Info about this fantastic guitar gleaned from the net, for those of you who want some details on this model's history and build: 

The ORIGINAL Club 40 that Lennon owned is still out there somewhere! 

Although McCartney says in an interview that Lennon and Harrison both bought Club 40s in Hamburg, a photo taken in the autumn of 1959 -- months before their first Hamburg trip -- shows Lennon playing his Club 40 at Liverpool's Casbah Club.  In his book "Beatles Gear", Andy Babiuk cleverly researched the origins of this guitar.  Apparently, the guitar "Guaranteed Not to Split" had suffered some damage -- and Lennon couldn't be seen playing that purloined Tuxedo -- so the day before that Casbah gig, Aunt Mimi, after considerable pleading, had taken Lennon to Hessy's music store in Liverpool and plunked down a £17 deposit on this guitar and co-signed for it.  Its total price, with hire-purchase charges, was about £30.  Lennon made sporadic payments, and at one point Hessy's account ledger notes "Son in Germany -- mother paying." He played this guitar -- the first electric he's seen with -- until buying a Rickenbacker in Hamburg the following year.  He then loaned this Hofner to McCartney, who restrung it lefty and used it until Lennon sold it, in his words, "at a profit."  Where is this guitar now?

Now, some details about the 1959 reissue Hofner released as an extremely limited edition. Only 120 guitars were built to be sold world-wide, and 1/2 of those were sold OUTSIDE the United States! That means, (do the math!), that only about SIXTY guitars were available to those of us living and buying these here in the USA! With the millions and millions of John Lennon fans out there, 60 examples of this guitar sure didn't go very far! And now, today, YOU have the chance to acquire one for YOUR collection!

The details about this Limited Edition:

UNPLAYED and complete with case candy, COA, and copies of the original receipt John got back when he first bought his own 1959 Hofner Club 40. Even the ORIGINAL SHIPPING CARTON is included!! (and that is numbered too!) It's all there, and all "as-new", with the protective plastic film still on the pickup!

OVERVIEW 

"Mach shau" with this gear guitar that has John Lennon's signature.

The Hofner John Lennon Club 40 Reissue is a stunning re-creation of John's original 1959 model. 

The original was purchased by John Lennon in August 1959, just before the Quarry Men began playing at the Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool. In April 1961, Lennon took his Club 40 to Hamburg where the group, now known as The Beatles, came of age as performers averaging more than five hours onstage a night.

The Hofner Club 40 is a single-cutaway hollowbody with a spruce top, maple back and sides, adjustable floating bridge, and trapeze tailpiece. The solitary pickup is a single-coil in the neck position. The short-scale 22-fret rosewood fingerboard joins the body at the 14th fret. The rectangular control panel houses the volume knob and three tone slider switches. This reissue has an updated graphite-reinforced neck. The pickguard has John Lennon's signature and the instrument is authorized by the Lennon estate.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE:
  • Fingerboard Inlays: Mother of Pearl Dots 
  • Graphite reinforced neck
  • Frets: 22
  • Binding: Black
  • Single-cutaway hollowbody
  • Spruce top, maple back and sides
  • Pickguard: Floating Tortoise Shell with John Lennon Signature 
  • Vertical Hofner logo on headstock
  • Tuners: Open Gear (3 on a strip)
  • Bridge: Ebony with Movable Metal Saddles
  • Pickups: 1 Single-Coil Neck Position
  • Controls: 1 Volume Control, 3 Tone Slider Switches
  • No. Of Strings: 6
  • Case: Hofner Shaped Hard Case
Accessories: Certificate of Authenticity, (this is #51 out of 120 of this Limited Edition built in the entire world!), copies of the sales record from John's own Club 40, Truss Rod Tool, Extra Strap Button, Case Keys, Hang Tag

And now......
The story of why this rare, unplayed example of one of the most Limited Edition reissue guitars on the planet has come to market, and what you can expect when it arrives:

As a kid, some 1/2 century ago, I was one of those kids with my eyes and ears plastered to a little B&W (stands for Black and White for you young guys) TV as Ed Sullivan introduced The Fab Four......a small group of odd-speaking young guys who played songs in a way  no one had ever heard before, and in a very short time, would go on to change the entire world in ways that no one could have ever imagined.

Before those changes even began though, the first thing we all wanted was an electric guitar! Most of us couldn't afford a "real" guitar, and wound up with Teiscos and the like. Later we would, if we were truly blessed, acquire the same kind of Rickenbacker and/or Gretsch and Gibson guitars that The Beatles became synonymous with playing on stage and in the studio. I wound up spending many years collecting almost every single one of those guitars, in reissue form, that The Beatles were identified with. I have sold some of them, and will be selling even more of them in the near future.

Anyway.......we all instantly recognize the Gibson J160E and Rickenbacker 3/4 scale guitar, as well as the legendary Casino, that John played.  It wasn't until years after THOSE reissues were offered that one of his very first guitars from his very early career as a beginning musician was finally released in reissue form.....the Hofner Club 40 you see before you today! I've already told you the story of the Club 40 that John owned earlier in this listing.

Now here's the story of the one I own!

In early 2008, when I first learned of a  Hofner John Lennon Club 40 available, I knew that I had to have it! It was expensive, but SO COOL, and it came with copies of the original invoice for John's own Club 40!

I just HAD to have it! LOL! So, a few thousand dollars later, #51 out of 120 was mine!

Anyway, I bought it and added it to my extensive collection of Beatle related guitars. I did NOT play it AT ALL.

 I tested it to be sure it was a great example, and in perfect condition, both cosmetically and sonically, and it was and still is. The fit and finish are superb! As the pics show the back and sides even have beautiful flame!

It still has all the case candy that I got with it, including the owner's manual, COA, and copies of John's original receipt from when he bought his. VERY NIFTY! It also comes with the original hard shell case, which still has the labels from Hofner sticking to the outside, and may show a scuff or two from leaning up against the other guitar cases in my studio. It did it's job, and any signs of wear will almost imperceptible, but it's still only fair to point out it did get leaned up against other cases and so you may find something somewhere showing it wasn't kept in its shipping carton, for those of you who will nit-pick a guitar (in this case, it's case, lol!) to death. But the guitar inside is in mint condition! I could list this as "New-other", but since I am not a dealer, just a guy selling his stuff, I think it's more accurate to list it as "used" even though in fact it was never used at all.

I am going to list this truly FAB guitar at a crazy low price, considering its EXTREME rarity (REMEMBER....only 120 IN THE ENTIRE WORLD and ONLY about HALF that number, only 60 or possibly LESS, in the USA!), and UNPLAYED condition.

In addition, I am going to enable the "MAKE OFFER" function for this auction. 

That means if you want to try to save a few bucks, (and in this economy, who doesn't?), you can make a FAIR and REALISTIC offer. 

If it is a truly REALISTIC offer, I will consider it and you just may get it!

Thanks for looking and please check out my other auctions now and in the weeks to come!