Early Marilyn Monroe photos by Joseph Jasgur have been sold for over $300,000 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills. The settings for the photographs ranged from high atop buildings in Los Angeles to Zuma Beach.
Joseph Jasgur photograph of Norma Jean Dougherty,1946 file image taken by photographer J. Julien’s Auctions.
The photos came with negatives and the right’s to sell and distribute them. A judge in September had ruled they must be auctioned to settle debts of photographer Joseph Jasgur.
Before she was Marilyn Monroe a young Norma Jeane Dougherty wrote to her foster mother, Grace Goddard, to describe a meeting with army photographers, specifically David Conover and her burgeoning modeling career. The eight-page letter gives insight on Norma Jeane’s marriage to “Jimmie” Dougherty, her work at the Radioplane Company, and her hopes of a better career.
With encouragement from Conover, Monroe took steps to join the Blue Book Modeling Agency where she met photographer Joseph Jasgur who took numerous photographs of the 19-year-old. These photographs and copyrights became available for the very first time and the complete archive and early image copyrights were sold at this auction. The settings for the photographs range from high atop buildings in Los Angeles to Zuma Beach.
