This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/14/2024
Offered is an incredible oversized 18 x 24 inch photograph of Elvis Presley from the estate of Memphis photographer William Speer from his legendary 1955 photo shoot. The large portrait is signed in the lower left "Wm Speer © '59." Elvis Presley was 19 when he showed up at Speer's studio in July 1955. Elvis' manager at the time, Bob Neal, sent him in to have publicity photos shot to help promote his fledgling singing career. The well-known image of Elvis with his hands next to his face was from this session and became his most widely distributed promotional photo prior to joining RCA.
Speer and his wife, Vacil, knew there was something special about the young singer that arrived in their studio. "It felt like an electrical charge in the room. You can tell the famous ones or the ones who are going to be famous. They stand out in a room without you even knowing who they are," says Vacil Speer. William Speer remembers thinking Elvis "looked like Burt Lancaster. He could have played his brother in the movies." When the photographs were developed, no one was disappointed. "He came off that dead film like dynamite. Either you've got it or you haven't," says the photographer. Vacil Speer was bold enough to ask Elvis to try "something different" - a few shots with his shirt off. Her offhand idea created some of the most amazing photographs in entertainment history.
Only one other signed copy of this image from William Speer is known to exist. Stunning Near Mint to Mint condition.