PHOTOS OF A YOUNG JOHN TO BE AUCTIONED OFF IN NOVEMBER

It is a typical family album snap of its era – but for the 11-year-old schoolboy on the right, being photographed would soon become a regular event.

This 1952 picture of John in blazer and cap, with his aunt Harriet and cousin David Birch, is one of several being auctioned next month. 

Another shows a young Lennon pulling a funny face while on a holiday with cousin David and relatives in Edinburgh in 1952.

John aged 11, right, with his cousin David Birch and aunt Harriet in Woolton in 1952

Mr Birch is selling the photos, along with a Gretsch 6120 guitar John gave him after he used it on The Beatles’ 1966 hit Paperback Writer and which could fetch up to $1million (£630,000). 

The average house price across the UK is £189,306. But the auctioneers are confident the guitar will be hotly contested for by collectors because it comes with a truly extraordinary provenance.

John gave the guitar to his cousin, David Birch, in November 1967, a year after Paperback Writer was recorded in April 1966 at London’s Abbey Road studios. 

Mr Birch said he had fancied forming his own band and asked if he could have one of his famous relative’s guitars on a visit to Lennon’s country mansion Kenwood in Weybridge, Surrey.

‘I was just cheeky enough to ask John for one of his spare guitars,’ he said. ‘I had my eye on a blue Fender Stratocaster lying in the studio, but John suggested the Gretsch and gave it to me.’

John, far left, pulls a funny face with David and family members in Edinburgh in 1952

John cycling near the home of his aunt Mimi in Liverpool in 1951

Mr Birch has owned the guitar ever since. It is even more remarkable because Lennon was photographed playing it during the Paperback Writer recording session, and the photograph was published in the Beatles Monthly Book magazine in June 1966.

The photographer also took several close-up shots of the woodgrain on the guitar’s headstock. Experts say when these images of the wood grain are compared to the wood grain on the headstock of the actual guitar the two can be seen to match up identically.

The guitar is being sold together with a copy of the Beatles Monthly Book photograph and some charming shots from Mr Birch’s family album.

One of these shows a pre-fame Lennon pulling a funny face while on a holiday with his young cousin Mr Birch and relatives in Edinburgh in 1952.

Another shows the two cousins as schoolboys in uniform with Mr Birch’s mother Harriet ‘Harrie’ Birch. A third is of an 11-year-old Lennon riding his bike near the home of his Aunt Mimi, who brought him up, in Menlove Avenue, Liverpool.

Tuesday, Paul Wane, of auctioneers TracksAuction.com, said: ‘John used to go to Edinburgh during the summer holidays when he was young to stay with his aunt Mater and his uncle Robert Sutherland.

‘They then used to travel up to the North West coast of Scotland where they had a small cottage near the sea. John always spoke fondly of the time that he spent in Scotland on his summer holidays.

‘It’s true you could probably buy several houses for the cost of this guitar, but it’s a very rare opportunity to buy a unique collectible with an iron-clad provenance.

‘Beatles’ guitars have been sold before, but they have normally been passed around so much over the years that it’s hard to establish their origin 100 per cent. ‘It’s hard to remember when a Lennon guitar of such provenance was last sold, if ever.’

Mr Wane said Beatles’ fanatics including rock star Noel Gallagher, formerly of Oasis, have been informed, but he is expecting most interest to come from private collectors in the U.S.

Online bidding begins on November 14 at TracksAuction.com, ending with a live auction on November 23 at Le Meridien Hotel, Piccadilly, London.