Two tissue box covers from the
personal effects of Marilyn Monroe. Both covers are made of
plastic. One has the effect of tortoise shell, and the other
is constructed of clear plastic. The clear plastic cover was
likely custom made for Marilyn as it appears to be hand crafted and
not mass produced.
These items were donated for auction by the Estate of Marilyn Monroe,
with all proceeds benefiting her childhood orphanage, Hollygrove
Children’s Home in Los Angeles.
As Marilyn regularly suffered from
colds and bronchitis it’s likely that she reached for tissues from
these tissue box covers on a regular basis.
Marilyn’s Illnesses:
Marilyn was particularly susceptible to heavy colds which tuned into
bronchitis and, once, after entertaining the troops in sub-zero
temperatures in Korea, full-fledged pneumonia. Bronchitis or flu
forced her to take time off filming many of her movies, including A
Ticket to Tomahawk (1950), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), and Bus
Stop (1956). Not surprisingly, she caught a chill during the three
hours standing bare-legged over an updraft for the skirt scene in
The Seven Year Itch (1955). More often than not studio executives
believed she was making up convenient illnesses like colds and
bronchitis to cover up for her failures to arrive at work on time,
or at all.
Marilyn began work on her final film, Something’s Got To Give (1962)
a week late because of an acute sinus infection and fever. She
managed just one day on the set before her physician advised her
that she needed bed rest for at least a week. She was
unceremoniously suspended from the production after too many days
absent. Some say Twentieth Century-Fox merely used this as an excuse
to close down the production. Marilyn publicly exclaimed her
frustration with this situation: “Executives can get a cold and stay
home and phone in, but the actor? How dare you get a cold or a
virus! I wish they had to act a comedy with a temperature and a
virus infection!”
Provenance: Christie's Fine Manuscripts
- Including a Collection of Marilyn Monroe Memorabilia Sold to Benefit Hollygrove Children's Home, Los Angeles, September 12, 2001
