Elvis Presley's Personal Make-up Case: Elvis owned Of all the �Kings� possessions�this was his most personal.
Elvis Presley's Black Makeup Case
This black Max Factor makeup case is the most infamous of all Elvis artefacts.
Elvis owned hundreds of pieces of clothing, jewellery, and dozens of guns and cars. But Elvis owned only two cases in his lifetime. The one he carried that last two years of his life is secured in the Graceland archive. This one was never out of his reach for nearly eleven years and is the one you see in many of the behind the scenes photographs of Elvis on the road.
As is stated in the provenance from Joe Esposito, Elvis� close friend and road manager for seventeen years, Esposito purchased the case at Elvis� request from the Max Factor Store in Hollywood, California in the early 1960�s. Elvis kept personal items and jewellery in the case. As Esposito states, "The case went everywhere we went, and there was hell to pay if someone forgot to bring it."
In the book, Elvis Aaron Presley: Revelations From The Memphis Mafia, by Alanna Nash, Marty Lacker recalls, "We were doing Kid Galahad when I first noticed what Elvis called his makeup case. It was a professional Hollywood makeup case with little drawers in it. He carried it with him wherever he went or had one of us carry it. It wasn�t for makeup�he used it to carry pills. The whole top layer of the kit was nothing but prescription bottles. All legal. He had all kinds of stuff. Uppers and downers. Pain pills. You name it�He had a pharmacy in that box. We could always tell when he was taking something by the way he acted. And if we didn�t see him, we�d hear him�we�d hear the bottles rattling."
To maintain its authenticity, nothing about the case has been refurbished. The top compartment contains the original green felt lining. All of the drawers in the bottom half are original to the case. Elvis� name is stamped in silver just below the main front clasp.
When the new case was made, which Elvis demanded be identical to this one, Esposito stored this one until it was purchased by the current owner in July 2000. The winning bidder will receive a signed and notarized provenance from the current owner and from Joe Esposito.
This is an extraordinary one-of-kind artefact. As Esposito says, "If this makeup case could talk, the stories would be unbelievable. Thank goodness it can�t!"
Make-up case measures 13.25W X 7.25D X 9.5HThe bid stands at this moment at US $15,100.00, reserve has not yet been met...
Posted: 9th. December 2007
