I'm going to be a diamond someday!A Chicago auction house is putting a clump of what it claims is Elvis Presley's hair up for auction on October 18th. The auction listing for the hair from Leslie Hindman Auctioneers can be found here.
John Reznikoff of University Archives, a leading expert in celebrity hair authentication, says the sample “appears to match the hair in my collection [from the same Army haircut] in coarseness and color. This is more than likely a genuine lock of Elvis’ hair short of a DNA test (often inconclusive) proving otherwise.” The only comparable amount at public auction was sold in 2002 for $115,000. Celebrity hair collecting has exploded into a multimillion dollar industry.
The hair is just one of many highlights of the Gary Pepper Collection of Elvis Presley Memorabilia. Early in his career, Presley befriended Gary Pepper, a young man with cerebral palsy, who ultimately became a close friend and the president of one of the King's first fan clubs, allowing him to amass a significant collection of personal effects gifted to him from Presley himself. Untouched for over three decades, this special collection will be offered for sale at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, Sunday, October 18th, 2009 with a public exhibition October 15th through 17th. A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to United Cerebral Palsy of the Mid-South.
Celebrity hair has been used to make diamonds in the past. Check out Life Gem. It's actually pretty interesting how they do it.You can see a diamond created from Beethoven's hair here. And, it's rumoured that there will be some Michael Jackson Diamonds created in the near future ....
The Elvis hair clump with be auctioned with other Elvis memorabilia on Sunday, October 18th.
For more information, please contact Mary Williams at 312.280.1212 or by email at marywilliams@lesliehindman.com
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