July 9, 2020 Rock & Roll and Entertainment Auction

Offered is an interesting group of 9 photos with views of Elvis Presley's home Graceland from the 1950s. The first group of five photos show several young ladies taking advantage of the access to Elvis' estate during the period before the wall was built, as they stand on the porch and sit on the steps in several. One photo, not at Graceland, captures Gladys and Vernon Presley in a Theater, perhaps to see one of Elvis' first films, with a processing date of "OCT 57" printed on the border. The lady next to them is covering face to avoid being photographed-perhaps out of modesty, perhaps because of some local legal entanglements. Another slightly later shot captures Elvis' uncle Travis Smith (Gladys' brother) posing with the pink "Graceland" Jeep "Surrey." This Jeep wan't purchased until 1960. The first of the larger shots shows Elvis' Cadillac (with "TENN 57" plates) is inscribed on the reverse "Elvis' Caddy in the front of his mansion in Memphis taken June 18, 1957." The final photograph may be from a period prior to Elvis buying Graceland. It shows two men posing in front of the house, and while the large shrub to the right of the front door is similar in size as it appears in the other photos from 1957 above, there is a 'NO ADMITTANCE" sign on the front door. This sign most likely dates to the period when the former owners no longer lived at Graceland but let church groups use the grounds for events, roughly 1952-57. Seven of the photos measure 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches, with the other, larger photos measure 4 x 5 inches. All but one are printed on era-appropriate KODAK VELOX PAPER. The photos present with minor scuffing and toning--one larger one has a tear at one corner. Excellent condition with a few lesser.