Alfred Wertheimer Knihy

In 1956, a twenty-one-year-old Elvis Presley was at the beginning of his remarkable and unparalleled career and photographer Alfred Wertheimer was asked by Presley’s new label, RCA Victor, to photograph the rising star. With unimpeded access to the young performer, Wertheimer was able to capture the unguarded and everyday moments in Elvis' life during that crucial year, a year that took him from Tupelo, Mississippi to the silver screen, and to the verge of international stardom and his crowning as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll.” As Alfred Wertheimer photographed Elvis during 1956, and again in 1958, he created classic images that are spontaneous, unrehearsed and completely without artifice. Wertheimer’s photographs of Elvis are extraordinary and he appears almost ethereal, whether reading a newspaper while waiting for a cab, or washing his hands during one of his many train trips. After 1958 and Elvis’ induction into the army, the world seemingly forgot about Wertheimer’s magical photographs- for nineteen years- until Aug 16, 1977, the day Elvis died and Time Magazine called. “The phone hasn’t really stopped ringing in the last thirty years,” observes Wertheimer. Many of the photographs in this visual treasury are previously unpublished and some have become almost as famous as the man himself. Limited edition 1,500 copies, comes in a clamshell box with a signed photograph and contact sheet, clothbound portfolio case containing four limited edition photographic prints (11 x 14), and an exclusive edition of Elvis Ships Out (a 48 page, cloth bound, 8 x 10, keepsake archive of Elvis' stint in the US Army).

Erste Aufnahmesessions in den RCA-Studios, Durchbruch zur Identifikationsfigur des Rock'n'Roll, Charterfolge, Schauspielkarriere - das waren die Jahre 1956-1958 und zweifelsohne die bedeutsamste Zeit des King of Rock n Roll. In dieser Zeit wurde Elvis häufig von dem berühmten Fotografen Alfred Wertheimer begleitet, der ungehinderten Zutritt zum Leben des King hatte. Wertheimer schuf so ein intimes Porträt des Stars in der Zeit, in der sein Ruhm erst begann. Die Bilder sind außergewöhnlich - ungekünstelt, spontan und mittlerweile so berühmt wie Künstler und Fotograf selbst. Das earBOOK „Elvis - The Early Years“ - eine Kooperation mit dem Elvis Presley Estate (Graceland) - präsentiert eine exklusive Auswahl Wertheimers Fotografien von Elvis Presley aus den Jahren '56-'58. Die dem Buch beiliegenden CDs enthalten ca. 30 ausgewählte Songs aus eben jener Zeit sowie eine CD mit Songtexten und den dazugehörigen Chords, die ebenfalls im Buch abgedruckt sind.

Das keineswegs voyeuristische intime Phototagebuch aus dem Jahre 1956 zeigt Elvis Presley (1935-77) am Beginn seiner Karriere