George Harrison's guitar sells for record-breaking price at auction
A guitar bought by the late George Harrison for £58 has sold for over £1 million at auction.
The late Beatles star's mother paid for the Resonet Futurama instrument in 1959 when he was a 16-year-old apprentice electrician, and he played the instrument at more than 320 Beatles gigs over the years and it has now gone under the hammer for $1.27million (£1.01million).
Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions - which sold John Lennon's acoustic guitar for $2.85 million earlier this year - said the lot had set a world record for the highest sale price of one of George's instruments.
He said in a statement: “George Harrison’s iconic Futurama guitar, one of the most important guitars in rock and roll history and formative to The Beatles’ sound, has made history at today’s auction.
“We’re beyond thrilled to add this Harrison guitar to the Julien’s Auctions’ million-dollar club, which already includes guitars from John Lennon, Eric Clapton, and Kurt Cobain.”
The auction house had given the guitar an expected sale price of between $600,000 and $800,000 and celebrated its significance in Beatles history when they first announced it was going up for sale.
Martin said at the time: “George Harrison’s Futurama guitar was The Beatles’ north star and one of his most loved instruments in his collection of legendary and prized guitars.
“This mythic guitar aptly named Futurama was played during the early Beatles’ countless ground breaking performances from their halcyon nights at the Cavern Club in Liverpool to their famous Hamburg Days where they honed their sound and style and the future of Beatlemania literally took off.”
It had previously failed to sell after it didn’t meet its reserve price when it was put up for auction by Bonhams in 2019.
The late Beatles star's mother paid for the Resonet Futurama instrument in 1959 when he was a 16-year-old apprentice electrician, and he played the instrument at more than 320 Beatles gigs over the years and it has now gone under the hammer for $1.27million (£1.01million).
Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions - which sold John Lennon's acoustic guitar for $2.85 million earlier this year - said the lot had set a world record for the highest sale price of one of George's instruments.
He said in a statement: “George Harrison’s iconic Futurama guitar, one of the most important guitars in rock and roll history and formative to The Beatles’ sound, has made history at today’s auction.
“We’re beyond thrilled to add this Harrison guitar to the Julien’s Auctions’ million-dollar club, which already includes guitars from John Lennon, Eric Clapton, and Kurt Cobain.”
The auction house had given the guitar an expected sale price of between $600,000 and $800,000 and celebrated its significance in Beatles history when they first announced it was going up for sale.
Martin said at the time: “George Harrison’s Futurama guitar was The Beatles’ north star and one of his most loved instruments in his collection of legendary and prized guitars.
“This mythic guitar aptly named Futurama was played during the early Beatles’ countless ground breaking performances from their halcyon nights at the Cavern Club in Liverpool to their famous Hamburg Days where they honed their sound and style and the future of Beatlemania literally took off.”
It had previously failed to sell after it didn’t meet its reserve price when it was put up for auction by Bonhams in 2019.
