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Highlights of the Latest Elvis Memorabilia at Auction

Phil Arnold — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:45:42 -0400

It has been a lot of fun following the most recent batch of Elvis goodies that were offered at auction. Bidding closed last Wednesday night on 278 Elvis items at the Gotta Have Rock and Roll Auction, and as usual there were several interesting developments. Let’s take a look at the hits and misses, as well as my choice for the biggest bargain..

Highest Bids: Although there was no jumpsuit headlining the offerings at this auction, Elvis’ clothing still attracted the highest prices, as usual. Winning bidders were able to purchase two items for the same price of $41,434. One was the denim jacket, pants and yellow shirt from the 1968 MGM movie Stay Away Joe. It had an expected price of $15-20,000, so it did considerably better than estimated.

Denim Jacket, Blue Jeans and Yellow Shirt from Stay Away Joe

The other top item at $41,434 was the red suede jacket Elvis wore on the picture sleeves of two hit records: “Jailhouse Rock” and “I Got stung.” The jacket was expected to bring between $20-30,000, but beat that range handily. When auctions include pictures showing Elvis wearing the articles of clothing, it always seems to punch up the bidding.

Red Jacket on the Picture Sleeves of Two Hit 45s

Other Clothing: The next highest bid on Elvis clothing was for pair of black pants featuring brass stud work down the flared legs and a white silk shirt with pointed collar, circa early 70s. The auction site included a fuzzy photo of Elvis wearing these items which brought in a high bid of $18,681. This was followed by a kaftan trimmed with gold embroidery and beading. The bidding closed at $9,124, which was four times the estimate.

Black Studded Pants/White Silk Shirt Gold Embroidered Kaftan

So, we have two items of Elvis’ personal clothing, and one brought twice the price as the other. Why? I believe it was because the kaftan did not come with an accompanying photo showing Elvis wearing it. The item description says Elvis loved wearing kaftans and owned a number of beautiful ones. This may be so, but none of my thousands of Elvis pictures show him wearing one.

Jewelry: What would an auction of Elvis memorabilia be without rings and watches? He must have gone through many dozens of both in his lifetime. This time, a lucky bidder now owns Elvis’ 14KT gold ring featuring a beautiful huge crystal opal surrounded by diamonds. The auction site has a very fuzzy photo supposedly showing Elvis wearing this ring, but I couldn’t make it out. However, there is also a letter of provenance from Elvis’ wardrobe manager Richard Davis, so the ring brought in $20,060, more than double the estimate. It also had the most bids of any Elvis item in the auction.

Crystal Opal Ring 50s Elgin Watch

There were two Elvis watches in this auction, but the vintage Elgin watch above is the more spectacular looking. It went for just $10,560, well below the estimate of $15-20,000. Perhaps this is because Elvis was so taken with this watch that he purchased several of them to give away to friends. In fact, because of his fascination with this model, it became known by the name “Elvis” in the trade.

Biggest Busts: There were a number of no-bid items, indicating that Elvis collectors just weren’t willing to pay the minimum bids stipulated. Here is one that had a minimum of $35,000 and an estimate of $45-50,000. It is a set of never-before-seen 3D color slides accompanied by a 3D viewer. The item description says they were taken with a special camera at a February 1971 Elvis concert at the International Hotel in Las Vegas: “You literally feel that you can reach out and touch Elvis, an incredible experience. It is the closest you’ll ever get to seeing Elvis live. The 3D images truly capture his electrifying, high energy performance.”

3D Slides of 1971 Elvis Concert

Frankly, I am surprised EPE didn’t buy these slides. With their intent to provide more inter-active exhibits at Graceland, this would seem like a natural. Remember those old arcade machines where you looked in the viewer and saw 3D pictures? What fan would go to Graceland and not pay a few bucks to look at incredible, electrifying color images of Elvis in concert?

The next biggest no-bid item was Elvis’ 1956 contract with the William Morris Agency, which he signed in two different places. Nobody thought it was worth the $11,000 minimum, and that’s not a surprise considering the other auction item with two Elvis autographs on it. That is an insert from an American Airlines ticket envelope that Elvis signed on both sides for two young girl fans. It had a minimum bid of $800 and went for $3,019. I think this is a bargain because this came from the December 19, 1970 flight Elvis took to Washington, DC, to see President Richard Nixon.

