At the old location all the doors of this beast of a car were open so you could see the bright red leather interior. But it’s enough to know it’s there. You’d see this car pull up behind you and you would get out of the way. You’re a gazelle, this car is a lion, you have to accept it’s no contest. I LOVE the back of it. Accidental self-portrait included.
I am no gearhead but the cars are my favorite thing to visit at Graceland. I love objects. It’s legitimately hard for me not to touch them. As is obvious from the photos, I peek and peer at details. I like to look at things the person in question actually touched and used. Their spirit is still there. I literally had to walk away from Alexander Hamilton’s writing desk, on display at the New York Historical Society (founded by the man himself) because I did not trust myself to not leap over the velvet ropes, sit myself down, and press my cheek into the smooth wood. And stay that way for an hour.
The 1973 Stutz Blackhawk is the car he was driving when the last photo of Elvis was taken on August 16, 1977. So it has that extra meaning as well.
I can’t get close enough.
Inadvertent self-portrait in the Blackhawk’s massive grille.
I wonder if my itchy fingers in re: objects comes from growing up with dad who was a rare book collector. He’d show us his finds, carefully leafing through the delicate pages with his long fingers, pointing out details, explaining context. Objects like this are not just objects. They have life in them, they are connections to a life lived, to history itself. Dad made such objects seem magical and precious.
Elvis’ Cars
1971 Stutz Blackhawk
1956 Cadillac Eldorado
