George Harrison's guitar on show ahead of auction

The guitar is on display at The Beatles Story museum in Liverpool until 17 October

George Harrison's guitar has gone on public display at a museum in Liverpool ahead of it going under the hammer next month.

The Futurama electric guitar was bought by The Beatles star for about £58 when he was a 16-year-old apprentice electrician in 1959.

It was paid for in 44 instalments after his mother signed a hire purchase agreement at Frank Hessy’s music shop in Liverpool.

The instrument was unveiled at The Beatles Story museum where it will be on display until 17 October before it is expected to fetch more than £753,000 ($1m) at auction at Julien's Auctions in Nashville, Tennessee, in the US.

Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions, said: "We know he played this guitar in over 324 shows at the Cavern and numerous times in Hamburg in Germany in 1960 and 1961."

The guitar was originally priced at 55 guineas, which would have been about £58 but was £74 with the hire purchase agreement, Mr Nolan said.

He said: "We’re estimating, conservatively, 600,000 to 800,000 US dollars but I think it should sell for more than a million."

The auction house sold John Lennon’s Hootenanny acoustic guitar for £2.3m earlier this year and has previously sold an acoustic guitar of Lennon’s for £1.8m.

A man was offered the guitar after winning a competition in 1964 but took about £100 in cash instead, Martin Nolan says

Harrison’s Futurama guitar is being sold by a collector who bought it in 2019, but the instrument almost had a different owner when it was offered in a competition for Beatles fans in Beats Instrumental magazine in 1964.

The competition was won by an AJ Thompson, who lived in Saltdean near Brighton but, when offered the chance to have money instead of the guitar he took the cash.

Mr Nolan said: “He probably took about £100 at most, because that would be the intrinsic value of the guitar at the time.

“He probably took his friends and family out for a nice evening and a good dinner and some drinks and then went on with his life.

"If only… would’ve, could’ve, should’ve!"

He said items linked to the Fab Four were among the most popular of the celebrity items which go up for sale.

"They take centre-stage time and time again," he said.

"They’re so collectable, they’re recognised all over the world."