Lost photos of Aaliyah, James Brown and others are among the items
Elvis Presley’s first jet, a 1962 Lockheed Jetstar custom made to his specifications, is heading to the auction block. The jet will be sold on Saturday, May 27th via GWS Auctions without a reserve. It will headline a big lineup of more than 315 pieces of celebrity memorabilia.
“This jet is a remarkable find and is being sold by a private collector,” states GWS Auctions owner Brigitte Kruse. “It has attracted a lot of tourists in Roswell, and it still has the original woodwork, inlay, red velvet seats and red shag carpet. It has the potential to be fully restored and made the centerpiece of a major exhibit. This is the only jet owned by Elvis that is still owned privately.”
The jet is currently hidden away in the famous “aircraft boneyard” in Roswell, N.M., where retired commercial airplanes are routinely ripped up for scrap.
The auction will also feature the long lost handwritten memoirs of The Beach Boys, from the collection of Mike Love’s father.
“This is a remarkable compilation of letters, lost photographs and much more. The mysterious letters and writings of Brian Wilson are especially noteworthy,” states Kruse.
Also selling in the auction are lost photos of Aaliyah, Nelson Mandela, Tom Hanks, River Phoenix, Madonna, James Brown, Ray Charles, Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and others.
The auction will begin at 10 am Pacific, with online bidding available.
GWS Auctions, based in Beverly Hills, California, is a full-service auction and real estate company that specializes in rare antiques, collectibles, coins and other assets in southern California and beyond. Brigitte Kruse, a fifth-generation auctioneer, made the Guinness Book of World Records in 2016 for the “largest abandoned property auction in world history.”
