Auctions | October 3, 2023

Marilyn Monroe's First Film Contract and Columbus’s 'Discovery' Letter at Christie's

Christie's

Marilyn Monroe's contract

Christie’s is presenting its Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts including Americana, online October 5-19, featuring significant books and manuscripts.

Leading the sale is the earliest obtainable edition of Christopher Columbus’s letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, announcing the 'discovery' of the American continent by a modern European. This 'Epistola de Insulis Nuper Inventis' from 1493 has an estimate of  $1,000,000-1,500,000.

Other important printed highlights include:

  • a first edition of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations
  • a 'Noble Fragment' leaf from the Gutenberg Bible
  • Marilyn Monroe and Greta Garbo's first film contracts

Also going under the hammer is what is believed to be the only contemporary color photograph of the Trinity atomic tests in private hands, and a fine selection of 18th century maps of the east coast of North America sold on behalf of the Glastonbury Historical Society.

The Columbus letter
1/5
Christie's

The Columbus letter

Hamilton, Madison, and Jay FEDERALIST PAPERS Estimate: $80,000-120,000
2/5
Christie's

Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, Federalist Papers, estimate: $80,000-120,000

Gutenberg Bible fragment
3/5
Christie's

Gutenberg Bible fragment

William Faden  A MAP OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND PARTS OF GEORGIA, 1780 Estimate: $20,000-30,000
4/5
Christie's

William Faden, A Map of South Carolina and Parts of Georgia, 1780, estimate: $20,000-30,000

François Levaillant, Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets, 1801-1805. Estimate: $120,000-180,000
5/5
Christie's

François Levaillant, Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets, 1801-1805. Estimate: $120,000-180,000