Dear Marilyn

Dear Marilyn offers a fresh insight into the life of the most-famous woman Hollywood has ever created. Through the stunning photography of Monroe's close friend and confidant, the photographer, journalist, and filmmaker Sam Shaw, this book brings Marilyn Monroe to life in a spectacular celebration of the centenary of her birth.

In Shaw's own voice, through his diary entries and intimate correspondences with Monroe, we learn of their close friendship and gain an insider's view that charts her rise to stardom, the challenges she faced, and her quest to find artistic authenticity. For the first time, Shaw also tells the origin story of his iconic 'blowing skirt' series from The Seven Year Itch.

Stunning digitally remastered photographs from the original 1940s-1960s archival material include some of the most famous images ever taken of Monroe: from behind the scenes of The Seven Year Itch to candid images of her on the streets of New York City and in love at the beach in Amagansett. Including never-before-seen images, Shaw's work favours improvisation and shows Marilyn Monroe at her most spontaneous and radiant.

"Marilyn was born out of time, still she became a superstar, a myth, and a legend." - Sam Shaw

Author: A native New Yorker, Sam Shaw (1912 to 1999) began his photography career in the 1940s with Collier's magazine, photographing the everyday life of ordinary people. He travelled the USA creating reportages on such subjects as jazz musicians in New Orleans, farmers and coal miners in West Virginia, WWII, and the burlesque, before going on to work with film studios in New York, Los Angeles, and Europe as a stills photographer. Besides photographing Marilyn Monroe throughout her career, Shaw shot many other film industry personalities such as Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, and Alfred Hitchcock. His work was regularly published in Life, Look, Paris Match, Europeo, and Harper's Bazaar, among others.

Selling Points:

• Newly discovered correspondence, journals, and hand-written notes by Sam Shaw
• Digitally remastered photographs from the original 1950s archival material, including unpublished images
• Behind-the-scenes photography of the making of The Seven Year Itch together with rare images of Monroe at home in New York
• 75 colour, 250 b/w illustrations