Marilyn Monroe | Lost Clothing Correspondence

A letter from fashion designer John Moore to Marilyn Monroe's secretary May Reis (misspelled as "Reese") dated February 3, 1960, saying he will find out what happened to two "beige and black broadcloth shirtwaist sheaths" that were according to Moore "made by two of my best girls here in my workroom. … " Moore promised to trace the shipment to find the outcome of where they went. Subsequent documents, including a claim to insurance company, reveal that the garments were in fact destroyed when TWA flight 595, a cargo flight, crashed after takeoff from Chicago Midway Airport on November 24, 1959, killing three people on board and eight people on the ground. The documents valued the lost garments at $750.

8.5 x 11 inches

PROVENANCE Lot 387, "Property From the Estate of Lee Strasberg," Julien's Auctions, Beverly Hills, November 17, 2016