Beatles guitar sells for $408,000 at New York City auction

NEW YORK, May 20 (UPI) -- A rare VOX guitar played by Beatles bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison was sold for $408,000 in New York, Julien's Auctions said.

The instrument was sold to an undisclosed buyer at the company's annual Music Icons auction event at the Hard Rock Cafe in Manhattan Saturday.

The guitar was displayed at Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons in Ireland and The Stafford Kempinski Hotel in London before it was brought to New York where it was on exhibit at the Hard Rock Cafe last week.

"The bidding remained fast and furious throughout the entire day as Music Icons also featured a collection of over 450 items of famed music memorabilia including more items from the The Beatles, Elvis Presley ... Michael Jackson, Bette Midler, The Rolling Stones, David Cassidy, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, Madonna, Jimi Hendrix and many more," Julien's said in a news release. Among the other highlights of the auction were the sale of Conway Twitty's 1957 Gretsch Guitar for $23,750; Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" pants for $12,500 and a jumpsuit David Cassidy wore on stage for $18,750.