At that moment, the artist's name hadn't yet spread throughout America, and Wertheimer himself asked in surprise: "Who is this Elvis?"

But soon after, the song "Heartbreak Hotel" brought Presley national fame, and Wertheimer found himself in the right place at the right time. He became Elvis's "shadow," accompanying him in everyday life, in the studio, on trains, and behind the scenes. All the pictures are purely documentary: not a single production shot.

"I was more an observer than a participant," the photographer recalled. Elvis was still shy. It wasn't the image of a rock star, but a real person."

Wertheimer's photographs are considered today a unique visual archive of the legend's birth - the transition of a simple young man to the status of an icon of American culture.