Post by Admin on Aug 14, 2012 7:23:39 GMT -5
More than 400 pieces of Elvis Presley memorabilia are about to leave the Omaha home of a devoted fan, but the King of Rock ‘n' Roll will never leave her heart.
“I've always loved his music and when I first saw him in concert, that did it,” super fan Nancy Born said. “Seeing him on stage in that white jump suit is something that I will never forget. He was just so . . . ooh, wow . . . with that cute little smirk on his face and his hips.”
Born, who demurred from giving her age but did say she graduated from North High School in 1957, is putting her pristine collection of everything Elvis up for auction on Thursday, the 35th anniversary of Presley's death.
Born said she's selling the collection now because “it's just time” and she wants other fans to enjoy the items as much as she did.
The auction will be held at the Auction Mill at 2933 Keystone Drive starting at 5:30 p.m.
Auctioneer Tom Millie said Born's Elvis collection is easily the largest of its kind that his company has handled.
“Elvis memorabilia is always a big draw, and this collection is the best I've ever seen,” Millie said. “We've handled other collections, but none of them were even a fourth as big as Nancy's.”
The collection includes sealed whiskey decanters, dinner plates, teddy bears, porcelain figurines, Christmas ornaments, beer steins, dolls, framed portraits, movie posters and miniature guitars — most of which come with certificates of authenticity. Major pieces of the collection are available for viewing online at www.theauctionmill.com.
For more than 35 years, Born's Elvis collection has been viewed only by family members and a few friends. The basement of the northwest Omaha home she shares with husband Tom has become a virtual shrine to the most famous native of Tupelo, Miss.
“It all started with a decanter of Elvis in a pink suit that was given to me by my first husband,” Born said. “I bought a lot of the other stuff myself, but a lot of it also came as gifts from friends and relatives for my birthday and anniversaries.”
Born, who retired from Northwestern Bell in 1991, saw Elvis in person all three times he played Omaha and says the 1974 concert was her favorite. She had to “turn away and just listen to the music” during his last appearance in 1977 when he appeared bloated and woefully out of shape.
“It was heartbreaking to see him like that,” she said.
Nancy and Tom, who were married 25 years ago, have visited the tiny house where Elvis grew up in Tupelo and made a pilgrimage to his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn. They've also been to see Elvis impersonators in Las Vegas.
“Those guys are pretty good, but no one will ever sing like him again,” she said. “He was really one of a kind.”
Born has already informed her family that two of Presley's gospel hits, “How Great Thou Art,” and “Amazing Grace,” are to be sung at her funeral. And she softly sings snippets of rockers like “Hound Dog” and “Teddy Bear,” as she glides among her carefully displayed memorabilia, stopping to caress special pieces.
Some of her favorite pieces are a telephone with a hip swinging Elvis that plays “Jailhouse Rock” when it rings; Elvis nesting dolls from Russia; and a glass-encased ticket from a concert in Indiana that never took place because Presley had died just days before.
When prodded, Born produces her “goofiest” piece of memorabilia — a pair of red women's panties with Elvis' image on the front and a matching garter belt. Tom Born thought his wife would get a laugh out of the underwear, and she does, breaking into a girlish giggle when she holds them up.
“I could never have fit in them, but I can't stop giggling when I hold them up,” she said.
Born plans to keep a couple of items, including a favorite portrait, but she's also excited to see how other people respond to the sale.
“This will make me feel good if I see these things going to people who love Elvis and appreciate his music,” she said. “The only time I've ever cried over Elvis was the day he died, but I will probably shed a few tears when (the auction) is all over.”
www.omaha.com/article/20120814/LIVING/708149920/1685
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