$1,586
Newsletter, comprising issues 1 - 10 of the Tankers Fan Club Newsletter, with many duplicates, containing original photographs of Elvis Presley taken by Mrs. Pepper and photographs sent to Gary from Elvis' fans for publication in the newsletter. Together with two photo collages which were used for the cover page of the , three wooden stamps used by Gary in regular Tanker correspondence and a "Tanks for the Memories" paperweight. The Tankers fan club was organized in 1958 by Elvis' cousin, Bobby Smith, and was named after Elvis Presley's Army tank corp. He asked Gary to be the president. Gary's physical condition made typing close to impossible, but with the assistance of his mother, Nell Pepper, Gary was able to produce a regular newsletter and communicate with over 5,000 fans worldwide. They encouraged fans to request Elvis songs on their local radio stations and vote for Elvis in all of the celebrity popularity polls and contests. Gary continued the newsletter for five years until he was forced to quit due to the rising costs of postage and health reasons in the late 1960s. In the late 1970s, Eddie Poole, who was at that time the president of the Graceland Fan Club, asked Gary to include a chapter entitled "Memories" in each of the fan club newsletters.
Auctioneer:
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
Date:
2009-10-18
