A Jewish prayer book belonging to American actress Marilyn Monroe has been put up for sale by a New York auction house.
Monroe converted to Judaism in 1956, prior to marrying Jewish-American playwright Arthur Miller. The couple divorced just five years later, but Monroe continued even afterwards to maintain to Rabbi Robert Goldburg of Congregation Mishkan Israel in New Haven, Conn., who oversaw her conversion and marriage, that she was Jewish.
The siddur, a cream-colored edition of The Form of Daily Prayers. According to the Custom of the German and Polish Jews was published in 1922 and will be auctioned by J. Greenstein & Co. on Nov. 12 in Cedarhurst on Long Island, N.Y.
The starting bid for the unique item, which includes handwritten notes in pencil—presumably written by Monroe herself—is set at $4,600.
Though the item is extremely rare, it is not one-of-a-kind.
A copy of a Union Prayer Book for Jewish Worship made out to Monroe with the name Marilyn Monroe Miller embossed on the cover sold in 1999 for $19,250.
