Evolution of Marilyn Monroe's Signature

Marilyn signing an often signed photo, as held by Johnny Ray next to her, during a break in filming "There's No Business Like Show Business" in 1954.

Marilyn Monroe continues to fascinate through the 21st Century, with new fans discovering her through her fashion and beauty influences, cultural references, visual tributes and imitations, along with literally thousands upon thousands of timeless photographs, as well as a career and a life story with every piece of scandal, inspiration, tragedy and romance a legendary life could be comprised of. Oh, and she was the original American Top Model from her late teens before becoming 20th Century Fox's biggest earning movie star - did I mention she was also a movie star?!

Her autograph is one of the most prized and forged today. Ebay is the No.1 source to find your fake Marilyn autograph. Don't let the price fool you - they charge plenty for their forgeries.

Marilyn Monroe signing in Hawaii during her honeymoon with Joe DiMaggio

Buyer beware; education is everything. Fifty years have gone by since her death in 1962 and that's a long time for forgers to be busy. Some forgeries will be that old now. Some buy old Life magazines, Marilyn Monroe's own unused cheques, or beautiful old prints, in order to add a forged signature. Some sell photo prints on Ebay with lesser known signings on them, possibly innocently leaving off that it is a print, but still allowing the auction to reach into hundreds of dollars.

Some forgeries are based upon secretarials or even artwork signatures. Such is the confusion that two books have featured either secretarials, forgeries or irrelevant artwork that have inspired lookalike forgeries in the marketplace. One such book was by Hollywood Photographer Bruno Bernard, who included the following inscription to him "Remember Bernie, everything started with you, Marilyn Monroe". At best it was a secretarial.

He probably wrote this inscription below and signed it too. He claimed he had the ability to draw out her mysterious, hidden charms and beauty. 

Below: NOT Monroe's hand-writing. This is the only non authentic signing in this article.

He also claimed her "taught her how to pose". She was "too obvious" before he showed her. 

So to begin at the beginning . . . .

A TIMELINE OF MARILYN MONROE'S HANDWRITING

She had many names in her life. She was given the name Marilyn Monroe around 1947. She did of course, sign autographs as a model, when still Norma Jeane. She was the all American girl next door whose image graced dozens, possibly hundreds of magazine covers. Long before she was a Hollywood star, she was born in Hollywood, her face was already familiar to America. Below: Earl Moran poster art, Marilyn the still life model.

She had a preference for printing in personal letters, and early Marilyn Monroe signatures sometimes had an aspect of printing, yet previous signatures signed Norma Jeane Mortenson and Norma Jeane Dougherty were in script.

All of the following examples I have tried to put in chronological order:

A 1947 contract below, a double signing with both names - she became Marilyn Monroe in 1947, although didn't officially change her name until several years later.

Below is her signature from a 1947 contract with Harry Lipton Agency and there is another contract signed in 1951 further down, her signature was changing:

Below is one of the earlier examples of a Marilyn Monroe's signature and inscription, on a photograph. The double Ms in the signature is almost still printing. Prior to 1952.

 Below: beautiful, careful early signing with dedication on a 1948-1950 era photograph

1950 below and her signature has changed a little:

Above: two signatures both signed around the same time, where Marilyn and the Double for Harpo appears in movie lobbies to promote the Marx Brother's movie "Love Happy" 1950. Marilyn was barely known at the time as an actress, called a starlet in the article below, but she was a familiar face as a magazine model.

The flipside showing through is a promotional slip handed out at the city premiere, the other signer did not sign his own name, just his position as a "Double for Harpo". This is an article covering that event, showing Marilyn and the double for Harpo.

Changes came with stages of success. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" released in 1953 propelled her to super stardom.

She had been around as a minor success in Hollywood since 1950 with a previous highly successful career as a model.

Her earlier signatures were legible. Around 1951 she began combining the "lyn" in Marilyn in a different way, there were intermittent signings both ways before the new "lyn" took over completely.

The "lyn" often lifted up during early signings, it then proceeded to take off and become an extravagant "f" shape, a combination of "ly" and remained that way from 1955 onwards. No doubt easier and faster to sign, as her career tangent soared. 

Compare the signings below for these changes. The cheque is therefore dated, and is the earliest example of the following authentic signings. The "lyn" becomes "fin", and the loops become more pointed and slanted.

Her 20th Century Fox Contract 1951 - recognize the signature? Fox owned this signature and it later became her Trademark Logo. I have never seen two signatures exactly the same from Monroe's hand, so I have to conclude this is the original signature her Trademark is based upon. Note the earlier "lyn".

 

Below: Photo from 1952, signing at least a couple of years later judging from the style

Below: around 1954, further development of signature, oftentimes she wrote on this angle on photographs, even on items handed to her for signing, including single pages or cardboard coasters. Seated, more formal situations still produced signings horizontally across the page in autograph books, for example. 

Below: To Joe (DiMaggio) around 1954, "I Love You Joe,  Marilyn", no surname to close friends.

Above: Success at last - signed confidently on a photograph of herself in a scene from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", this is a beautiful example of her hand writing in inscription and signature, and the "fin" has replaced "lyn" :

Marilyn signed photos just "Marilyn" to those actually close to her, such as Bill Travilla, her costumer and her number one fan who she had a friendship with, Jim Haspiel, leading member of the "Monroe Six" a group of six fans who followed her everywhere. She was well acquainted with them, had an affectionate relationship with them and they all collected a large number of signings from her. See further down for more examples.

