One of the world's first Christmas cards was sold for £4,200 by Devizes auctioners Henry Aldridge & Son.

Alan Aldridge said there were a good number of bids for the card, including one from America and interest across the UK. It was sold to a collector from Wiltshire.

The rare black and white Christmas card was sent in 1843 and depicts a jolly Christmas scene of a Victorian family eating and drinking.

It was addressed to Marinda Cundy of London. The sender is unknown apart from the initials JCJ. The card was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, a civil servant from Bath who played a key role in launching the penny post, and designed by his friend John C Horsley, a well-known artist who also painted portraits of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria.

The card had a pre-sale estimated price of between £3,000 and £5,000.

The auction featured more than 800 lots including a set of Buddy Holly autographs which fetched £1,000, an aboriginal wunda shield went for £1,900 and a 20th century reproduction of a Louis XVI desk sold for £4,200.