I found one other no-bid item to be quite interesting. It is an 8x10 black and white wire service photo showing Elvis, Priscilla, and Lisa. Like many other Elvis photographs from news sources in this auction, this had a minimum bid of $100 and an estimate of $150-200, but there were no bids. The reason had to be that the photo is made up of three separate images that were cut out and pasted together. Look closely and you can see that the head sizes are not quite in proportion. Even decades before Photoshop, some newsmen were creating false photos.

Biggest Bargain of the Auction: I wish I weren’t so dedicated to not buying any more Elvis stuff, because I would love to have bought this lot. I’ve blown up the picture as large as it would go and counted the contents: 23 magazines, 4 tabloids, 8 TV Guides, 5 newspapers, 4 postcards, and 5 paperback books. In addition, there is a CD, a branch from a tree at Graceland (wrapped in cellophane), and a copy of Elvis’ will. Plus, there is a surprise in the mailing tube at the bottom, and the unidentified text at the bottom right. Only two people bid on this lot, and one of them got all this cool stuff for $300.

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Caption Contest # 20 -- NO Winner

Phil Arnold — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:56:58 -0500

For the first time since I started doing the Elvis Caption Contest, we have no winner. In fact, there were no submissions. Apparently, this publicity still from the movie The Trouble with Girls stumped everybody. I thought I'd give it a try, too, but this one is really tough. The photo for the next Caption Contest will go back to Elvis in real life situations. No more staged images in period costumes with props.

Elvis in the Army -- By the Numbers

Phil Arnold — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:49:00 -0500

It’s a natural for Elvis websites and fan magazines to do something to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Elvis’ discharge from the Army on March 5, 1960. But, what could you do that would be different. How about a list of significant (or at least, interesting) numbers relating to his two years in the Army?

The number of Elvis hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts during the period from October 5, 1959 to March 27, 1960. Elvis had recorded a number of songs before entering the Army, and these were released about one every three months during his tour of duty. When “A Big Hunk O’ Love” went off the charts, there was nothing left in the vaults. Finally, after Elvis returned from Germany and recorded new material, “Stuck on You” broke the long draught and shot up to Number 1. The King was back.

The number of times Elvis had to carry his duffel bag up the gangplank to the USS Randall before departing for Germany. There were so many news film crews and photographers there to record the event, that seven extra takes were necessary to accommodate them all.

13:

The number of cents royalty Elvis received for each copy of the album Elvis Sails, which contained no music, just his press conference with newsmen at New York harbor before entering the USS Randall.

14:

Priscilla Beaulieu’s age when she met Elvis in Germany in 1959. Her birthday is May 25, 1945.

25:

The last birthday Elvis celebrated while in the Army (January 8, 1960). Two months later he was out of the service.

55:

The number of reporters witnessing Elvis getting his Army haircut at Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas on March 25, 1958.

170:

Elvis’ weight when he was discharged from the Army. Two years earlier, when he started his service, he weighed 185 pounds.

1,289:

The dollar total of out-of-pocket cash spent for a trip Elvis took to Paris in January, 1960 while on leave. The hotel and transportation costs were paid separately. Accompanying Elvis on this six-day vacation were Joe Esposito, Cliff Gleaves, Lamar Fike, and karate instructor Jurgen Seydel. Elvis picked up the whole tab, which would equal $9,336 in 2010 dollars. Over 2/3 of the money was spent in night clubs. It sounds like Elvis and the guys had a lot of fun.

1,500:

The approximate number of screaming fans who greeted Elvis leaving the USS Randall after it docked in Bremerhaven, Germany on October 1, 1958

3,000:

Pieces of mail sent to Private Elvis Presley at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas during the few days he was stationed there. It has not been reported how many letters Elvis received at Fort Hood, Texas, where he did his basic training.

5,000:

Miles that Elvis was away from Anita Wood. In an October 28, 1958 letter, less than a month after he arrived in Germany, he referred to himself as a “lonely little boy 5,000 miles away.” He also wrote he would never love anyone in his life as much as he loved her and he looked forward to their marriage and “a little Elvis.”

Anita Wood visiting Elvis at Ft. Hood

25,000:

The dollars Col. Parker demanded from Life magazine for a cover feature story it wanted to do on Elvis’ return from the Army. This backfired, as Life dropped the idea.

60,000:

Total copies of Elvis Sails that were sold. The mini-album contained just 5-1/2 edited minutes of Elvis’ embarkation press conference.