Both signed photos above 1955. On the left: Jim Haspiel's signing, and on the right to Travilla "Please dress me forever, I love you, Marilyn"

Above to Earl Wilson, columnist and friend.

1954 signing below, Monroe on her honeymoon in Korea with added inscription from the hand of her friend Jean below Marilyn's own writing:

Below another photo signed to one of the Monroe Six fans

Getting messier and spikier.  This style of signature seems to be 1956 onwards, coinciding with her marriage to Arthur Miller.

Above: to the doorman at the Waldorf Hotel in 1959

Below: During the filming of Bus Stop in 1958

The above signing is almost identical to the one below, so one can assume their time frames are close, around 1956-58. Above: to Johnny and Below: to Tommy on the back of pictured photo, on the run:

Bus Stop Era 1956 - signings increasingly messier and more on the run (above)

Below, still the same hand-writing but a whole other mood, the mercurial, changeable Monroe seemed to stabilize her script on occasions, perhaps in a less rushed situation. 

Year of signing unknown, but with a 1955 photograph taken by Sir Cecil Beaton.

Above & below: 1958-59

Above signing from the Miller era to her ex-husband, his full name, no longer "Joe"

Below two signatures during her years as Mrs Arthur Miller

Above signing to Freida, a member of the Monroe Six fan group 

The photo is from an Avedon session in 1958 above with less spiky aspects, more classic Monroe autograph.   Below 1959 or 1960 signature, with Jack Lemmon, co-star of "Some Like It Hot" and Joe E Brown, who played Lemmon's "love interest" and upside down what looks like what must be Tony Curtis's signature as well.

Below: a photograph from penultimate film Monroe made "Let's Make Love" signed by George Cukor (Director), Monroe and co-star Yves Montand, who was also her love interest at the time:

Below: Signings for friends and family were still careful. 

Below: "To my sister Berniece, I wish I could have known you all my life, Love You, Marilyn"

1962 Postcard, her hand-writing, signature is only "M" to Ralph Roberts, her personal masseuse and friend. He also played an ambulance driver in "The Misfits" 1962, Marilyn's final film. After Ralph died in 1999, Marilyn's Burberry raincoat was donated to charity by the person going through Ralph's possession. Belatedly, they realized it was Marilyn's raincoat, gifted to Ralph, but it was too late. She was pictured in England frequently in the raincoat during the filming of "Prince and the Showgirl". 

 

Above: a signed hat from "The Misfits" her final film, and her scrawled signature easily visible.

The signature below is written on a tile - many of the celebrities at the JFK Birthday in 1962 signed a tile, this reads To Olive, Love & Kisses, Marilyn Monroe

 

Marilyn below, pictured the night she wrote on the above tile

Jim Haspiel & the Monroe Six

A snapshot photo taken by James Haspiel, a member of the Monroe Six fan club, who Marilyn was acquainted and friendly with. A faint signature with dedication on the lower right hand side, somewhat cropped off.

Below photos where she signed her name only to Monroe Six members. All of these three below were to Freida Hull written on the back of polaroids Freida took. See similar at the Kuflik Collection linked below:

The below autograph on the back of a photo was unsold at a recent Julien's auction. 

From the set of Bus Stop 1958. No doubt difficult to for a buyer to feel sure about it's authenticity, but accompanied by unique on set snapshots and a back story.  To the author of this blog, this hasty scrawl has every element of Monroe's signature.

Another sure sign of a signature being Monroe's is the baseline. Study for yourself the shape it takes, often two bridges, each word a bridge, then the two bridges are slightly misaligned with the Monroe often dropping slightly lower than the Marilyn.

Thus she was aware of her own iconic status, the Marilyn is the most important part. Monroe was a family name on her mother's side, which went so well with the name given to her.

MORE RESOURCES: 

 

Please see my other blog for a big range of known secretarial signings:

Marilyn Monroe Secretarials

 

http://marilynmonroesecretarials.blogspot.com

A great resource below, a link to another site which covers her various styles:

Authenticating Marilyn - all kudos to RR Auctions who have a great collection of samples of her signatures from known contracts during her lifetime plus other hand-signed examples.

If you would like a free and very informed opinion on an autograph you are seeking authenticity please visit the Marilyn Monroe Autgraph Forum online below at Autograph Magazine, the author of this blog and others are happy to offer their opinion if you post an image: 

https://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/categories/marilyn-monroe-autographs/listForCategory

Here is a link to the online archive of many examples of her signature collected by a member of the Monroe 6 - the ardent fan club she signed numerous items to, Rhoda Kuflik - all items absolutely genuine except a secretarial second left on the bottom, Marilyn on the staircase signed photo, acknowledge to be a secretarial, and the card next to it both, are secretarials:

 

https://www.thekuflikcollection.com/marilyn-monroe 

 

BOOKS

If you want to study more hand-writing, any book by Jim Haspiel has many samples of her hand-writing from the late 40s onwards. The other book is "Fragments" by Stanley Buchthral, is full of her hand-written notes, thoughts on life, poems and more. Studying all of her hand-writing, not just her signature, really helps train the eye. 

Below: the very last signed cheque to Eunice Murray dated the very day of her death, owned by Greg Schreiner www.marilynmonroecollection.com

I am working on another blog, a collection of, in my opinion, forged signatures for sale to the general public, or recently sold: http://marilynmonroeforgedsignatures.blogspot.co.nz

Please feel free to contact me for opinions, I am not an official authenticator, but I can offer you my opinion, free of charge.

Email me here:

Pauline