Elvis Presley might have been all shook up at the fate of his first guitar. The acoustic instrument an 11-year-old Elvis bought in 1946 remained on the shelf at Guernsey's auction house yesterday for lack of buyers. No one would meet the $350,000 minimum bid.
"The single most important musical instrument of our time," as the auction's catalog dubbed it, will be sent back to Sun Records, where Elvis first recorded.
Other Presley memorabilia, including his "white-shag" bed and limousine, were also left unsold. But a black guitar he used at a 1975 concert went for $55,000. That's still far less than the record $957,500 Jerry Garcia's "Tiger" guitar was sold for at a Guernsey's auction in May.
A Smith & Wesson pistol owned by the King of Rock 'n' Roll was purchased for $16,000 at the 135 W. 18th St. sale.
"I like guns myself, and Elvis was an avid gun collector," said the buyer, Marissa Budreaux-Crews, 32, a Presley fan from Memphis, home to Elvis' Graceland.