Julien’s Auctions kicked off their Music Icons 2013 auctions with a rare Vox Guitar played by both John Lennon and George Harrison.
The custom guitar that sold for $408,000 was built by Mike Bennett and Dickey Denney, and was gifted to “Magic Alex” Mardas by John Lennon in 1967.
They said guitar was played by John Lennon while recording a video session for “Hello, Goodbye”, George Harrison also used the guitar while practicing “I am the Walrus” during The Magical Mystery Tour.
Having been used by the Fab Four, the custom Vox guitar was estimated to bring $200,000 to $300,000 as it offered collectors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own one of the rarest pieces of Beatles memorabilia ever to be made available to buy. The John Lennon/George Harrison played Beatles guitar was on display at The Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge Silverware in County Kildare, Ireland from April 16th – May 8th.
Martin Nolan, Executive Director of Julien’s Auctions said: “It’s extraordinary when you have the opportunity to offer such an amazing piece of music history as the VOX guitar played by both George Harrison and John Lennon. From Here Comes the Sun to Hello Goodbye, this guitar is truly one of the most historical pieces of music memorabilia Julien’s Auctions has ever had the pleasure of offering.”
Aside from the above mentioned guitar, other Beatles memorabilia that also went up for auciton included rare signed items, collectibles and novelty memorabilia. Items mentioned include a Beatles first and a second state “Butcher” album, slicks, printers proofs and designs for alternate Yesterday and Today album cover artwork and images from the photo session that produced the infamous “Butcher” album cover. A signed copy of The Beatles Please Please Me album and a copy of Lennon’s In His Own Write both signed by all four Beatles are also among the highlights.
This special one-day auction took place at the Hard Rock Cafe, New York in Time Square. It also featured other collections of music memorabilia including items from other popular artists like Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, David Cassidy, David Bowie, Bette Midler, The Grateful Dead, Madonna, and many more.
For more information about the auction, more information is available at Julien’s Auctions.
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