Staffordshire collection of 750,000 postcards up for auction

Jane Westwood started collecting them after her sister sent her a postcard from Australia

A collection of 750,000 postcards is going up for auction.

Jane Westwood, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, has been accumulating the cards since she was six, when her sister moved to Australia.

The 63-year-old grandmother said she has ones dating from the early 1900s to the present day.

"I only bought cards I liked and it did develop into an obsession - wherever I went, I didn't look for anything other than postcards," Mrs Westwood said.

The collection of cards have been valued in the region of £50,000 to £75,000

While many of the postcards are photographic, some are hand-coloured, embossed or made from silk. Some even use real feathers to depict birds.

An album within the collection also details a romantic French courtship from the early 20th Century.

The 59 cards are addressed to a Mademoiselle Amelia Vaurat of Baignes-Sainte-Radegonde, Charente in southwest France, and are covered in a mysterious numerical code, presumed to be a private lovers' cypher.

Mrs Westwood's spare room is full of postcards

The lots are being sold by Richard Winterton Auctioneers in Tamworth on 26 April and have been valued at £50,000 to £75,000.

"I just want it all to go to someone who will appreciate them," Mrs Westwood said.

"With the money from the auctions we would like to treat our grandchildren".