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The Last 50 Posts
- Welcome to the ElvisBlog Archives January 26, 2023
- Happy Birthday Elvis January 7, 2023
- MERRY CHRISTMAS !! December 23, 2022
- A Long Overdue Message October 24, 2022
- Gone But Not Forgotten August 15, 2022
- Are You Ready For An Elvis Movie Marathon July 30, 2022
- Elvis Is Everywhere July 18, 2022
- I Finally Saw The New Elvis Movie July 3, 2022
- Thank You for Your Comments June 24, 2022
- It’s Been Too Long Without A New Post June 23, 2022
- Elvira and Elvis March 20, 2022
- Elvis Week 2022 Announcements March 10, 2022
- 100 Comments February 28, 2022
- Fool’s Gold Sandwich February 20, 2022
- The 100 Most Important Americans February 2, 2022
- Elvis and the Presidential Medal of Freedom January 27, 2022
- Messages on the Graceland Wall January 17, 2022
- Thanks to Everyone Sending Nice Comments About Our Dog Molly January 10, 2022
- Molly, You Were A Great Dog December 31, 2021
- Merry Christmas from ElvisBlog December 24, 2021
- Santa Plays a Mean Guitar December 22, 2021
- Christmas Eye Candy for Elvis Fans December 15, 2021
- Paul McCartney Sings Elvis December 6, 2021
- Celebrating Elvis and Thanksgiving November 24, 2021
- More About the Elvis Picture Disc Tribute Album November 21, 2021
- Remembering Ronnie Tutt November 7, 2021
- A 2010 Repost With An Update November 4, 2021
- The New Elvis Stamp – Parts 1, 2, and 3 October 25, 2021
- The New Elvis stamp – Part 2 October 25, 2021
- The New Elvis Stamp – Part 3 October 25, 2021
- Jumpsuits, Jewelry, and Junk — Revisited October 15, 2021
- The Dick Clark/Elvis Phone Calls October 5, 2021
- Elvis Shades… on Him… and Other Celebrities September 22, 2021
- Elvis Name Artwork September 12, 2021
- Charlie Watts Promoted DJ for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame August 28, 2021
- Continuing Our Look at a Big Elvis Scrapbook August 21, 2021
- We Still Miss You, Elvis August 16, 2021
- Elvis Week Flashbacks — Part 3 August 15, 2021
- Elvis Week Flashbacks — Part 2 August 14, 2021
- Elvis Week Flashbacks August 13, 2021
- Getting Back to the Elvis Scrapbook Reposts August 8, 2021
- An Interesting Little Story About Jailhouse Rock July 28, 2021
- Two Good Movies That Didn’t Get Celebrated July 25, 2021
- Where Did All The Comments Go? July 20, 2021
- Another Thursday Night Elvis Movie — Blue Hawaii July 15, 2021
- Happy 4th of July, Elvis July 3, 2021
- 20 Elvis Movies on TV in July June 29, 2021
- A Look at Some Elvis Scrapbooks June 19, 2021
- The End of The Circle G Ranch June 5, 2021
- Happy Elvis in His Own Little Ranch World – Circle G Ranch, Part 2 May 26, 2021
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Monthly Archives: December 2017
Elvis Collectibles that Failed to Sell in 1999 Get a Second Chance
This is the 296-page catalog of the 1999 Archives of Graceland auction. It was held in the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, and the auction lots were open for public viewing for ten days. Admission was $5, or you could buy the catalog for $40 and get in free. I happened to be in Las Vegas at that time for a convention, and I gladly forked out the $5 to spend three hours looking at all the Elvis goodies while my wife played the slots. Years later I bought the catalog for a much reduced price from a vendor at Elvis Week.
This is a very rare hotel poster (covered in plastic) announcing the Archives of Graceland auction. It probably has some collectible value of its own now.
It appears that not everything at this auction sold, and now they are back nineteen years later at the January 6, 2018 Auction at Graceland.
