Rare snaps of Marilyn Monroe's first photo shoot will go under the hammer at a Florida auction later this year.
The collection, which contains an image of Monroe posing on the beach in a striped bikini, will be sold-off in December to settle the debts of photographer, Joseph Jasgur, according to the New York Post.
Jasgur's photos, negatives and image copyrights will be sold in December by Beverly Hills-based company Julien's Auction.
Darren Julien, chief of Julien's Auctions, told the San Francisco Chronicle the photographs had not been widely distributed and the collection has been locked up in court battles for more than two decades.
He said the sale is significant because “it's rare to see something where you can buy a copyrighted image of [Monroe], especially of their first photo shoot.”
Julien declined to estimate how much the images and copyrights will fetch when sold in the company's 'Icon's & Idols' auction.
“It's really hard to put a value on something like this, because it's rare and not just for the collector,” he told the Chronicle, noting how the owner of the copyrights will be able to sell and distribute the images.
“These are probably the most significant images of Marilyn that are available because they're so early, from the first part of her career, and it's rare to have images like these where you're selling the rights, too.”
Among the photos are black-and-white head shots of the blonde beauty and several model-release forms signed by the icon in 1946, AAP reported.
