1942 Oscar trophy makes $89,625 at Heritage movie and music auction

Never-before-seen photographs of a 19-year-old Marilyn Monroe also featured at the Dallas sale

An Oscar trophy from 1942 made $89,625 at Heritage Auctions' movie and music auction in Dallas on Friday July 29.

The best sound recording trophy was awarded to Nathan Levinson for his work on Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Its new owner, who is currently unknown, has a movie memorabilia item of great potential in their possession.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences enacted a rule in 1950 preventing Oscar statues from being sold without them first being offered back to the Academy for $1.

$89,625 can buy you an Oscar

This rule has ensured that those pre-1950 Oscar trophies that do appear at auction are highly coveted by collectors, and can show a significant rise in value over time.

Fewer than 3,000 statues have been presented since the Oscars began in 1929.

The world record price for an Academy Award stands at the $1.54m Michael Jackson paid in 1999 for David O Selznick's best film Oscar for Gone with the Wind.

The Heritage sale also featured a number of previously unseen photographs of Marilyn Monroe.

Taken by Hollywood photographer Richard Miller and dating back to 1946, the shots show a grinning 19 year old girl and offer little sense of the bombshell she would become.

Many of the individual photos made around $1,500, while a model release form Monroe signed in 1946, when she was known as Norma Jeane Dougherty, made $19,120.

Earlier this year Monroe's famous 'subway' white dress from The Seven Year Itch sold for a world record $5.6m from the Debbie Reynolds collection of movie memorabilia.

Check back here soon for more details from this fascinating auction.

• Click here to view our Memorabilia stock items for sale
• Learn how you can get pleasure and profit by investing in film memorabilia 
• Read all the latest Art & Photography and Memorabilia news

Join our readers in over 200 countries around the world - sign up for your free weekly Collectibles Newsletter today or download our free Collectors News app for your iPhone

Recent and related articles...

·  Pow! Original Batgirl costume could prove a $12,000 knock out | 8 July 2011

Yvonne Craig's first used costume, replaced for comfort, is fighting back at Premiere Props

·  Exclusive interview: 'Posters should be a larger hobby - who isn't affected by cinema?' | 30 June 2011

Heritage Auctions' Vintage Movie Poster Director Grey Smith talks about the booming poster markets

·  How the 'most important comic ever' could net you a 133.5% Superprofit | 1 June 2011

Clark Kent first landed in Smallville today in 1938 - and the adventure continues for savvy collectors...

·  The Dark Knight rises again... Batman drawing achieves World Record price | 9 May 2011

An iconic drawing from Frank Miller's classic DC series has made $448,125 at Heritage Auctions

·  Hollywood actor's rare '$1m' Superman comic found after 11 years | 13 April 2011

An Action Comics No.1 stolen from Nicolas Cage has been discovered in a storage locker

www.paulfrasercollectibles.com

Image: Heritage Auctions