Marilyn Monroe’s Signed Passport Photograph Sold for $21,655

A rare signed photograph tied to Marilyn Monroe’s 1954 visit to the San Francisco Federal Building has sold for $21,655 at RR Auction.

Two weeks after marrying baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, Monroe arrived at the Federal Building on January 29, 1954, to secure a passport for their upcoming honeymoon trip to Japan. But the process hit a snag when Monroe realized she didn’t have the required passport photos.

DiMaggio ran out to a Market Street arcade, returning with a batch of newly developed photos. One of those images, a vintage matte-finish photo measuring 2.25 x 2.75 inches, shows Monroe in a demure front-facing pose. She signed it in red ballpoint: “To Mr. Bolds, Thanks and my warmest regards, Marilyn Monroe DiMaggio.”

“Marilyn Monroe was a global icon, even in something as ordinary as a passport photo,” said Bobby Livingston, Executive Vice President at RR Auction. “But this photo also shows her as a newlywed dealing with real-life chaos. It’s a rare slice of Hollywood history.”

The signed photograph is significant for bearing Monroe’s married name before her separation from DiMaggio later that year. The couple’s trip to Japan became a mix of honeymoon and career obligations, as Monroe famously performed for U.S. troops in Korea while DiMaggio consulted with Japanese baseball teams.