Elvis Presley’s 6th Grade Report Card from Tupelo Junior High School

Double-sided faded white paper
8 x 4.5 inches
14.375 x 11.25 inches framed*

In October, 1999, working closely with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., Guernsey’s held an auction of over 2,000 items from Elvis Presley's Graceland Archives at Las Vegas's MGM Grand. The auction benefited Presley Place, a transitional housing development located in Memphis, Tennessee. Included in the auction were garments owned and worn by Elvis, automobiles, furniture, documents related to his career, including contracts and correspondence. The very first item, listed as item A-1, was Elvis' 6th grade report card that is presented here. Starting with this lot, the excitement and vigorous bidding it generated continued throughout the lively and joyful three-day event – underscoring Elvis’ unique position in 20th century culture. The event was described in the press as “the most extraordinary auction of items relating to the popular culture ever held.” Almost thirty years after his death, Elvis remains one of the most well recognized, popular figures of Twentieth Century. Collecting material related to the entertainer has been described as the current “leading hobby on earth.”

Elvis attended Tupelo Junior High School during the 1946-1947 school year. While Elvis earned straight A's in spelling, his teacher was less than excellent in the subject. Mrs. Dewey Camp misspelled his name as "Elvis Pressley" on the report card. Elvis received D's in Arithmetic and Geography, but not surprisingly, he ended up with an A in music. The moral of this story is that you don't have to be excellent at everything, but you need to be excellent at something.

Side 1:
Headed “Pupils Report Card / Tupelo Junior High School / Tupelo, Mississippi”
Issued to “Elvis Pressley” [sic]; Grade 6a; Sessions 1946 to 1947
This side of the report card lists “School Citizenship Ratings” with grades from 1 (excellent to superior) to 4 (very poor) for Reliability, Cooperation, Industry, and Courtesy for each of the six grading periods of the school year. Elvis apparently got off to a rocky start with grades of 3 (poor or inferior) in Reliability and Industry, and grades of 2 (medium to ordinary) for Cooperation and Courtesy for the first grading period. It is evident that young Elvis Presley did straighten out by the end of the year, with all 1’s for his final grading period.

Side 2:
Headed with “Elvis Pressley [sic] / Grade 6a”
This side lists regular school subjects, with grades written in ink for each grading period. Elvis was strong in Spelling, earning straight A’s for the year. He also did well in Music and Phys. Ed with a mixture of A’s and B’s. Elvis struggled with Geography and Arithmetic, getting all D’s for the former and a mix of D’s and F’s for the latter. Elvis’ grades for English, Reading, and Penmanship were a mixture of A’s, B’s, C’s, and D’s. He is listed as being absent 4 ½ days our of the 180-day school year.

Elvis was remembered by Tupelo classmates as a loner who didn’t really fit in well. The Presley Family left Tupelo and moved to Memphis in the fall of 1948.

Includes Certificate of Authenticity from Elvis Presley Enterprises, Graceland

YouTube Video of Elvis in the 6th grade at Milam Junior High, Tupelo MS

Provenance:
Graceland Archives
The Elvis Auction: Guernsey's, October 8, 1999, Lot #1
Private Collection