A guitar bought by George Harrison for £58 (S$100) has sold for over £1 million (S$1.7 million) at auction. The late Beatles star's mother paid for the Resonet Futurama instrument in 1959 when he was a 16-year-old apprentice electrician,

George Harrison’s Resonet Futurama guitar, played in 324 Beatles performances, was sold for $1.27 million at a record-breaking auction in Nashville by Julien’s Auctions.

Julien’s Auctions originally priced the guitar between $600,000 to $800,000, meaning it sold for nearly double the lower end of its estimate. The $1.27 million price tag makes it the most expensive Harrison-owned guitar ever sold at auction.

George Harrison's 1958 Resonet Futurama solid body electric guitar has sold at auction for over $1 million, making it the most expensive George Harrison guitar ever sold at auction.

The Quiet Beatle’s 1958 Resonet Futurama solid body electric guitar was up for sale at Nashville’s Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum as part of Julien’s Auctions Played, Worn & Torn II two-day event.

Each week, Quartz highlights the coming and ongoing sales at auction houses across the world. Among the items available are works of art, historical artifacts, and pop culture memorabilia that collectors won’t want to miss out on.

The Futurama guitar bought by a teenage George Harrison for Stg58 ($A112) has sold for more than Stg1 million ($A1.9 million) at auction.

The oddball electric – which was used during the Beatles’ early years, and saw action in over 300 historic shows – becomes the most expensive electric guitar formerly owned by a Beatle to sell at auct

George Harrison's early Futurama guitar set a world record for most expensive Harrison guitar ever sold at auction.