The Elvis Papers
SPECIAL EDITIONS
"...Dealers far from Memphis bought by the thousands, and resold at $1 a copy or $1.50, rarely $3. Elvis had been in his grave more than two months on Oct. 27 when it was announced that the extra crews still had hope of catching up with the mail. They were only 114,000 behind and mail had dwindled to 3,000 letters a day.
When they finally caught up, more than 1,600,000 copies had been printed..." -- From a March 4, 1979 article written by Paul Coppock at The Commercial Appeal .
AUGUST 18, 1977
August 18, 1977 - On the day of Elvis' memorial service, two days following his death, the announcement was made that there were would be All-Elvis Tribute Newspapers printed.
AUGUST 20, 1977
August 20, 1977 - The newspaper offices were flooded with requests for the Special Editions from all over the world with requests for up to 10,000 copies.
AUGUST 25, 1977
August 25, 1977 - Such was the demand that by the next week the Memphis Publishing Company had received orders for over 400,000 copies.
AUGUST 28, 1977
August 28, 1977 - Just three days later it was estimated that there may be demand for over One Million!
SEPTEMBER 11, 1977
Almost a month after Elvis died the demand for the Special Editions was far more than ever anticipated. The total number would exceed this by 400,000 more.
OCTOBER 16, 1977
For those who were alive in the mid-1970's it is difficult to describe the tension that existed between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. That didn't mean that there wasn't a love for Elvis even behind the Iron Curtain!
Aug 1977 - Aug 1997
The day after Elvis died and the announcement was made in that there were to be Elvis Special Editions being offered for 50 cents each (the daily paper cost at that time was 15 cents). 20 years later these same Special Editions were being offered for up to $200 each in the classifieds.
