Marilyn Monroe rare negative sold at auction in Devizes

A rare negative of legendary movie star Marilyn Monroe, taken during her first professional photo shoot when she was 20 years old, has been sold at auction.

The photograph was taken when the unknown Norma Jeane Baker was a factory girl hoping to become a model.

The picture, along with the negative and copyright, was sold for £4,250. It had been expected to fetch between £5,000 and £8,000.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said he was "quite happy" with the result.

Mr Aldridge, from Henry Aldridge and Sons in Devizes, Wiltshire, said: "It was an exceptionally unusual item and to be able to include the copyright added another dimension as we only usually sell the physical item."

In 1946, Norma Jeane Baker was working at a munitions factory when a passing military government photographer told her she could be a model.

She approached a Hollywood modelling agency, Blue Book, and aspiring photographer Joseph Jasgur was assigned to put her first portfolio together.

The auctioned image was taken at Zuma Beach in Malibu.

The pictures made Jasgur famous and helped create the star who would go on to become Marilyn Monroe.