The Auction at Graceland•January 8, 2020
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/8/2020
Marguerite Piazza was a soprano opera singer that adopted Memphis as her home and did a lot of charity work for the city, especially for St. Jude’s Hospital. While having run into Elvis in a theater lobby in 1956, she would meet him once again on October 1, 1957 at Memphis radio station WMCT for a fund-raising event. This telecast event, on behalf of Shelby United Neighbors (SUN), also featured Marguerite Piazza and where the image of the two singing sensations was originally snapped. The offered black-and-white photo of Elvis and opera singer Marguerite Piazza contains the handwritten notations on the reverse “Elvis Presley / Marguiretta Piazza / 1/5/59 / 80847.” The discrepancy in the spelling of Margerite’s name may be attributed to a simple clerical error. The handwritten date indicates the date the image was used for publication as images would be marked when they were printed in an issue of a newspaper and then returned once again to the files for later use. The photo measures 10 by 8 inches (25.4 x 20.32 cm) and is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Graceland Authenticated.
The photo is in excellent condition overall with minor creasing to the edges, a tiny tear to the left margin and typical minor discoloration from age on the reverse.