The world's most celebrated sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe, has recently been discovered again.

And you can have her. Especially, if your name is Billy!

The Marilyn that has been discovered is a famous portrait of her by photographer Tom Kelley.

On December 10, 2004, this rare, signed nude photograph will be up for auction through eBay Live Auctions.

It is the one that helped launch her career and became the most famous pin-up in Hollywood history. This Red Velvet pose is the only known example Monroe ever signed.

The inscription reads, "To Billy Dear, Please dress me forever. I love you, Marilyn"

The photo was originally taken on May 27, 1949 in a cramped Los Angeles studio. Neither professional photographer Tom Kelley nor the nude 22-year-old blonde posing sensuously before his lens could have realized what was about to happen.

From the day Norma Jeane Mortensen Baker first signed her first studio contract with Twentieth Century Fox on August 26, 1946, where she earned $125 a week, until her 16-year career ended abruptly in 1962 at the young age of 36, Marilyn captured the hearts of many.

As a cover girl, her face and body graced the cover of hundreds of magazines, including The Family Circle, Tempo, Elle and Cosmopolitan.

Clark Gable once said, ""Marilyn is a kind of ultimate. She is uniquely feminine. Everything she does is different, strange, and exciting, from the way she talks to the way she uses that magnificent torso. She makes a man proud to be a man."

One fan said:

She was more than just a movie star or glamour queen. A global sensation in her lifetime, Marilyn's popularity has extended beyond star status to icon. Today, the name "Marilyn Monroe" is synonymous with beauty, sensuality and effervescence. She remains an inspiration to all who strive to overcome personal obstacles for the goal of achieving greatness.

The two-hour session in 1949 produced the photos "A New Wrinkle" and "Golden Dreams", photos which sold millions of calendars worldwide, immortalizing her legendary beauty.

The recipient of this photograph, at the time, was William Travilla, the costume designer who created the famous white crepe halter-top dress Marilyn wore in the 1955 Billy Wilder film The Seven Year Itch which made her a legend.

On December 10, 2004, this photograph will be up for auction, as will Travilla's original design of the dress Marilyn wore in the classic subway wind scene.

Created in gouache on a 15 in. x 20 in. sheet of artist's illustration board, it is Travilla's original concept drawing of this famous dress.

The drawing is expected to sell for $80,000 to $100,000.

The photograph is expected to sell for $20,000 - $30,000.

Autograph Dealer, Profiles in History founder & CEO, Joe Maddalena said, "The passion to own and collect Hollywood film and television memorabilia, particularly items associated with American icon Marilyn Monroe, is a worldwide phenomenon that gets bigger and bigger every year. Ownership of a favorite piece seems to contribute to a person's happiness as they reminisce the past."

Other Marilyn Monroe collectibles currently for sale through eBay Live auctions include: a lithograph print of Marilyn by Alberto Vargas which is signed and numbered by the artist.

Also up for auction, on December 10th, will be over 500 pieces of original Hollywood memorabilia, by Profiles in History, the nation's leading live/ simultaneous Internet auctions dealer of guaranteed-authentic original historical autographs and Hollywood Memorabilia.

As with previous Profiles in History auctions, bidders attend in person or bid by phone or fax, or by simultaneous live internet hookup through eBay Live Auctions.

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful and red velvet living!

~ Jennifer King

P.S. For those who have the pocket book but who are of a younger generation, not yet exposed to Marilyn Monroe, the movie star, may we recommend you watch The Diamond Collection I and II, as well as the 1959 Special Edition DVD Some Like It Hot, for which Monroe won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy.

The first DVD collection includes six Marilyn movies: Bus Stop, How to Marry a Millionaire, There's No Business Like Show Business, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch and The Final Days .

The second includes: Don't Bother to Knock, Let's Make Love, Monkey Business, Niagara and River of No Return.

These are just twelve of the thirty films Monroe made from 1947 to 1962.

Click below to purchase this Golden Globe winning performance, her two collections, the 2005 Marilyn Monroe Calendar and a variety of books about the woman whose body was laid to rest in 1962, but who remains a fascination to the world, to this day.