When I first saw the photo of the trunk and everything that had been inside, which included possessions from her childhood, I was indelibly drawn to them. This was the first time I'd seen anything that Marilyn herself had owned, and to know they were items from her childhood that she'd treasured was something truly spectacular.
During the summer of 1961, Ralph Roberts, Marilyn's personal masseur and friend, drove her to the Roxbury, CT home she'd shared with Arthur Miller. The purpose of the trip was for Marilyn to retrieve the last of her personal items from the house that she'd given to Miller in the divorce. While there, Marilyn packed into a trunk several items that, as Roberts put it, were from "her past." Included inside the trunk were magazines and newspaper articles featuring Marilyn, her very first childhood camera that had been gifted to her by her Aunt Anna, a collection of cigarette cards she'd pasted into an album, and books...about the movie industry, about Abraham Lincoln, and poetry. Also, a purse, a deck of cards and a pair of sunglasses.
I've thought of that trunk since seeing it for the very first time over ten years ago, and recently I was lucky enough to add it to The Marilyn Monroe Collection.
I've been lucky enough over the years to acquire several items that Marilyn owned and packed into this trunk:Her Brownie Camera, given to her by her Aunt Anna
Her Album of Film Stars from her childhood
Her Collection of Film & Gossip Magazines
Her Collection of Newspaper Clippings
I also recently added another item from the trunk: Marilyn's childhood book "A Pictorial History of The Movies."
Perhaps one day I'll be able to locate the rest of the contents of this trunk. In the meantime, I'll do my best to preserve and maintain these items that were important to Marilyn.
To learn more about the Marilyn Monroe Collection, visit www.MarilynMonroeCollection.com
