John Lennon's recently repaired and lost 12-string guitar has set a world record as the most expensive Beatles guitar sold in auction history.
The Framus Hootenanny, which was used by the famous musician during the recording of “Help!” of the band's 1964. album, sold for $2,857,500 at auction this week, Julien's Auctions said Thursday. The instrument touted by Julien's as “the most important Beatles guitar to ever come to market” sold for 4½ times its estimated retail price.
The German-made artifact from the 1960s British Invasion was recently fixed up for auction at a Sherman Oaks store by Ryan Schuermann, an Arcadia resident who refinished the guitar's neck and repaired the corroded frets and neck joint so that he could play “perfectly” again. “
To his ears, it sounded just like the sessions with Lennon and Harrison, Schuermann told The Times in April.
John Lennon's Framus Hootenanny 12-string guitar was found in a UK attic after being missing for more than 50 years.
(Julien Auctions)
Lennon, who was murdered in 1980, acquired the acoustic guitar in 1964 and used it in 1965 to record “Rubber Soul” before the instrument was found abandoned in the attic of a house in the British countryside. His bandmate George Harrison also played guitar during a Beatles studio session, and it appeared in the film “Help!”, where Lennon strums it while the band plays “You've Got to Hide Your Love Away.” .
A year after purchasing it, Lennon gave the guitar to Gordon Waller, who formed the pop duo Peter and Gordon with Peter Asher. Asher's sister dated Paul McCartney in the '60s, and Peter and Gordon recorded several songs with writing attributed to Lennon and McCartney. At some point, Waller gave the guitar to his manager, who took the instrument home and threw it in the attic, where it lay forgotten for more than half a century inside a worn and dusty Maton guitar case.
A man came across the case in the attic of his parents' old house, which they were preparing to leave. When he asked about it, his father said, “Oh, that's John's.”
The family contacted Julien's auction house, which confirmed the legitimacy of the guitar with the help of a Beatles expert, who suggested repairing it for auction. The Framus Hootenanny was one of the few lost and missing Beatles guitars: others include the sonic blue Fender Stratocaster that Lennon used on “Ticket to Ride” and the Gretsch Country Gentleman that Harrison played on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
Julien's Auctions was “absolutely thrilled and honored” to have set a new world record with the sale of the instrument.
“This guitar is not only a piece of music history, but a symbol of John Lennon's enduring legacy,” David Goodman, CEO of Julien's Auctions, said in a statement Thursday. “Today symbolizes what we do best at Julien's: creating opportunities for people to reconnect with the cultural pillars that have shaped the most important moments throughout their lives. “Today’s record-breaking sale is a testament to the timeless appeal and reverence of the music of The Beatles and John Lennon.”
The two-day “Music Icons” auction was held at the Hard Rock Café in New York and also featured items from industry legends Dolly Parton, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Prince, Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, U2 and Michael Jackson. The event set another record for the sale of the most expensive Robbie Robertson guitar: a 1965 Fender Telecaster guitar, which sold for an impressive $650,000.
The auction house said previous record sales included Kurt Cobain's 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic guitar played during Nirvana's historic performance on “MTV Unplugged,” which sold for $6 million in 2020, and a guitar Lennon's previous acoustic that sold for $2.4 million. in 2015.
The auction also included a collection from Lennon's son, Julian Lennon, which included numerous pieces of Beatles memorabilia, such as the iconic RIAA “Gold” single records given to the Beatles for the band's classic number one hits, ” “All You Need Is Love.” Lady Madonna,” “Eight Days a Week,” and “We Can Work It Out,” as well as “Nowhere Man,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
That collection sold for $28,575 (almost 10 times the estimate) and an animated “Yellow Submarine” movie sold for $31,750. Julian Lennon's entire collection sold for more than $570,000, with a portion of the sale going to the younger Lennon's White Feather Foundation, the auction house said.
