The ‘60s 12-string was recently put up for sale after being lost for 50 years A guitar used by both John Lennon and George Harrison , which appeared in the movie Help! , has sold for a record-breaking amount at auction. The model in question is a 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar that was made in the early ’60s by Bavarian manufacturer Framus. It famously appeared in the Beatles movie Help! , with Lennon using it to play ‘You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away’.
It also features on the studio version of the song, as well as on ‘Help!’s title track, ‘It’s Only Love’ and ‘I’ve Just Seen A Face’. George Harrison also used the rare model on ‘Norwegian Wood’ and ‘Girl’. After being lost for 50 years, the guitar headed to auction in New York , and has now sold for a record-breaking $2.
9million (£2.3m). The sale was held by Julien’s Auctions and took place at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York.
The winning bid was placed over the phone, and it has not been confirmed who the model was bought by. Originally, it was predicted to sell for between $600,000-$800,000 (£485,000-£647,000). With the huge bid, the Framus has become the most expensive instrument owned by John Lennon to be sold at auction.
This is because the figure surpasses another one of the late Beatles’ instruments went to auction at Julien’s in 2015 and sold for $2.41m (£1.6m at the time).
The model in question was a J-160E Gibson acoustic guitar, which was stolen from the songwriting .