Forgotten railwayana emerges from the sidings

Click here to view the train posters gallery

Now hundreds of railway enthusiasts from across the globe will flock to bid when it goes under the auctioneer's hammer today in what has been described by one expert as the "biggest and most important" sale of its kind ever seen.

The collection, spanning more than 60 years of history, has been stored in an anonymous Knaresborough house belonging to a former railway worker who saved them from the dustbin.

Malcolm Guest, a railway enthusiast, took the posters home during his employment there in the 1960s and meticulously archived them.

The unique collection was discovered following his death last summer and since being made public has given rise to fanatical interest from across the globe.

The posters, used for decades to advertise holiday destinations for the railway companies, were produced by some of the leading artists of the time but fell out of favour in the 1960s as the industry began to evolve.

Today selections from the treasure trove will go on sale at the Pavilions of Harrogate on the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, with bids expected from as far afield as New York City and South Africa.

Elizabeth Pepper-Darling, owner of auctioneer Morphets which is handling the sale, told the Yorkshire Post: "The response we have had has been unprecedented, so much so that we have had to move venues to the Yorkshire Showground just so that we will have enough space.

"The reason they are so important is that they are hard to come by and have become rarer and rarer over the years.

"The date from as far back as the 1900s going through to the early 1960s. They really are very rare and some have never been seen before."

Ms Pepper-Darling's firm became involved in the sale when it was contacted to conduct a valuation of the collection to assist with the probate. She and her team were astonished at what they found.

"For this quantity of rare posters to come up like this is a completely one-off event," she said. "When we got into the house there was just shelf after shelf of posters, all meticulously stored and archived. The house was pretty much given over to the collection. When we first came across them we could not believe the sheer quantity. There are some 2,500 posters there and at this auction we will have 580 lots, mainly the earlier ones, leaving us some 2,000 more to work through from later periods."

Among the artefacts on sale are a 1905 poster of the Yorkshire Dales, showing fairies at Brimham Rocks which could make 800.

However possibly the most interesting story to emerge from the collection is that concerning an old station master's hat which has attracted the attention of a South African collector who is certain it belonged to the station master at the local station he used as a boy. The man has registered a strong interest in the hat and has told auctioneers that he intends to wear it at dinner parties.

"They are highly collectable," said Ms Pepper-Darling. "They are not just railway posters, they are graphic art. The are fantastic to look at and are really evocative of holidays.

"The National Rail Museum and the London Transport Museum are very interested in this collection as it will allow them to fill in the gaps in some of their knowledge."

Ms Pepper-Darling added that the collection also contains a large volume of ledgers which detail the minutiae of the railways at the time, something she says will provide historians with an invaluable primary resource when studying the period.

Place your bid for one of the most famous addresses in the country

It's one of the most famous addresses in the country – and now it could be yours.

A 19th century Downing Street sign was on show yesterday at Bonhams auction rooms, London.

It is estimated to be worth between 4,000 and 6,000, and will be sold as part of the auction house's Gentleman's Library Sale.

Other noteworthy lots include an original 1895 Hildebrand & Wolfmller motorcycle, on sale at the first of Bonhams' two annual Stafford auctions.

Manufactured in Munich, Germany, the Hildebrand & Wolfmller was the first powered two-wheeler to enter series production, and the first vehicle to which the name 'motorcycle' was ever applied.

Presented in original, unrestored condition, this machine is estimated at 40,000 to 60,000.

The auction will be held on April 25.