Music History Monday: All Hail The King!

Elvis Presley (1935-1977) wearing his peacock jumpsuit in concert, circa 1974

We mark an online auction that concluded on August 7, 2008 – 15 years ago today – at which Elvis Presley’s white, sweat-stained, high-collared, plunging V-necked jumpsuit, decorated with a dazzling, hand-embroidered blue and gold peacock – sold for $300,000. (Because I know you want to know, the jumpsuit is cinched at the waist by a wide belt decorated in gold medallions in a design meant to resemble the eye of a peacock feather, all of it an ongoing reflection of Elvis’ fascination with peacocks as being his personal good luck symbol.)

The outfit cost Elvis a cool $10,000. It was designed by the Los Angeles couturier Bill Belew (1931-2008), who designed all of The King’s stage wardrobe between 1968 and 1977.

Bill Belew (1931-2008)

Talk about provenance (something we’ll define and discuss in just a bit)! Aside from Elvis’ personal sweat stains (do they still . . . give off an odor?), he performed wearing the jumpsuit for the better part of a year. Elvis first wore the “peacock” at a concert at the Forum in Los Angeles on May 11, 1974. He then performed wearing it in Las Vegas and wore it as well on the cover of his album “Promised Land,” which was released in 1975.

In their pre-sale estimate, the auction house, Gotta Have It!, had anticipated that the jumpsuit would bring between $275,000 and $325,000. The $300k hammer price was, then, nothing short of a surgical strike.

At the time of that auction, which closed exactly 15 years ago today, the peacock jumpsuit was the most expensive piece of Elvis Presley memorabilia ever sold at auction. (Up to that time, the previous record for an Elvis collectible was $295,000, for his 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II, which was sold in 1999 at an auction held at Graceland.)

The peacock jumpsuit might have been the most expensive piece of Elvis Presley memorabilia sold at auction up to 2008, but its selling price has long since been surpassed. Do not fret; we’ll talk about some of those more expensive items in due time.

As for the identities of the jumpsuit’s seller and its buyer, well, who knows? We only know that the seller was described by the auctioneer as:

“a Big Elvis collector.”

As for who ponied up the $300k for the outfit, the auction house Gotta Have It! has declined to identify the buyer.

What’s it Worth? The ubiquitous “Red Book” guide to American coins, which has been inflating coin values – sometimes comically so – since 1947

Collectors almost inevitably believe their stuff is worth more than it really is. Part of the problem is the legion of collectors’ books that contain price guides. In order to sell more copies of the books, such coin and antique collectors’ guides are far more often than not filled with atmospheric price valuations:

“OMG, Edgar, according to this-here price guide, my 1909 Indian Head penny is worth $30,000!!”

Sorry Chauncy; it’s only worth $30k if you can convince some poor, dumb sucker to pay $30k for it. Until then, it’s worth all of . . . 1 cent.

When it comes to high-end stuff, auctions – and the open market they represent – are probably the best way to gauge what something is worth at a given point in time. …

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