A guitar used by John Lennon when recording several Beatles songs in the 1960s and then missing for 50 years was recently found and sold at auction for $2.9 million, becoming one of the band’s most valuable memorabilia.
Julien’s Auctions, the Los Angeles auction house handling Wednesday’s sale, said the 12-string acoustic guitar, called “Hootenanny,” was believed lost because Lennon and bandmate George Harrison used it to record the 1965 Beatles albums “Rubber Soul” and “Help!,” as well as the soundtrack to the band’s film of the same name.
Later that year, Lennon gave a 1964 guitar made by German instrument maker Framus to Gordon Waller of the British pop duo Peter & Gordon. Waller gave the guitar to a tour manager, who took it back to his home in the English countryside and threw it in the attic. The auction house said.
More than 50 years later, a British man found the guitar in the attic of his parents’ home when they moved out. Darren Julian, co-founder of Julian’s Auctions Said in the videoMr Julian said they notified the auction house in March after they found it (along with its original guitar case).
“The son told us he had often heard his dad talk about this guitar but he thought it was lost,” Martin Nolan, another co-founder of Julian’s Auctions, said in the video.
The auction house consulted Andy Babiuk, a Beatles expert who had authenticated band memorabilia in the past, to verify the guitar’s authenticity. After comparing the instrument’s wood grain and wear patterns with archival photos, Mr. Babiuk determined that the guitar was the one Lennon played. The auction house said.
“Guys, check your attics,” Mr. Nolan said.
Other famous instruments have reappeared after disappearing for more than 50 years. Paul McCartney’s Höfner violin bass It was discovered last year. Mr. Lennon’s Gibson Acoustic GuitarAlso forgotten, it was sold in 2015 to an anonymous buyer for $2.4 million.
After half a century in an attic, Lennon’s “Hootenanny” needed restoration. Los Angeles-based repairman Ryan Schuermann performed a Complex process This involves removing its neck and then reattaching it to the body at a better angle.
The guitar, which features a spruce top, mahogany back and sides, a 19-fret rosewood fingerboard and decorative rosettes on the soundholes, is also available in a Maton case, a DVD set of the film Help!, and a collection of photos from the film’s set.
The value of this guitar is estimated Prior to the auction, the guitar was priced between $600,000 and $800,000. The auction house said it sold to an anonymous buyer for $2,857,500, making it the fifth-most expensive guitar ever sold.
“Finding this extraordinary instrument is like finding a lost Rembrandt or Picasso,” Mr Julien said. The statement added”, “It still looks and plays like a dream.”