I guess these items have been in storage in the Graceland archives all this time. But, with all the expanded exhibit space now at the Elvis the Entertainer Career Museum and five other exhibits at Elvis Presley’s Memphis, you’d think they would hang on to these items. However, they are for sale at auction again, and we will take a look at most of these repeat items. It’s interesting to compare the original 1999 estimates with those for 2018. Because the current estimates are all lower, we can assume the items were over-evaluated the first time, and nobody would pay that much for them.
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Love Me Tender 16mm Film and Acetates of Movie Songs:
This is Elvis’ personal copy of the film in three metal reels and the original brown-strapped shipping case. The smaller case contains his personal acetates of the four songs in the soundtrack: “We’re Gonna Move,” “Love Me Tender,” “Poor Boy,” and “Let Me.” There were actually three versions of the title track “Love Me Tender.”
Back in 1999, the estimate was $5,000-7,000. Now it is just $1,500-2,500. But what if one of those unused versions of “Love Me Tender” is substantially different and has not already been released? It could be licensed for enough to cover the cost of the whole lot.
There are three other lots containing film reels and song acetates that also carried over from the 1999 auction: G.I. Blues, Kid Gallahad, and Live A Little, Love A Little. Their original estimates were less than Love Me Tender, but today they are the same. It seems unlikely that they will bring in as much as Elvis’ first film.
Original Screen Door from Graceland:
Can you believe it? I guess they figure anything related to Elvis has appeal to collectors, including this screen door from the back entrance to Graceland. It has presumably been in storage since 1967 when Elvis replaced with an ironwork door (still there today).
Back in 1999, the estimate was $3,000-4,000, but today it is $1,500 – $2,500. Sorry, if I had that kind of money to spend on Elvis collectibles, I’d get something besides a screen door.
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Elvis Presley’s Personal Massive Wooden Desk from His Home Office in Palm Springs:
This desk came from Elvis’ home in Palm Springs, not Graceland. Because the Colonel and others took care of all his business dealings, Elvis actually used it for little more than reading or to review his concert arrangements. The desk is 7-1/2 feet long and is an impressive-looking piece of furniture – angular kidney-shaped wooden desk with burl wood trim and brass handles.
Back in 1999, the estimate was $40,000 – $50,000, but today it is $10,000 – $20,000. I think they will get it. If a photo of Elvis sitting at this desk ever surfaces, the value would go way up.
Elvis’ Portable Sauna:
This is something I most remember seeing at the 1999 auction exhibit, and I thought it was pretty weird. In the 1970s, the Colonel purchased this steam spa for Elvis’ Chino Canyon, Palm Springs home.
Elvis used this spa to maintain his heath because the advertised benefits included detoxification, stress relief, weight loss, and improving circulation.
Back in 1999, the estimate was $8,000 – $10,000, but today it is $3,000 – $5,000
Elvis Presley’s Personal Globe-Shaped Free-Standing Wooden Bar from His Beverly Hills Home:
In 1967 when Elvis and Priscilla moved to the two-acre, two-story home in the elegant Holmby Hills neighborhood of California, Elvis made sure to furnish his home with only the best stuff. Amenities included a soda fountain, a pool table, a projection room and this stately Italian-style Old World Globe Bar.
Of course, Elvis didn’t drink, and the inside doesn’t have much room to store anything, so my guess us that it was just a conversation piece. The globe/bar was put into storage in Los Angeles in 1975, and presumably has been stored away ever since.
Back in 1999, the estimate was $4,500-$5,000, but today it is $1,500 – $2,500. I think it will sell this time, possibly going for a good bit more than the estimate.
VCR from Elvis’ Bedroom:
According to the auction website, “Not only was Elvis featured in many films, but he also thoroughly enjoyed watching movies. He often went to the theater as a young man and that habit continued into adulthood when he would rent out an entire theater to watch a film. As technology progressed and the video recording system became a popular format in the mid 1970s for home viewing, Elvis would watch his favorites in the comfort of his bedroom at Graceland.” with his own personal VCR player.
Elvis was passionate about technology and acquiring the latest and greatest, and this high-tech JVC model CR-6300U video player certainly was that at the time.
Back in 1999, the estimate was $4,000 – $6,000, and it is still pretty close today at $3,000 – $5,000.
