Postcards showing Sheffield's history to be sold at auction

More than 10,000 postcards showing Sheffield from Victorian times to the 1980s are to be sold at auction.

The collection, described as a pictorial history of the city, was put together by Tim Hale over the course of 50 years.

They include images such as Sheffield United's 1915 FA Cup win and the Great Fire of Heeley in 1921.

The cards, valued at more than £10,000, and are to be sold at Sheffield Auction Gallery on 12 September.

They have been catalogued in order to be sold and split up into 250 lots.

Auctioneers said they covered aspects of Sheffield's social history including transport, sport, politics, industry, entertainment and advertising.

The card showing the fire in Heeley - on 23 April 1921 - is an image of the aftermath of a blaze at the Sheafbank Works, where a spark from a passing railway engine ignited the roof.

John Morgan, from the auction house, said: "[This is] without doubt the largest single city collection of postcards we have ever been asked to bring to the market and it feels wonderfully fitting that it has been collected and will be sold in Sheffield.

"Although we expect a great deal of local interest, the depth and insight of the collection will draw enquiries from many quarters in perhaps what will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire postcards from this outstanding collection."

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