GUEST: My mother worked at a clothing store called Vogue here in town, and she was a secretary to the manager. Elvis was really big in 1956. Of course, that was the beginning of his career. And our local radio station, 55 KTSA, had a contest where you could win a, a date with Elvis when he came to San Antonio for a concert series. And you just had to write on a postcard why you deserved a date with Elvis. So, my mom wrote a poem. The people at the store kind of were rooting for her. She was friends with the man who painted the window signs and did the store displays. So, they had this idea where they would make a supersized poster postcard. He hand-painted this, complete with the post stamp and the address. And on the back is her poem. They hand-delivered it to the radio station. And it was so unusual, and the poem, I guess, connected with them, and she was selected. So, the Vogue store was very excited about it. And so they donated the dress and the outfits for her, and she went to, like, a press conference, and she got to sit backstage for two of the concerts that he played in town here. And he would wink at her from the stage, and she just felt just tickled.
APPRAISER: Oh, that's so cute.
GUEST: And then they went out for dinner as a group. I mean, it was a large group of people.
APPRAISER: Right.
GUEST: She wasn't, like, on a date with him and anything like that, but it was a really big moment in her life.
APPRAISER: Not only is this an amazing piece of Elvis Presley memorabilia, it's also a piece of art, because, as you said, this is all hand-done.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And what I love is the fact that he has signed it to her, and he signed it in ink, and the photo shows him signing. And can you read what it says? "To Marie, My very best to you. Love you, Elvis Presley." And, as you said, this was the start of Elvis's career.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And he basically was on record as stating that he owed everything to Texas because this is the state that put his career over the top. He came to Texas three times in the, in 1956. The very first time he came, he was pretty much of a hellion, because he was young-- he was just getting famous. But by this time, by October '56, he had calmed down, and he was starting to do press junkets. He participated in this contest, and I'm sure that he was thrilled to get this poem that your mom wrote. There are a lot of Elvis autographs out there from 1956, from this tour. A lot of them are on photographs, a lot of them are on plain white paper. You can find them online for $45. But because you have the card, you have a picture of Elvis signing the card, at auction, conservatively, I would estimate this at $3,000 to $5,000.
GUEST: Whoa.
APPRAISER: Yes, yes. Your mom did good.
GUEST: (laughs)
APPRAISER: I mean, not only did she get to meet Elvis, but she left you an amazing legacy. And if you wanted to insure it, you should insure it for $7,500, because there's no way to get another one.
GUEST: Wow.
