Marilyn Monroe autograph book sells for £3,600

An autograph book signed by Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller at a Surrey police station has sold at auction for £3,600 – more than six times its estimate.

The album had an estimate of between £500 and £600 in the sale at Ewbank's auction house in Woking and was invoiced at £4,680 including fees.

It went under the hammer after attracting "a huge amount of interest" before the sale, auctioneer Andrew Ewbank said.

The signatures were collected at Weybridge Police Station in 1956, when Monroe was visiting the UK to film The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier, and had to register as an "alien". The rule had been introduced during the Cold War because of security fears.

The officer who oversaw the registration asked the couple for their signatures, which they dedicated to his daughter, Gillian, and his son, Graham.

Ewbank said: "There was fierce competitive bidding online and on the phone for the item. What made this one so special was that it was signed by both Marilyn and her then husband, the writer, Arthur Miller."

He said the book had been "unusually" signed by the Hollywood star as Marilyn Monroe Miller.

Ewbank said that interest in Monroe was "really high" currently, amid renewed interest in her life and her relationship with Miller.

In the book, the actress signed her name, adding "love and kisses".

Auctioneers had earlier described the item as a "wonderful snapshot" of a moment in the couple's lives as they embarked on what proved to be a short-lived marriage.

Monroe and Miller were married from 1956 to 1961.

The album also contained the autographs of other Hollywood and British film and television stars of the day, including US actor and film producer Alan Ladd, British actor Richard Todd, and artist and presenter Tony Hart.

Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, X, and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Surrey on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.