Bonhams Offers Rarest Marilyn Monroe Magazine at Auction

I don't have a horse in this race, heck, I don't even get an affiliate commission if you win this baby via my post. But this early Marilyn Monroe magazine is most certainly worth spreading the word about!

Bonhams is currently offering the April 13, 1946 issue of Leader Magazine, a British publication, at auction. The front cover features Marilyn Monroe in her first ever solo magazine cover appearance. It is only her second magazine cover appearance of any kind. This one is rarer than the first.

The item was brought to my attention by Thomas McManus, Jr., son of the consignor of the rare magazine. In an e-mail Thomas mentioned to me that his father was not a magazine collector but had inherited a collection that included the rare Marilyn issue of Leader.

Thomas McManus, Sr. had never had an interest in old magazines until he set his eyes on these goods. Thomas, Jr. wrote that his father was "instantly intrigued due to both their age and immaculate condition." Thomas, Sr. began selling a few of his other magazine issues on eBay and quickly struck up friendships with longtime collectors who began asking him the right questions along the way to his discovering the Marilyn issue of Leader.

In discussing the rare Leader issue collectible magazine authority Dr. Steven Lomazow wrote in 2008 that he had bought and sold the only copies he had seen of the issue in twenty years. Thomas, Jr. wrote that his father "has conversed with many collectors in Europe and America who have been genuinely dumbfounded to learn that there is another copy of the Marilyn Monroe Leader Magazine in existence."

Now it can be yours.

Bonhams offers the April 13, 1946, Vol. 3 No. 26 issue of Leader Magazine in their July 3, 2012 auction. They have placed a very conservative estimate of $310-$470 on the item. It will go for more. Bidding takes place live in London on July 3, but you can also place your bid online.

If you collect Marilyn Monroe you won't want to pass this up. You may not ever see another.

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19800/lot/104/