Release – Julien’s Auctions said the most expensive Beatles guitar sold in auction history, John Lennon’s lost Framus Hootenanny guitar he used in the making of the 1965 Help! album, was sold on the first day of the “Music Icons” event for $2,857,500.
Check out Julien’s video about the Help! guitar auction here.
The Julian Lennon Collection featuring numerous pieces of Beatles memorabilia included a vast array of iconic Recording Industry’s “Gold” Single Records gifted to The Beatles for their classic No. 1 hits like “All You Need Is Love,” “Lady Madonna,” “Eight Days A Week” and “We Can Work It Out,” as well as “Nowhere Man,” which sold for $28,575, and a “Yellow Submarine” animation cel which sold for $31,750. The full Julian Lennon Collection sold for more than $570,000, with a portion of the sale going to benefit the White Feather Foundation.
Day one of “Music Icons,” also set a record for the most expensive Robbie Robertson guitar sold. Previous record-breaking sales have included Kurt Cobain’s 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic guitar played on Nirvana’s historic “MTV Unplugged” performance, sold for $6 million as well as a previous John Lennon acoustic guitar, which sold for $2.4 million.
Additional highlights of the first day auctions include Dolly Parton’s twice-signed Martin 000-Jr acoustic guitar, which sold for $10,400; The Rolling Stones band-signed “It’s Only Rock and Roll” limited-edition print, which sold for $16,250 and Eric Clapton’s played Alvarez acoustic guitar used to write “Tears in Heaven,” which sold for $101,600.
Check out Guitar World’s article on the repair of John Lennon’s Framus Hootenanny here.
“Music Icons” continues on Thursday, May 30, 2024 at Hard Rock Cafe in New York and online at juliensauctions.com. A lineup of historic items owned and used by music legends such as Prince, Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, U2 and Michael Jackson, as well as The Randy Bachman Collection featuring over 200 of his guitars, will be represented.
Check out video about the John Lennon Framus Hootenanny by Gear, There and Everywhere: