Photo courtesy of Julien's Auctions
Just this past weekend a couple of old, dare I say vintage, consumer electronics items went on the auction block in Las Vegas at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The two items were a small black and white television and a clock radio.
The small Sony TV measured 10 by 8 by 8 3/4 inches. It’s a black and white picture, missing some knobs and it isn’t even clear if it still works (you’d need a converter box now too because this is most definitely an analog set). The description wasn’t clear about what the screen size was or what year it was manufactured. This TV sold at auction for $1,024.00 (including a buyer’s premium of 20 to 28%). TVs of this vintage commonly sell for less than $100 to collectors from sources such as eBay. How could this television sell for so much money? It belonged to Elvis. Apparently, this was one of Elvis’s favorite gadgets. It is reported that Elvis watched this TV constantly. Although it isn’t widely known, Elvis was a huge gadget lover and was constantly buying and using gadgets of all kinds in his spare time. Elvis gave this TV to his personal physician Dr. George Nichopoulos (otherwise known as “Dr. Nick”) when he realized that Dr. Nick needed a portable set to watch football games.
Photo courtesy of Julien's Auctions
How can a clearly obsolete television fetch over a thousand dollars at auction like this one did? When you consider that $1,000 today buys you a 46” flat screen Sony TV it is even more amazing. The answer is provenance. The fact that Elvis owned and used this TV (this has been documented as being true) before giving it to his friend Dr. Nick gives it value that far exceeds what an ordinary example of this model would fetch.
The second item that was sold at auction was a Panasonic Touch & Call clock radio. This radio had a very unique feature for its time, it could speak the time when tapped. Reportedly, this is exactly the type of gadget Elvis went crazy for. Elvis used this clock radio on his bedside for a while before he gave it as a gift to Dr. Nick. It sold at the auction for $1,000 including the 20 to 28% buyer’s premium. That’s a lot of money for an analog clock! Again, it’s all about the provenance. The fact that Elvis owned and used this clock radio makes all the difference.
So there you have it, two items that sold for many times their material due to their famous previous owner. Would you have spent that much money on a consumer electronics relic of the past or would you go for the LCD flat screen TV?