Lost photos capture elephants, tanks and epidemics

The images include scenes of flooding and a circus elephant

Five hundred historical photographs of Lincoln have been found following a house clearance.

The black and white images, some more than a century old, capture everything from World War One tanks to a circus elephant.

They will go under the hammer at Unique Auctions on Sunday.

Valuer Darryl Kirk said it was "the best collection of photographs we’ve ever had".

Darryl Kirk says the collection provides a pictorial record of Lincoln in the 20th century

The images includes original photos, negatives and reproductions, with most dating from between 1900 and the 1960s.

They capture street scenes, people, transportation and historical events, such as the typhoid epidemic of 1905.

Staff stumbled across the boxes of photographs during a clear out at the auction house.

They had been among items collected during house clearances over the past six months.

A 1913 photo of a prize-winning cow bred in Canwick, near Lincoln, and fed on "Thorley's cake", among scenes of streets, workplaces and shops

Describing the discovery as "extremely significant", Mr Kirk said the photographs would “help us understand our social, historical and cultural past”.

“People aren’t printing photographs any more, so it’s nice to have a pictorial record that can be tangible,” he added.

“Our future and present is based on the past. We can see how Lincoln has developed through these photographs, a crucial part of our history."

The photos also capture tanks and groups of people, including at the time of a typhoid outbreak in 1905

Details of the auction and more of the photographs can be found on the Unique Auctions website.

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