A guitar that John Lennon played on the recording of The Beatles hit, “Paperback Writer”, is headed to auction in London next month.
The Telegraph reports Lennon gave his Gretsch 6120 guitar to his cousin, David Birch, in November 1967, a year after the hit single was produced in April 1966 at London's Abbey Road studios as part of the sessions for the band's “Revolver” album.
"I was just cheeky enough to ask John for one of his spare guitars," said Birch, who was trying to start his own band at the time. "I had my eye on a blue Fender Stratocaster that was lying in the studio but John suggested the Gretsch and gave it to me as we were talking."
Issued as a single in May of 1966, “Paperback Writer” went on to hit No. 1 in the US, the UK and several other countries.
The instrument is one of the most significant of Lennon's guitars to come on to the market in the last 30 years, said auctioneers TracksAuction.com.
Online bidding for the guitar, with an estimated sale price of between £400,000 and £600,000, begins on November 14 and concludes with a live auction at Le Meridien Hotel, Piccadilly, London, on November 23.
The auction contains more than 100 lots of Beatles memorabilia including a copy of the Sgt. Pepper album signed by all four members of the band and more.
More auction details are available at TracksAuction.com
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