A bible used by Elvis Presley today sold at auction for £59,000 (€74,000) but a pair of the King’s briefs, unwashed and still soiled, went unsold.
The holy book, given to Presley on his first Christmas in Graceland in 1957, was expected to raise around £25,000, but went for more than double the price.
Bids for the light-blue underpants worn underneath his famous white jumpsuit during a 1977 concert performance, reached £5,000, failing to meet the £7,000 reserve price.
The entire Elvis collection, owned by a single British collector, sold for just over £100,000 at the sale at Omega Auctions in Stockport, Cheshire.
The bible was used by Presley throughout his life until his death on August 16th, 1977. It contains his handwritten notes, thoughts, annotations and underlining throughout.
Poignantly, one of the many lines emphasised by the troubled entertainer states: “What is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose himself or be cast away.”
Karen Fairweather, sales room manager at Omega Auctions, said: “It was a really exciting atmosphere in the room, we had 300 people and there was bidding online and on the telephone across the world.
“You could hear a pin drop when it sold for that price. There were three rival bidders on the phone and once it got over £20,000 each bid was taking a while, because they each had a price in mind for the bible and they were thinking about it. There was a round of applause when the hammer went down. It was incredible.”
The winning telephone bidder, who did not want to be identified, was an American man based in the UK.
A movie contract signed by Elvis for the 1962 film, Follow That Dream, went for £6,000 and a pair of shoes made by Black Flagg Brothers, owned and worn by Elvis, sold for £6,500.
Presley died 35 years ago this month but there was interest from his fans from across the globe for today’s auction.
Ms Fairweather added: “He is one of the most iconic stars in history and was the beginning of rock and roll. And he was really probably the first artist to be merchandised, he is where memorabilia started.”