One-of-a-kind vintage 24" x 8" panoramic photo of the graduating Class of Summer 1941 Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High School in Los Angeles, with sweet, hopeful Norma Jeane Baker (later Marilyn Monroe) easily identifiable to the right of center in a sea of fresh faces, signed and inscribed amid other classmates in fountain pen on the reverse, “To a reallz cute girl, Norma Jean Baker 3 ‘41.” In very good condition, with scattered mild toning to reverse, red ink encircling Monroe's autograph, and scattered creasing to image.
This unbelievable find, her junior high school class picture, shows a 15-year-old Norma Jeane at her most innocent and vulnerable. After a stint in the Los Angeles Orphans Home, a succession of foster homes, and brief stays with her mother, Norma Jeane was most likely living with Grace McKee, a friend of her mother’s. That same year she met James Dougherty, whom she married the following year. While “Norma Jeane Dougherty”-signed items occasionally surface, this is one of just a handful of “Norma Jeane Baker” autographs known to exist, and the first we have ever offered!
Accompanied by a full Letter of Authenticity from PSA/DNA.