Marilyn Monroe & Charlie McCarthy: 1952 CBS Radio Press Photo

Some photographs instantly tell you when they were made.

One look at Marilyn Monroe in this original Type 1 press photo, and you're transported to 1952—a shimmering year when her career was gathering momentum at an astonishing pace. She has the confidence, the unmistakable smile, and the screen presence that would soon make her one of Hollywood's biggest stars, if not THE biggest. Snuggling next to her is another celebrity of the era: Charlie McCarthy, Edgar Bergen's wisecracking wooden sidekick who had spent years stealing scenes from some of the biggest names in entertainment.

Britannic Auctions offered this original Marilyn Monroe press photo in 2020, where it sold for $159. More importantly for collectors, it wasn't just the photograph that survived. It also retained its original CBS Radio press release sheet and press snipe, preserving the story behind the image and linking it directly to the October 26, 1952 broadcast of The Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy Show.

Marilyn looks incredible—and let's face it, that's the first thing everyone notices. Then the collector instincts kick in. The original Type 1 photograph. The surviving studio paperwork. The connection to a specific radio broadcast. Add those pieces together, and you have exactly the kind of authentic Hollywood memorabilia that has kept collectors hunting for original studio publicity photographs for decades.

If Charlie McCarthy seems like an unusual scene partner today, he certainly wasn't in 1952. Edgar Bergen's monocled, wisecracking dummy was one of the biggest personalities in American entertainment. Charlie flirted shamelessly with glamorous actresses, traded barbs with Hollywood's biggest stars, and somehow convinced millions of radio listeners that a wooden dummy had movie-star charisma.

The original CBS press release that accompanied this photograph explains the joke:

"When Marilyn Monroe pledges 'I do' to ex-Casanova McCarthy, the loving couple discuss honeymoon plans."

Naturally, everything falls apart. Charlie's premarital blood test reveals he's "only sap," and the wedding is suddenly off. It's exactly the kind of fast-paced comedy audiences expected from the program, while giving Marilyn another opportunity to show she could handle comedy just as comfortably as glamour.

One of the details that collectors enjoy is discovering how different pieces of Hollywood history connect. Marilyn's own working script from this very broadcast survived and sold in Christie's landmark The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe auction in 2002 for $5,019. Suddenly, a studio-issued publicity photograph, an original press release, and Marilyn's personal script all become pieces of the same story.

That's one reason original Hollywood paper fascinates collectors. A single photograph rarely exists in isolation. Press photos, caption sheets, scripts, storyboards, fan magazines, correspondence, and publicity stills often overlap in surprising ways, each adding another layer to the historical record. At Britannic Auctions, that's exactly the kind of context we enjoy uncovering when researching Hollywood memorabilia. Sometimes the most interesting discovery isn't the item itself—it's how many other stories it connects to.

Why Original Marilyn Monroe Press Photos Continue to Attract Collectors

Of course, not every Marilyn photograph brings the same price.

Subject matter, photographer, condition, rarity, provenance, and timing all influence collector demand. Some of her most celebrated images sell for thousands of dollars, while others remain surprisingly affordable, giving collectors an opportunity to own an authentic piece of Marilyn's career without venturing into five-figure territory.

Collectors also know to ask one important question: Is it a Type 1 photograph? Original Type 1 prints, produced from the original negative during the period the image was created, are the gold standard. Marilyn Monroe is one of the most frequently reproduced celebrities in history, making original period prints especially desirable.

The market reflects those distinctions. A Type 1 8×10 photograph of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio taken during the production of Monkey Business realized $1,800 after third-party authentication. A 1953 gelatin silver press photograph showing Marilyn at a press conference for the Out of This World baseball game brought $1,190. On the other hand, later Associated Press wire photographs or more common press images sometimes sell for only a few dollars, reminding collectors that originality, subject matter, and documentation matter just as much as MM's name.

Press Photos vs. Movie Stills: Why the Difference Matters

Spend enough time around vintage Hollywood photography and you'll hear people use the terms press photo and movie still as if they mean the same thing. They don't.

A movie still was produced to promote a specific film. A press photo had a much broader job. Studios distributed them to newspapers and magazines to publicize everything from new movie releases and award appearances to interviews, publicity tours, and radio guest spots like Marilyn's appearance with Charlie McCarthy.

Collectors know that old Hollywood paperwork had a habit of disappearing. Separate press snipes peeled off over the years, tossed in the trash, or lost long before anyone imagined people would someday collect them. Unless a caption was typed directly onto the back of the photograph, surviving examples with both the original press snipe and release sheet are a little less common—and considerably more satisfying to find.

Marilyn collectors also learn one lesson very quickly: be careful of reprints.

Few movie stars have been photographed, reproduced, copied, and reprinted more than Monroe. Original Type 1 photographs remain the benchmark, while later restrikes (new prints made from the original negative years afterward) can look every bit as sharp but occupy a very different place in the market. In a lot of cases, a restrike can be purchased for as little as $10, while an original Type 1 example of the very same image may command many times that amount.

It's a distinction that surprises newcomers, but experienced collectors wouldn't have it any other way. In Hollywood photography, when a photograph was printed is often just as important as what it shows.

Do You Own Marilyn Monroe Memorabilia?

More than seventy years after this photograph was taken, collectors are still searching for original Marilyn Monroe memorabilia. Every year, vintage press photographs, studio publicity, movie stills, autographs, lobby cards, posters, programs, fan club material, pressbooks, and personal correspondence find new homes with collectors who appreciate the history behind them.

If you own Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, Britannic Auctions offers free evaluations and welcomes consignments ranging from a single signed photograph to an entire archive. We regularly work with longtime collectors, families, estate representatives, and individuals who have inherited Hollywood collections, helping identify original material and matching it with collectors who understand what they're looking at.

Get Auction Alerts for Classic Hollywood Memorabilia

Collectors interested in original Marilyn Monroe photographs often collect far more than Marilyn alone. Vintage movie stills, studio publicity, celebrity autographs, posters, lobby cards, and memorabilia associated with legends like James Dean, Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, and countless others regularly appear in our sales.

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