Offered is an incredible oversized 9 x 12 inch photograph of Elvis Presley from the estate of Memphis photographer William Speer from his legendary 1955 photo shoot. 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. The photo shoot created some of the most amazing and historic photographs in entertainment history, and this offering is an opportunity to acquire one of the prints from the session that emanates from the William Speer estate. The photo measures 9 x 12 inches and presents with little distress to the front, but does have heavy remnants of mounting on black board on the reverse. Excellent condition.