Elvis Presley 1957 signed Graceland real estate sale contract, two sided, 8. 5" x 14," - Elvis signed "sale contract form approved by real estate board of Memphis" to purchase Graceland on March 21, 1957 for $102,500, the terms in the contract included the deed on Elvis' East Memphis house located at 1034 Audubon Drive for a $55,000 deduction from the sale price, Elvis signed the document, together with his father Vernon Presley and his mother Gladys (died aug. 14, 1958),"bosworth, inc realtors, memphis, tennessee," 13. 891 acres, "1034 Audobon Drive is not to be shown until possession is given" handwritten addendum,
Graceland Farms was originally owned by S.C. Toof and named after toof's daughter, Grace,who inherited the farm, the portion of the land designated as Graceland today was given to Grace Toof's niece, Ruth Moore, "part of the Thomas D. Moore 179. 42 acre tract,... ," also signed by Ruth Brown Moore, in 1939 together with her husband Dr. Thomas Moore built the current american "colonial" style mansion that Elvis made his home until his death there on aug. 16, 1977, also signed by representative of virginia grant realty co,. Document was one of 4 "executed copies". It was sold for 25,000.00 US Dollars
The same document is on display at Graceland & part of the VIP tour. It is obviously not that important.
Phill Weiss auctions in oceanside ny thought he was gonna get 100,000 at this auction, well his bubble got popped, and as for the clown who bought it money flushed down the drain. the 25000 does not include the 13 % buyers fee and 8.65 % sales tax. There is a dope in every crowd.
Needless to say it doesn't make it "not that important a document!! I wouldn't have minded it, Elvis' biggest most personal investment, signed by him, his Dad etc. As with all sales deals, both parties have copies & either one is equally important if you ask me.
I can't afford $25,000.00 but give me a copy to guard and I will!
One of these came up on a TV auction here in the UK a few years back, and as I recall it was a huge display piece as there were lots of pages laid out and framed. Can't remember what it went for but I'm sure it was more than 25k. It is important for another reason though: It is one of the very few, if only, examples of Elvis's, Vernon's and Gladys's signatures all on one item.
I meant to say that if there are hundreds of copies of an important document floating around out there, how valuable can it be? Important in historical terms but not as important/valuable as it would be if there weren't so many copies out there. Looking at the document behind glass at Graceland & then knowing there are many copies for purchase just takes away from the effect. It is like when all of the 3rd grade school kids in the US get a copy of the Declaration of Independence printed on cheap parchment paper as a gift for passing the history test! That's what I thought of when I actually saw the "real" document in D.C.