A previously lost 12-string acoustic guitar owned by the late John Lennon will go up for auction in May after it was recently found in the attic of a house in Britain.
Auctioneers said Lennon played guitar, which is expected to exceed its estimate of $600,000 to $800,000, on the album “Help!” from the Beatles from 1965.
The guitar was in an attic and was rediscovered by the current owners during a move.
The founders of US company Julien’s Auctions said they traveled to Britain to check out the guitar and found the original case – an Australian-made Maton guitar case – in the bin.
Martin Nolan, executive director and co-founder of Julien’s Auctions, told Reuters the owners knew they had the instrument at one time but thought it had been lost.
It is believed that the guitar came into their hands thanks to British musician Gordon Waller, a member of the 1960s pop duo Peter and Gordon.
“Gordon got it from John Lennon, and then Gordon gave it to his road manager, and that’s where the guitar stayed all these years,” Nolan said.
The guitar will be auctioned on May 29 at the Hard Rock Café in New York and on the auctioneer’s website.
Earlier this year, a stolen Hofner bass guitar belonging to Paul McCartney was found and returned to Lennon’s Beatle companion after a 51-year global hunt.
Musical instruments owned by prominent members of the Beatles have fetched high prices at previous auctions.
In 2015, a guitar stolen from Lennon in the 1960s sold for $2.41 million at an auction in California.
New York Post
