John Lennon’s Lost ‘Help!’ Guitar Sells For Record $2.9 Million At Auction
A guitar used by The Beatles legend, John Lennon, has been sold for a record price at auction.
The 1964 Framus 5/024 “Hootenanny” 12-string acoustic guitar that Lennon used to record Help! was sold for $2,857,500, according to Julien’s Auctions.
Lennon can be seen playing the song “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” on the guitar in the 1965 Beatles film.
It was one of the artifacts that were up for auction at Julien’s Auctions – the largest collection of celebrity-owned and stage and studio-played instruments in its Music Icons auction, a two-day event held at Hard Rock Cafe in New York and online at juliensauctions.com.
Julien’s said it has taken “great care to verify and match the instrument to existing photographs based on specific wood grain patterns, dark portions of the rosette, a ‘stripe’ found in the pickguard material, and the guitar’s Maton case, also photographed with The Beatles during recording sessions.”
David Goodman, chief executive of Julien’s Auctions, said, “This guitar is not only a piece of music history but a symbol of John Lennon’s enduring legacy.”
“Today’s unprecedented sale is a testament to the timeless appeal and reverence of The Beatles’ music and John Lennon,” he added.