Elvis Presley’s Leather Rocking Chair from the Jungle Room:
Although fans call it the Jungle Room today, Elvis referred to it as the den, and the auction website calls it the original man cave. However, during the 70s, the furnishings were not the ones we see in Graceland today. We can be thankful that all the original tiki-inspired furniture was saved and ultimately restored to its iconic domain.
The auction website says this rocking chair was a favorite of Elvis’ in his earlier rendition of the room. They acknowledge that a photo of the wrong chair ended up in the 1999 catalog.
To my eye, this one looks way more like something from the Jungle Room than that spindly one above. But the one in the new picture is what’s for sale and the estimate is $10,000 – $15,000. Back in 1999 it was $20,000 – 30,000. Without a photo of Elvis sitting on it, I don’t think it will sell.
Elvis Presley Original Acetate of Beatles Songs “Hey Jude” and “Something”:
In 1969 Elvis recorded The Beatles’ hit “Hey Jude” at the American Studio in Memphis. “Hey Jude” was released by The Beatles in 1968 and topped the charts in Britain and the U.S. and is often cited as one of the greatest songs of all time. Elvis’ rendition of “Hey Jude” was included on his 1972 album Elvis Now.
“Something” was another song written by George Harrison and released on the 1969 Beatles album Abbey Road. Elvis included the song during his third season at the Las Vegas International Hotel in August 1970, and performed it during his Aloha from Hawaii television special in 1973, so the song was included on the namesake album as well.
This rare acetate of Elvis singing both famous tunes is described on the auction website as a historic relic of incomparable significance. I don’t understand why it did not sell at the 1999 auction when the estimate was only $650 – $750. Contrary to everything else we have looked at in this post, the current estimate is even higher at $1,000 – $2,000. I predict it will sell at that or more.
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Signed Title to Elvis’ Circle G Ranch:
The background story of this deed is presented nicely on the auction website:
Elvis was an avid rider and purchased his first horse, Domino, as a Christmas gift for Priscilla. Elvis’ passion grew and soon the barn at Graceland was being cleaned to house the horses Elvis began to acquire. It was during a horse-buying excursion in Mississippi that Elvis spotted a 65-foot white cross overlooking a manmade lake on a beautiful piece of land. At the time, Elvis was reading a lot about spirituality, so the mystique of the property moved him enough to stop and knock on the owner’s door. Elvis didn’t even bother negotiating the price of “Twinkletown Farm” with the owner, Jack Adams, but proceeded to put down an initial payment of $5,000 against the total asking price of $437,000 for the house, cattle, farm equipment and 160 acres of land. Shortly after, Elvis moved nearly 40 horses to the property, eight trailers for his friends and family and spent $100,000 on vehicles for the ranch. Elvis renamed the farm “Circle G Ranch,” with the “G” for Graceland. Much time was spent by Elvis, Priscilla and his entourage at the ranch as it provided a getaway from the pressures of Hollywood and superstardom. Elvis had quickly spent a small fortune on the ranch and the cost of maintaining it became too much of a financial burden, so in May of 1969 Elvis sold the property for $440,000.
So, the two-page title from Mid-South Title Company in Memphis, dated February 8, 1967 for the Circle G Ranch is back at auction. The title is signed in blue ink by Elvis.
The new estimate has an unusually wide range: $10,000 – $20,000. This puts it both above and below the 1999 estimate of $13,000 – 15,000. I don’t think they know what this signed deed will bring. I hope it goes high.
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1973 Tennessee Motorcycle License Plate:
Elvis owned a lot of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in his life, and this license plate was on one of them. But the best the auction website can say about it is, “The plate may have been used on a custom-made Harley-Davidson that Elvis bought in 1971.”
What’s strange is that this plate is only one of four offered at the 1999 auction.
That set included two white Tennessee plates and a black one from California. The combination was expected to bring $10,000 – 12,000 in 1999. Now the green Tennessee motorcycle plate alone is estimated at just $1,000 – $1,500. It might bring that.
This is just a taste of the 271 Elvis items that will be auctioned on January 6 in Memphis during the Elvis Birthday Celebration. To see everything, click here.
