NEW YORK, May 22 — A guitar given to Elvis Presley by his father in 1969 went under the hammer for US$334,000 (RM1.36 million) in New York during an auction that also saw a Michael Jackson vest fetch US$256,000.

Vernon Presley is said to have changed the finish of the Gibson Dove acoustic guitar to ebony after his son earned his black belt in karate.

It beat auction house Julien’s estimate of US$200,000 to US$300,000 for yesterday’s sale.

During a 1975 concert in Asheville, North Carolina, Presley had given the guitar to fan Mike Harris, who had kept it until now.

Another highlight of the auction was a red neoprene vinyl jacket created by Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush for Michael Jackson to wear during the 1996-1997 HIStory world tour.

It scored more than four times the auctioneers’ estimate of US$40,000 to US$60,000.

The highest bid reached US$354,400, for John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics to Beatles song “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!”

Julien’s had expected it would fetch between US$300,000 and US$500,000.

Overall, the sale produced lukewarm results.

Lady Gaga’s first piano, estimated to be worth US$100,000 to US$200,000, did not find a buyer. Neither did Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Fender Broadcaster electric guitar, valued at US$400,000 to US$600,000.

Elvis’s first piano sold for US$140,025, less than the US$200,000-300,000 estimate. — AFP