100,000:

Sympathy cards and letters Elvis received after his mother’s death on August 14, 1958. Gladys Love Presley was 46 years old. Elvis had arrived to Memphis from Fort Hood two days earlier to be by her side.

1,001,728:

Elvis’ income in dollars for the year of 1958, nine months of which he served in the Army. He paid $360,000 income tax that year.

Elvis’ Army pay was a bit less than $1 million a year

18,000,000:

The total number of records Elvis had sold in his career to date, as reported in Billboard magazine just two days before he flew out of Germany to end his Army career. He would sell a lot more.

Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc

Viva Elvis -- Sorting Out the On-Line Reviews

Phil Arnold — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:14:43 -0500

At 8 AM on the morning after Viva Elvis had its official opening performance in Las Vegas, I Googled Viva Elvis to see what the entertainment critics had to say about the reworked Cirque du Soleil show. For two months, there had been many reviews panning the initial trial presentations of Viva Elvis. I was hoping the bugs had been worked out and the critical review would be positive.

Believe it or not, Google found over 2 million results for my search. On the first page of these, there was a selection called “News results for Viva Elvis,” and you could click on links to fifty different articles. As a service to ElvisBlog fans, I checked out every one of them. Here are my choices for the five most interesting, and they come at the subject from substantially different directions.

Best Look at Costumes and Backstage:

I liked the Lights, Vegas, Action blog of Vegas.com for several reasons. The text by Kristine McKenzie was organized into four categories: The Cast, The Music, The Costumes, and The Acrobatics. There is also a video showing snippets of several dance numbers as well looks at some costumes and other backstage stuff. And finally, there is a gallery of nine still shots plus three more in the body of the article. Click on the picture below to go to this informative site.

Most Glowing Review (and most intellectual):

I was a bit surprised to read the review on the Time magazine website and find it so complimentary. Time columnist Richard Corliss used his considerable writing talents to praise Viva Elvis using adjectives like spectacular, fantastic and ecstatic. I love the way he says that Cirque du Soleil shows are to the typical Broadway shows what Avatar is to the 1933 King Kong. Corliss tends to write in a scholarly manner, and he incorporates a lot of words we regular folks don’t use in everyday conversation. I’ll share the ones I had to look up, so you won’t have to do it, too. Éclat (striking effect). Hagiography (worshipful biography), Oeuvre (body of work), Oneiric (relating to dreams), Terpsichore (choreography), Caconical (recognized/accepted), and Chorines (chorus girls). You will enjoy this review, so click this picture to go to it.

Best Videos about Viva Elvis:

CNN.com has a good article by KJ Matthews on its website. I liked the analysis of how Viva Elvis differs from the Cirque show Love about the Beatles. There are actually three videos you can check out, and two are good. “A Look at Viva Elvis” covers the theater, the specially-built stage, set pieces, and backstage activity. You may have already seen this video on the Elvis Insiders website. I also liked “Sneak Peak at Viva Elvis,” which has excerpts of Priscilla’s interview on the Larry King Live TV show. The last video is titled “Elvis, Obama, and Vegas,” but you can skip it unless you want to hear President Obama doing damage control over his recent slam at Las Vegas. Click on the pink Caddy below to link to this site.

Best Description of the Elvis Songs Used in the Show:

There almost 40 Elvis songs used in the show, either in their entirety or in medleys. The deepest discussion of the music in Viva Elvis is found in the show preview on the Las Vegas Review-Journal website. Columnist Mike Weatherford has been writing regularly about Viva Elvis for two months, and this time he interviews Musical Director Erich van Tourneau. It is revealing when van Tourneau discusses trying to keep Elvis moving artistically – trying to imagine how Elvis would do his hits today. There is no video and only two photos. Click on the one of van Tourneau below to read the interview.

Most Detail About What is in Viva Elvis:

As you may know, Cirque du Soleil is Montreal based enterprise, so it is no surprise that the Montreal Gazette would cover Viva Elvis on their website. Columnist Pat Donnelly has written a lengthy article covering (in sequence) just about every element of the show. I don’t know how anyone could read his piece without yearning for a trip to Vegas to see Viva Elvis. Because there are no photos accompanying the article, here’s one I picked for you to click on to go to it.

Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

Sergeant Elvis A. Presley

Phil Arnold — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:36:46 -0500

Back in March 2008, Graceland opened a new exhibit called Private Presley. At that time, I wondered why it wasn’t called Sergeant Presley, which would have given Elvis credit for the highest rank he achieved in the Army. Likewise, the summer 2008 Elvis Catalog offered a companion selection of Private Presley merchandise. Why not Sergeant Presley? Okay, it’s really no big deal, but it did seem curious.

We can assume Elvis was very proud of his promotions during his two years in the Army. He was promoted to Sergeant in February 1960, so let’s commemorate the 50th anniversary of this event with a look at his rise through the Army ranks.

Like everybody else, Elvis started his Army service as a Private in March 1958. There is no insignia on the sleeves for this rank, as seen on the photos below:

On November 27, 1958, Elvis was promoted to Private First Class. This rank gets one stripe on the uniform sleeve.

Six months later, on June 1, 1959, Elvis was promoted to Specialist Fourth Class. This is sort of the same as Corporal, except that the latter is primarily for those soldiers who have passed a leadership development course and are assigned to low-level supervisory duties. A Corporal would have two stripes on his sleeve, but the insignia for a SpecFour is this:

Here are some pictures of Elvis wearing his Specialist Fourth Class insignia:

Look closely at the next photo. It was taken while Elvis was a Private, but check out the woman’s rank. She was a SpecFive, three ranks higher than Elvis, so he had his arm around a superior officer. You can get in trouble for that, right? Well, maybe not, if you’re Elvis. She sure doesn’t look like she minded.

Elvis got his last promotion to Sergeant on February 11, 1960, just three weeks before he received his discharge from the Army. Some vet friends of mine have noted that Elvis’ rise to Sergeant was extremely fast. They kidded that he should have stayed in the Army for a couple more years and probably could have come out as a General. A Sergeant has three stripes on his sleeve, as we see in these photographs:

This should be the end of the story about Elvis’ Army ranks and insignia, but wait, there’s more. On Elvis’ trip home after his discharge, he travelled from Washington, DC to Memphis by train. Col. Parker arranged for him to ride in a private railcar that was at the end of the train and had an observation platform. So, like a Presidential candidate, Elvis appeared on the platform at every stop and waved to the assembled adoring fans. He wore a specially tailored blue parade dress uniform, complete with white gloves.

Notice anything odd about Elvis’ rank insignia? Now he’s got four stripes, which would be the rank of Staff Sergeant, a rank he did not achieve. Do you think the tailor goofed, or do you think Colonel Parker might have had something to do with this phantom promotion? He had already pulled off a phony rank for himself, so why not Elvis, too? Anyway, it’s another one of the interesting things that makes it so much fun to write about Elvis.

Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

Happy Valentine's Day, Elvis

Phil Arnold — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 09:54:00 -0500

Valentine’s Day is the holiday of love, so my original plan for this blog was to present a photo montage of Elvis kissing girlfriends, fans and movie co-stars. However, accumulating enough pictures to do this right has been a slow process, so look forward to seeing it in 2011. For this year, here is a photo essay of different images that connect Elvis and Valentine’s Day.

ElvisBlog's 5th Birthday -- A Look Back at the First Elvis Blogs

Phil Arnold — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 06:24:17 -0500

On January 30, 2005, the first blog devoted to Elvis made its debut. Five years and 800,000 hits later, ElvisBlog rolls on. There have been many changes, so it’s fun to go back and look at the first three articles that started things off.

Postscripts to Earlier ElvisBlog Columns -- 4

Phil Arnold — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:36:10 -0500

It’s been four months since the last Postscripts, and lots of interesting photos have cropped up that relate to earlier blogs. Here’s a look at several of them.

75 Reasons We (Still) Love Elvis

Phil Arnold — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:32:26 -0500

Like all of you, I am a big Elvis fan who recently celebrated his 75th birthday on January 8. Perhaps you had an experience like I did on that day. A number of friends sent me e-mails telling me to check out Elvis links on the web they thought would interest me. You got some, too, didn’t you?

What Elvis Would Look Like at 75

Phil Arnold — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 06:24:05 -0500

In a picture of old Elvis from a 2008 ElvisBlog article titled “Fun With Elvis on Photoshop – 2,” Elvis looked really good. Unfortunately, that is not the case with most of the other depictions of 70 or 75 year-old Elvis that have appeared on the web.