A guitar played by George Harrison sold at Julien's Wednesday for $1.27 million.
Originally estimated to sell for $600,000 to $800,000, was determined by Beatles gear expert Andy Babiuk to be one of the two most-played Harrison guitars in existence, having been played more than 324 times in Liverpool and Hamburg in 1960, 1961 and 1962.
It was also played during the band’s final performance in Hamburg on Oct. 3, exactly 62 years to the day of this announcement, which Nolan called a “purely coincidental, happy coincidence.”
The story of the guitar dates back to 1959, when Harrison was just a 16-year-old apprentice electrician with a passion for music. Harrison and Paul McCartney walked into a music shop in Liverpool, with guitars lined up on the wall, and Harrrison took down this guitar — now known as the “Futurama” — and McCartney went to play it.
“He plugged it into the amp, turned up the volume … no sound,” Nolan explained during the announcement. “Then George hit one of the rocker switches … boom, massive sound, all the guitars fell off the floor, according to Paul McCartney.”
The guitar cost around $100 at the time, far too expensive for the young Harrison, who required his mother to sign a purchase agreement so they could pay for the instrument on layaway, which they eventually did over the course of 48 weeks.
Harrison then began using the guitar in the very early days of the Beatles, bringing it to Hamburg for the band’s now-legendary German shows, and becoming an integral part of the band’s early sound, as well as Harrison’s development as a budding guitarist.
During the Beatles' early days, they played at clubs in Hamburg during a period widely credited with forming the band's sound and cementing their chemistry. This period, the beginning of which included the group's original lineup with drummer Pete Best and bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, is seen as a seminal moment in Beatles history.
Sean O’Malley, the editor of Beats Instrument magazine, ran a promotion for the band in the July 1964 issue of the magazine (included in the lot), which asked fans to write in and name the top 10 most important things you should look for when buying a guitar.
The winner was announced in November 1964, a man named A.J. Thompson. Thompson visited the magazine offices and met with O’Malley, who asked him if he even played guitar. When Thompson admitted he did not, O’Malley offered him money instead (believed to be around $100).
Thompson took the cash, and O’Malley kept the guitar, passing it down in his family for generations before it changed hands in 2019.
Originally listed for auction at Bonham’s, it failed to meet its reserve and was eventually sold privately. The buyer of that guitar decided to consign it with Julien’s after reading about their recent sale of the Harrison and John Lennon-played “Help!” Hootenanny guitar, which the auction house sold earlier this year for $2.85 million, making it the fifth-most expensive guitar ever sold (and the most ever for a Beatles guitar).
That guitar had the same $600,000 to $800,000 pre-sale estimate listed for this Harrison guitar.
Said Nolan during the live announcement: “It’s a work of art in its own right … I think it should sell for over $1 million.”
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.