André de Dienes - Marilyn - Taschen - 2002

On the centennial anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's birth, a moving tribute in a numbered, limited edition of 20,000 copies, documenting the meeting between the most iconic and unfortunate diva and photographer Andre de Dienes.

A unique Taschen editorial project, conceived for the 40th anniversary of the death, in 2002. In the original slipcase, which imitates a vintage Kodak yellow packaging. Except for a few small marks, the defects visible on the slipcase are part of the graphic design, which is a kind of "time capsule".

Complete edition, with the photographic volume still in unopened cellophane, and including de Dienes's diary, which reproduces in facsimile the original manuscript with the photographer's handwritten corrections, and a booklet that collects the covers of the magazines for which Marilyn posed.

Limited edition of 20,000 copies; I do not know the number of this copy because the volume's cellophane is still intact, never opened.

Andre de Dienes met Marilyn Monroe – at the time Norma Jeane Baker – when she was 19 and working as a model. After Marilyn confided her desire to become an actress, Dienes undertook with her an on-the-road journey to photograph her immersed in the American natural landscapes. These photographs were widely distributed and helped launch her career. The two collaborated again on other occasions (in 1946, 1952 and 1953); their last meeting dates to June 1961, a year before Marilyn's death. The photographic volume offers an intimate and moving glimpse into the journey that transformed Norma Jeane into Marilyn.

Edited by Steve Crist and Shirley T. Ellis de Dienes.

Photographic volume 31x40 cm, bound in silk, 240 pp. The blue diagonal mark visible in the photos was left by the tape on the cellophane, not on the cover.

The diary of de Dienes counts 608 pages, and the booklet with the covers 16 pages.

External slipcase in good condition. The books inside are perfect and never opened.