Marilyn Monroe negative goes under the hammer

A negative from Marilyn Monroe's first professional photoshoot goes under the hammer in Wiltshire today.

At the time the image was captured, the future film star was the unknown Norma Jeane Baker, a 20-year-old factory girl dreaming of becoming a model.

The negative - and most crucially, the copyright to the image - will be sold at auction and is estimated to fetch between £5,000 and £8,000.

Back in 1946, Norma Jeane was married and working at a munitions factory when a passing military government photographer told her she could be a model, so she approached a Hollywood modelling agency, Blue Book.

Young aspiring photographer Joseph Jasgur was assigned to get her first portfolio and took her to Zuma beach in Malibu for a few pictures, which were later presented to Ben Lyon, casting director at 20th Century Fox.

They were the pictures that would not only make Jasgur famous but create a star in Norma Jeane, who later dazzled Hollywood and sparked international headlines.