IN 2024, US-based private auction house Julien’s Auctions dominated and set new world records in the industry led by the high-profile sales of John Lennon’s long-lost Help! Hootenanny guitar for a mammoth US$2.9 million (RM13 million), LeBron James’s Sports Illustrated “The Chosen One” basketball jersey (US$1.3 million), George Harrison’s early Beatles-era Futurama guitar (US$1.27 million) and Star Trek’s holy trinity of William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk’s phaser (US$910,000), communicator (US$780,000) and yellow tunic (US$455,000).
These are among the highlights of 2024:
John Lennon’s Long-Lost Help! Guitar is top of the pops
Julien’s top selling item of the year was John Lennon’s long-lost Framus 12-string Help! Hootenanny acoustic guitar sold for a record US$2.9 million at Hard Rock Cafe New York.
The extraordinary guitar was found in an attic in the UK after being unseen for over 50 years. Considered the most important Beatles guitar ever to come to market, the guitar enters the pantheon of Julien’s world record sales of Beatles memorabilia, including a previous John Lennon acoustic guitar (US$2.4 million), Ringo Starr’s Ludwig drum kit (US$2.2 million), The Ludwig Beatles Ed Sullivan Show drumhead (US$2.1 million) and The Beatles White Album, owned by Ringo Starr, that sold for US$790,000.
