Stuart Sutcliffe's guitar

This acoustic guitar was originally owned by Stuart Sutcliffe, an original member of The Beatles and one of John Lennon's closest friends. It was Stuart's first guitar, the one on which he learned to play his first chords. He joined the band in 1960 but left a year and a half later to concentrate on his art studies. Although he was only a Beatle for a short time his influence on their future success has largely gone unrecognised. He sadly died, 10 April 1962, aged just 21.