The instrument, a 1962 Gibson J-160E, was one of a pair of identical acoustic guitars bought by Lennon and bandmate George Harrison in September 1962, according to Los Angeles-based Julien’s Auctions, which promoted it as “the most important Beatle guitar ever to hit the auction block”. Its whereabouts was unknown for more than 50 years until a man stumbled into an old magazine story about Harrison’s guitar collection and noticed similarities between one of the star’s instruments and a guitar that he owned.
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An anonymous buyer bought the guitar for $2.4m (£1.6m). “Its importance in Beatles history can not be overstated; this guitar is intimately bound to the early career of The Beatles”, Julien’s Live said of the guitar. It was Lennon who used this guitar on numerous recordings they did in 1962 and 1963 that required an acoustic guitar. Lennon used the guitar for about a year before swapping it with Harrison; it later went missing during a Christmas concert in 1963.
When purchased by two of the members of the Fab Four the guitars were the only ones of their type in the country which were said to have been flown to England by jet from America after being specially ordered. A white Fender Stratocaster signed by an army of guitar gods – Keith Richards, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend and others – sold for $2.7 million at a charity auction for tsunami victims in 2007.
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Another piece of Beatles’ memorabilia was also sold at Julien’s Saturday. Along with this was a drum head of The Beatles sold for $2.1 million.
