When it was announced that the black Givenchy evening gown Audrey Hepburn immortalized as Holly Golightly would be auctioned off this month, many fans mused about owning it. The Audrey Hepburn Treasures: Pictures and Mementos from a Life of Style and Purpose is not a bad consolation prize; in fact, sitting down with the book is like being granted access to Hepburn’s own scrapbooks. The disparate aspects of her life aristocratic forbears, wartime deprivation, professional ambition, devotion to family, iconic glamour and UNICEF missions are well chronicled in this lovely gift book written by Ellen Erwin, executive director of the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund, and Jessica Z. Diamond, archivist and curator of both the Fund and the Audrey Hepburn Estate.
There are numerous photographs from Hepburn’s childhood, movie stills and informal photos of her on-set, snapshots of her playing with her sons and hanging out with friends. Of course, part of the allure of Audrey Hepburn Treasures are the facsimiles stored in the book’s glassine envelopes: a contact sheet of photos from Hepburn’s wedding to Mel Ferrer, a shooting schedule from Sabrina, a receipt for her Roman Holiday Best Actress Oscar, marked-up Breakfast at Tiffany’s script pages and other memorabilia. A postcard of Hepburn and Givenchy walking along the Seine sent to the actress by Givenchy himself is a wonderful touch. The book’s introduction was written by Hepburn’s eldest son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, and a portion of the proceeds benefit the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund.
