Gallotone was a brand name used by the South African Gallo record company for a range of acoustic guitars and banjo-ukuleles in the 1950s and 1960s. Gallotone instruments were aimed at beginners and had laminated tops guaranteed not to split. The Gallotone brand would have faded in obscurity had it not been for John Lennon. The 14 year old Lennon bought a Gallotone Champion guitar for ten pounds from a mail order advert in the weekly Reveille newspaper. In 1999 this guitar was bought at aution for £155,000 by an unnamed New York investment fund manager.

Source: Wikipedia Gallotone (28 June 2017)

Source: Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles. Tony Bramwell. 2005

Source: £155,000 picks up Lennon guitar. BBC News, September 14, 1999