© 2017 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.
Posted in AUCTIONS / MEMORABILIA, CDs / RECORDS, HISTORY, Main Page
Tagged Auction at Graceland, Elvis collectibles, Elvis memorabilia
Reindeer on TV Christmas Specials
Recently, the beloved Christmas animation Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer took a hit on the Huffington-Post website.
Obviously they need to come up with a lot of new content every day, so at times stuff shows up that is really out there. Like this.
I’m not going to explain how the writer came up with that horrible notion. It would just make you mad, like it did me.
But in reading it, I started thinking about the reindeer in my BIG E and the SANTA MAN book. As I’ve told you, I’ve always visualized it as an animated Christmas special on TV. Something that people watch year after year along with Rudolph, the Grinch, and A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Then, I realized that I hadn’t explained much about the reindeer in my stories. I’ve told you about the key elves, the villain and his henchmen, Big E’s jetsled, the magic that comes from the North Pole, the four-man elf band called the ELVI’s, the Ghost of Christmas Future, and Big E’s hound dog Snorty.
But all I’ve told you about the reindeer is that they can talk, just like the reindeer in Rudolph.
However, I don’t visualize the reindeer in my books as fuzzy doll-like creatures. Mine are like this.
These are strong, dedicated and focused guys with heroic scenes in both the original book and Part 2.
For example, here is a section from the first book when the villain has shot a tractor beam down from his space station, locked on Santa’s sleigh, and started pulling it up toward the craft.
Once the beam had locked on the sleigh, Santa was horrified. He had no idea what to do. In desperation, he yelled to the reindeer, “There’s no way we can break loose from this beam.”
Comet yelled back, “There might be one way, but you won’t like it.”
“What? Tell me.” Santa’s state of despair was such that he would listen to anything.
“Well, maybe we should dump the sacks of presents,” Comet said with a look of pain in his eyes.
“Oh, no. No, we couldn’t do that.”
“Santa, I’m sorry, but I agree with Comet,” said Prancer. “If we reduce our weight a lot, maybe then our reindeer power will be enough to break us away from the beam.”
“No, I just couldn’t do it. There wouldn’t be any presents for the boys and girls this Christmas.”
Dasher turned his head and yelled from the front of the team back to Santa, “If Scrooge gets his clutches on you now, there won’t be Christmas any year. You gotta dump the presents.”
Comet, Prancer and Dasher all had important speaking parts in that short scene. And that reindeer power mentioned by Prancer turned out to be impressive, indeed.
In BIG E and the SANTA MAN – Part 2, there’s a humorous scene when Big E takes his new hound dog Snorty over to the reindeer barn to meet everybody.
The visit had gone well for about fifteen minutes. Then, as he chatted with Dancer, Big E heard Donner yell, “Hey, cut that out!”
Big E rushed over and asked, “What happened?”
“He was sniffing my butt.”
Laughter erupted in the room, but Donner didn’t join in, a perturbed look frozen on his face.
Big E bent over, grabbed the dog’s collar, and made eye contact. “No, Snorty, no. Bad dog,” he said in a deep, serious voice. Then he looked at Donner. “I’m so sorry. That’s kind of a dog thing, you know, but I’ll work on trainin’ him not to do it anymore.”
“You better. If he ever tries that again, he’ll get a swift kick in the nose and won’t be smelling anything for a while.”
In addition, there are two dramatic action scenes with the reindeer in Part 2. The grand final confrontation is a total team effort with all the key characters contributing, including the reindeer.
So, that’s it — the final pitch in 2017 for my books. I’ve tried to make these posts as interesting as possible. I guess they’re working because the sales through Amazon this year have far surpassed last year’s. I really appreciate the support from all of you who have purchased the books.
For those of you who haven’t bought a copy (or told a family member to give you one for Christmas), it’s not too late.
Please click here and go to Amazon and get the best in Elvis fiction and the wildest Christmas fantasies ever written.
BIG E and the SANTA MAN – Part 2
MERRY CHRISTMAS
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THANK YOU. THANKYOUVERYMUCH
Phil Arnold
Original ElvisBlogmeister