Before Marilyn

A collection of rare and unpublished photographs and documents that detail Marilyn Monroe’s modelling career for the first time Before Marilyn tells the story of Marilyn Monroe’s modelling career, during which time she was signed to the famous Blue Book Agency in Hollywood. The head of the agency, Miss Emmeline Snively, saw potential in the young woman and kept detailed records and correspondence throughout their professional relationship and beyond. On the day of Monroe’s funeral, Snively gave an interview from her office, talking about the girl she had discovered, before announcing, rather dramatically, that she was closing the lid on her Marilyn Monroe archive that day to ‘lock it away forever’. This archive was purchased by Astrid Franse, and together with bestselling Marilyn Monroe biographer Michelle Morgan they draw on this collection of never-before-seen documents, letters and much, much more. ‘Before Marilyn’ explores an aspect of Monroe’s life that has never been fully revealed by charting every modelling job she did, and illustrating the text with rare and unpublished photographs of the young model and her mentor. AUTHOR: Michelle Morgan is the author of ‘Marilyn’s Addresses’ (Smith Gryphon, 1995) Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed (Constable, 2007), ‘Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed New Edition’ (Robinson, 2012), ‘The Mammoth Guide to Hollywood Scandal’s (Robinson 2013) and ‘271 Steps: The Life and Death of Thelma Todd’ (upcoming Chicago Review Press, 2015). Astrid Franse runs Bennies Fifties USA Collectables in the Netherlands with her husband. She purchased Miss Emmeline Snively’s collection of her correspondence with Marilyn Monroe, her documents about the Blue Book Agency and her unpublished photographs from a shop in America, not realising until years later the importance of her purchase. SELLING POINTS: The first book to explore Marilyn Monroe’s modelling career in great detail Features a never-before-seen archive of material kept by the Blue Book Modelling Agency. This includes letters, telegrams, notes and much more 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of Monroe signing with the Blue Book Agency 200 images