Album of 1880s Broads images goes under the hammer

The 1886 book published contains photographs of the Norfolk Broads and rural life

A rare book of historical black-and-white images of the Norfolk Broads discovered during a house clearance in America will go under the hammer in London on Thursday.

"Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads" was published in 1886 by the pioneering Victorian photographer Peter Henry Emerson and artist Thomas Frederick Goodall.

The volume is a first edition - one of only 25 deluxe copies produced when the artists visited the waterways - and comprises 40 platinum prints mounted on India paper.

Jack Wallis, head of sale at auctioneers Roseberys said the book - expected to fetch up to £50,000 - was an "exciting find" in "remarkable condition".

The anonymous Maryland seller of the book said it was found in their 98-year-old mother's home, buried in the back of her wardrobe.

They said: "She and my dad were avid 'yard salers', always looking for little treasures.

"They also collected first editions of popular books so we can only surmise that this was another one of their treasured finds."

The book contains images of rural life in Norfolk, like reed cutting on the broads

Emerson (1856–1936) was born in Cuba and raised partly in America, before settling in England.

His photography often focused on the everyday life of people in East Anglia.

The book contains a series of platinum prints, mounted on India paper and would have been very expensive to make.

The photographer inspired his great-grandson, Stephen Hyde, to become a photographer. Mr Hyde said the book represented a "love letter to Norfolk".

"He (Emerson) had a profound connection to nature, and that tenderness comes through in these photographs," he said.

"I'd love to own this book myself, but it belongs in a museum."

Only 25 copies of Emerson's book were ever made

Mr Wallis said Emerson was trying to elevate the new technology of photography into an art form.

He said it would appeal to a range of buyers.

"It'd be fantastic if it could make its way back to Norfolk, to a private buyer interested in 19th Century photography.

"It's a really important piece of photographic history and of Norfolk so could also be an institution, a museum or an art gallery, or possibly even just a private collector who buys it."

While 175 copies of the book were published covered in green cloth, this book is one of only 25 covered in velum.

An estimate of £30,000 to £50,000 ($40,000–$67,000) has been put on the book which will be auctioned on Thursday.