Elvis Presley’s 1950’s blue suede shoes are sold for a whopping $152,000 at Henry Aldridge and Son auction house. Here’s an interesting story about this iconic pair. Scroll down to know!
Late actor and singer Elvis Presley‘s iconic blue suede shoes were set up for auction by Henry Aldridge and Son’s auction house and managed to fetch a staggering amount. The King of Roll and Music wore these shoes on and off stage in the 1950s. They are being sold for $152,000, as per reports.
These iconic shoes, worn during performances of Hound Dog and I Want You, I Need You, I Love You on The Steve Allen Show, were gifted by Presley to a friend before his US Army induction. As per the auction house, “The heel of each shoe is stamped ‘Nunn-Bush’, and the inside of each shoe is stamped 10-1/2, stating the shoe size. There is a lot of history wrapped up in these well-worn blue suede shoes, which are synonymous with the name Elvis Presley.”
They also added that, ”Elvis mentions wearing the blue suede shoes before singing ‘I Want You, I Need You, I Love You’ and also mentions the blue suede shoes during the comedy skit with Andy Griffith during the show. All Images and Footage of this show are available to view on YouTube. The shoes have an unbroken line of provenance since being gifted to Alan Fortes, Elvis’s ranch manager, by Elvis himself the night before his induction into the US Army when he gave away a number of his unwanted clothes prior to joining up.”
Elvis Presley’s Iconic Blue Suede Shoes Sold For $150,000 in Auction- See Pic Here!
To ensure authenticity of Presley’s shoes, it came with a double dose of provenance. First, a letter of authenticity was signed by Jimmy Velvet, a close friend of Presley and the founder of the Elvis Presley Museum. And second the handwritten letter from the recipient himself, Alan Fortas.
In the letter, Fortas recounts the night before Presley left for the army, where they had a late-night party and Elvis gave him his blue suede shoes. The letter read, “I also appeared with Elvis in many films as an extra. I was also with Elvis in the concert in the round segment for the famous 1968 NBC “Comeback” special. The night before Elvis’ army induction here in Memphis. Elvis had an all-night party at Graceland. Afterwards, we went to the Rainbow roller rink. When we all got home, Elvis called some of us upstairs and gave away some of his clothes he didn’t think he would wear or wanted when he came back from the army. That night, Elvis gave me these blue suede shoes, size 10 1/2. I’ve owned these all these years.”