This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/1/2018
This 22kt gold Birmingham 1876 wedding band was given to Marilyn Monroe by Arthur Miller at their first wedding ceremony, the civil ceremony, when they were exchanging rings on June 29, 1956 at the Westchester County Court House in White Plains, New York (the first two images shown here are from this ceremony). This ring was given to Arthur Miller by his mother, Augusta, because the wedding was arranged in such haste that the Cartier ring that Miller had originally ordered was not ready yet. According to the 2014 book "Marilyn Monroe Day by Day: A Timeline of People, Places, and Events" by Carl Rollyson, "Miller had ordered a Cartier ring, it was not ready, so he borrowed his mother Augusta's wedding ring" (her wedding took place December 31, 1911). A few days after the wedding Arthur gave Monroe another wedding ring and Marilyn tried to return the other ring to Augusta Miller but Augusta told Marilyn to keep it. After packing up the contents of her New York City apartment after her divorce from Miller, Monroe once again attempted to give the ring back to Augusta, but Arthur's mother was sick and never returned Monroe's messages, passing away a few months later. Marilyn Monroe kept the ring and later gave it to Inez Melson as a gift, while Inez was being employed by Monroe to be her business and financial manager. The ring comes from the personal collection of May Davis who worked closely with Inez Melson (Marilyn Monroe's business manager). Davis received the ring in the early 1960's, shortly after Monroe's death.
This ring was made in accordance to Jewish custom. Jewish law requires the ring to be precious metal, have some value, be unadorned by stones, and must come from the groom's side and not have any decorations cut out of it. This ring fits each one of these categories. Since the hallmark reads "1876" one must wonder, was this ring something which had been a "Miller" heirloom? Something which had once been given to Isidore Miller (Arthur's father) by Isidore's own father?
This 22kt gold ring size is a U.S. 6.25 and weighs 2.9 grams. Size: U.S '6 1/4'. The chain of ownership is as follows: 1911-1956 Augusta Miller, 1956 – 1960 Marilyn Monroe, 1960-1962 Inez Melson, 1962-2015 May Davis, 2015-2018 in the private collection of the consignor. Marilyn’s diamond eternity band from Joe DiMaggio sold at Christie's Auction for $772,500 in 1999. Very good condition. The ring comes with a very detailed letter of provenance from May Davis as well as a Gotta Have Rock & Roll™ Certificate of Authenticity and photos shown here from Marilyn and Arthur's civil ceremony at the Westchester County Court House, a photo of their escape from the paparazzi on that day, as well as photos from the second ceremony which was held a few days later at the home of Arthur Miller’s agent, Kay Brown.