SUBMIT PICTURE: Oscars previously presented to actress Katharine Hepburn are seen at the “Meet the Oscars Show” at the Hollywood & & Highland Center in Los Angeles, California February 9, 2007. REUTERS/Phil McCarten (UNITED STATES)/ File Picture
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The emerald and diamond engagement ring that Howard Hughes offered to Hollywood star Katharine Hepburn in 1938 offered for $108,000 at a Los Angeles auction – more than 3 times the expected price – while a collection of her love letters to him fetched $44,800.
Auction house Profiles in History said on Friday that other personal items coming from Hughes also opted for more than their pre-sale estimates, including the entrepreneurs trademark fedora ($ 51,200) and the two-tone coat ($ 89,600) he wore while piloting his huge Spruce Goose flying boat.
Hughes and Hepburn never ever wed however their 18-month love in the late 1930s, which was narrated in the 2004 movie “The Aviator,” was a huge celeb story at the time.
Her 55 handwritten letters, postcards and notes concerned auction for the very first time and had been anticipated to bring up to $15,000. The engagement ring had a pre-sale price quote of about $30,000.
In the letters, Hepburn utilized pet names and pseudonyms like C. Mouse and Mrs. H.R. Country and showered the film magnate and millionaire business owner with appreciation.
The purchasers of the Howard Hughes items were not revealed.
Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Aurora Ellis
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