George Harrison's Futurama guitar on show at The Beatles Story ahead of auction

A globally significant piece of pop history owned by George Harrison has gone on show at The Beatles Story before being sold in a huge rock memorabilia auction next month.

The Futurama guitar was used by a teenage Harrison early on in his career including during hundreds of appearances at the Cavern, in Hamburg and on the Beatles’ first studio recordings Ain’t She Sweet and Cry Me a Shadow

It will be the centrepiece of Julien’s Auctions’ blockbuster Played, Worn and Torn II sale at the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, from November 20-22 where it is expected to fetch between $600-$800,000 (£485-£647,000).

But between now and October 17, visitors to the Royal Albert Dock Beatles’ attraction will also have a chance to see it in person.

Described as ‘one of the holy grails of historic Beatles’ guitars’, the Futurama was bought by a 16-year-old George Harrison from famous Liverpool music store Hessy’s in 1959.

It was one of Harrison’s most played instruments – being used by him on more than 320 occasions between then and 1962 including 106 performances during the Beatles’ first Hamburg residency, along with shows at the Cavern and the band’s second trip to Hamburg.

In 1964, Harrison donated the instrument to Beat Instrumental Magazine where it was offered as a prize in a competition, but the winner decided to take a cash prize instead of the guitar which then stayed with the magazine’s editor Sean O’Mahony.

Above: Astrid Kirchherr's iconic image of The Beatles in Hamburg in 1960. George Harrison is holding the Futurama guitar. Top: George Harrison's Futurama guitar is on display at The Beatles Story before being auctioned in a major sale in Nashville. Photos courtesy of Julian's Auctions.

Also being offered is a print of an iconic image of the Beatles taken by Astrid Kirchherr in Hamburg in 1960 and in which Harrison is pictured holding the guitar.

Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions, says: “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.

“It was played during early Beatles’ countless groundbreaking performances from their halcyon nights at the Cavern Club to their famous Hamburg days where they honed their sound and style, and the future of Beatlemania really took off.”

Previous key Beatle lots at Julien’s Auctions have included John Lennon’s lost hootenanny guitar which fetched an unprecedented $2.9million, a Lennon acoustic guitar ($2.4m), Ringo’s Ludwig drumhead from the Ed Sullivan show ($2.1m) and a copy of the ‘White’ Album owned by Starr ($790,000).