John Lennon’s guitar from the movie “Help!” It sold for $2.9 million at auction

A newly discovered guitar, used by John Lennon to record several Beatles songs in the 1960s before disappearing for 50 years, has sold at auction for $2.9 million, becoming one of the most valuable pieces of memorabilia from the band.

The 12-string acoustic guitar, called the Hootenanny, is believed to have been lost after being used by Mr. Lennon and bandmate George Harrison to record the Beatles’ 1965 albums “Rubber Soul” and “Help!” Los Angeles-based Julian’s Auctions, which handled the auction on Wednesday, said the auction includes the soundtrack to the band’s film of the same name.

Later that year, Lennon gifted a 1964 guitar, made by German instrument maker Framus, to Gordon Waller, a member of the British pop duo Peter and Gordon. Mr. Waller passed it to one of his road managers, who took the guitar to his home in the British countryside and threw it in the attic, The auction house said.

More than 50 years later, a man in Britain discovered the guitar in his parents’ attic while they were moving out, said Darren Julian, co-founder of Julian’s Auctions. he said in the video. After they found it — along with its original guitar case — they notified the auction house in March, Julian said.

“The son told us he always heard his father talking about this guitar, but he thought it was lost,” Martin Nolan, another co-founder of Julian’s Auctions, said in the video.

The auction house consulted with Andy Babiuk, a Beatles expert who has documented band memorabilia in the past, to verify the guitar. After comparing the instrument’s wood grain and wear patterns to those in archival photographs, Mr. Babiuk determined that the guitar was the one played by Mr. Lennon. The auction house said.

“Check your attic, people,” Mr. Nolan said.

Other famous instruments have resurfaced after being lost for more than five decades. Paul McCartney’s Hofner violin bass was found last year. Mr. Lennon Gibson acoustic guitarwhich was also forgotten, sold for $2.4 million to an anonymous buyer in 2015.

After half a century in the attic, Mr. Lennon’s Hootenanny was in need of some restoration. Ryan Scheuermann, a repairman in Los Angeles, performed the procedure Complex process It involves removing his neck and bringing it back to the body at a better angle.

The guitar, which features a spruce top, mahogany back and sides, 19-fret rosewood fingerboard and decorative soundhole, was sold along with a Maton guitar case and a DVD set of the movie “Help!” And a group of photos from the film’s filming location.

The value of the guitar was estimated Priced at $600,000 to $800,000 before auction. The auction house said it was sold to an anonymous buyer for $2,857,500, making it the fifth most expensive guitar ever sold.

“Finding this wonderful instrument is like finding a lost painting by Rembrandt or Picasso,” said Mr. Julien He added in a statement“And it still feels like a dream.”