A collection of rare post cards from the turn of the last century are expected to put their stamp on a collectors’ auction in Chippenham on April 6.

There are over 100 postcards in the collection with a many of them having a military theme and depicting scenes and images from the First World War.

They will be sold by The Chippenham Auction Rooms with an estimate on them of £300-£500. Auctioneer Richard Edmonds says that some of them could be special to the right collector.

“They have come into us via a valuation day at Lockstones estate agents in Malmesbury and I believe some of them to be truly unique,” he said.

“Some of them are from as far back as 1905, for instance the one showing the HMS Victory docked in Portsmouth. There are also some others of warships, one showing the Coronation Review of the fleet by H.M George V at Spithead in Portsmouth in 1911.”

The auction also contains various advertising ephemera including several Fry’s chocolate enamel signs, which are highly sought after, and none more so than the ‘five faces’ blue sign that depicts a young boy in ‘desperation, pacification, expectation, acclamation and realization that it is Fry’s’. This one has been valued at £400-£600.

Also of local interest is another sign from a Bristol company, this time WH Mills the cigarette manufacturer from the turn of the century. It is a double sided sign depicting the Bristol docks and is in at £1,200-£1,500.

Other items in the sale include early toys, postcards, stamps, coins and more. The auction will be held at The Chippenham Auction Rooms Ivy road salerooms on April 6 beginning at 10am.