Marilyn Monroe's CT Driver's License Up For Auction In Wilton

WILTON, CT — Marilyn Monroe's Connecticut driver's license is among the many rare and curious items being auctioned in Wilton this month.

The movie star's ticket to ride is one of the 496 lots up for auction at University Archives' "Rare Signed Manuscripts, Books, Photos, and Relics" auction in Wilton. Other items up for bidding include written equations by Albert Einstein, presidential mementos dating back to the Samuel Adams administration, a Bart Simpson sketch, comic book and autograph by creator Matt Groeing, and four issues of a 19th century Boston newspaper reporting on a sea serpent.

Monroe's license, issued in 1958, dates from her residency in Roxbury, when she was married to playwright Arthur Miller from 1956 to 1961. The couple moved into Miller's Roxbury retreat in 1956, where they had "hoped they could lead a normal life," according to Architectural Digest.

The actress carried her Connecticut I.D. while driving her "beloved" 1956 Ford Thunderbird convertible. The T-Bird was purchased in Westport, and presented to Monroe as a Christmas present in 1955 by her business partner Milton Greene, according to University Archives.

Inasmuch as it's a driver's license, the item comes with a bonus feature: the superstar's signature, in this case "Marilyn Monroe Miller."

The auction house estimates the item's value to be between $30,000 and $40,000. The current bid — the third made on this lot — stands at $12,000 as of Tuesday.

Another big ticket item up for grabs at the Wilton auction is a handwritten one-sheeter by Albert Einstein. At just over 170 words, in German, and 7 lines of equations relating to the development of his United Field Theory, the micro-manuscript is expected to fetch from $30,000 to $40,000. The current bid stands at $20,000.

If your interests run more toward hardball than Hollywood or theoretical physics, there's still time to bid on a 1960 Carl Yastrzemski rookie Topps baseball card. The auctioneers are asking for a starting bid of $100.

The online bidding is in full swing here. The date set for auction date set for Feb. 21 at 10:30 a.m.