Saturday 16 June 2012

Anything That's Part of You

For sale: one crypt (hardly used); one lock of hair (one not-so careful owner).

Hair today, gone tomorrow
People often say to me, Pen, Pen they say, being born in 1977 don't mean that the King's soul just passed into you, hell you wasn't even born on the right day. Well, I say to them, on October 2nd 1977, just before I was born, Elvis and Gladys were moved from their crypt at Forest Hill cemetery in Memphis prior to interment in Graceland. Yeah.

We can't all have a piece of the King's soul it's true, but we can damn well try. On June 23rd for example, bidding opens at $100,000 for the very crypt Elvis spent a month and a half in thanks to Julien's Auctions and the good news is you can bid online for this delicious bit of marble. Yes, be interred where Elvis was. Surround your dead self with a lot of neo-classical white stone. Not quite got the money? $2000 - $4000 might net you an x-ray of Elvis' forearm and hand, and the injury therein sustained during a karate session. Penny pinching? Go for hair! You can't go wrong with hair. 

Hair: snip at the price
In November 2002 a strand of El's hair went for £70,000, but Julien's are only plumping for $1000 - $2000. Perhaps because the hair in question (cut by 'Gil', Elvis's traveling barber) hasn't been DNA tested, merely authenticated by John Reznikoff of Westport, Connecticut. But then John collects celebrity hair, and might be considered quite the expert. So let's go with that certificate and jar of hair. A snip at the price if the mere £1055 strand auctioned at Devizes in November 2009 was anything to go by. That's it Elvis collectors, the smart money's in hair. Anything that's part of Elvis.



Hair it is: authenticator
Hair: authentic



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