this as he tapped his chest and said, “Awesome.” However, he went on to say that he wasn’t going to sell it.
