I'll Give You A Quarter For That

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Photographer Anton Fury's hobby of searching weekend garage sales for collectible toys led him to dozens of apparently unpublished photos of a young Marilyn Monroe.

Fury has allowed CNN to publish the images just days before what would have been Monroe's 85th birthday. They apparently were taken during a photo session before she was well known.

"I found an envelope of negatives, didn't know what they were, but I realized they were old," Fury said. He paid $2 for the folder, which contained two envelopes of black-and-white negatives.

Also found were 70 negatives of Jayne Mansfield.  In a hilarious understatement, Fury says this is "probably his best garage sale discovery ever."   He shared them shortly before what would have been Marilyn's 85th birthday.

I've always had a fascination with Marilyn Monroe, and who she really was.  These pictures still show her with glimpses of her childlike innocence and wide open smile, before reality made her eyes guarded and her smile a defensive reflex.  She was one of the first of her kind, and she died the death that many celebrities that followed.  That one of the most popular and beloved people in the world died alone and feeling isolated is one of the saddest things I've ever heard.  I'm glad we have a chance to enjoy her image with new and exciting pictures.