John Lennon's Gretsch guitar expected to fetch more than £400,000 at auction

John Lennon's Gretsch 6120 guitar is expected to fetch more than £400,000 at an auction in central London.

The Gretsch 6120 model was played by Lennon when the band recorded 'Paperback Writer' at London's famous Abbey Road studios in 1966, the BBC reported. The guitar is being sold by the late Beatles member cousin David Birch, who was given the guitar in 1967.

The guitar was developed in the 1950's and was favoured by musicians including blues legend Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend of 'The Who'. The guitar has been described on an auction website tracksauction.com as 'one of the most significant of singer's guitars to come in to the market in the last 30 years'.

The recent auctions of other Beatles memorabilia have included the front door of a Liverpool home once lived in by Paul McCartney, and jackets worn by George Harrison and Ringo Starr.