Last week, as this blog reported, Chicago-based Leslie Hindman Auctioneers announced plans to take bids on autopsy and embalming equipment used on Elvis Presley after his 1977 death. The tools, including rubber gloves, forceps, and eye liner, had been in the collection of a retired Memphis embalmer.

The auction house has since withdrawn the items, citing uncertainty about their provenance. Spokeswoman Mary Williams said the auction house decided to withdraw the items from auction after the funeral operator laid claim to them.

Memphis Funeral Home President E.C. Daves told the Commercial Appeal newspaper in Tennessee that there was no way to determine the authenticity of the items being offered for sale. Daves said the retired embalmer claimed he took the items after Presley's embalming, but he also said that another employee told him the equipment was sterilized and used again.

"Due to questions of ownership, the retired embalmer and his son have decided to turn over the property to the Memphis Funeral Home and its parent company, Service Corporation International, with the intention of donation," Williams said in a statement.

The instruments, which were due to be auctioned on August 12, had been expected to fetch up to US$14,000.