One of Britain's largest personal collections of historic postcards featuring more than 750,000 and amassed over nearly 60 years is being sold at auction.

Obsessive Jane Westwood, 63, began collecting postcards when she was just six-years-old - but now boasts a collection so big experts believe it could take years to sell.

Her giant collection is stored in countless boxes and folders and completely fills the spare bedroom in her house. 

Experts at Richard Winterton Auctioneers have valued the Staffordshire-based grandma's collection at £75,000.

The collection has been valued at around £75,000 (SWNS).

Jane's collection has been catalogued into themes and locations, and includes topography, transport, nautical, comic, animals, artistic, sentimental, holidays, religious, political and Edwardian photographic portraiture.

While most of the postcards are purely photographic, some are hand-drawn, made with silk or embossed to add variety. 

Jane's collection even features several cards which include real feathers stuck on them to accurately depict birds. 

Highlights include an impressive album of London postcards ranging from Edwardian times to the 1960s and featuring all the major historical sites in the capital. 

It even features an album of romantic French courtship postcards from the early 20th century which include a cryptic lovers code. 

Jane has sorted her collection into a number of categories (SWNS).

A team at Richard Winterton Auctioneers plans to offer a chunk of the collection for auction every month - but they reckon it could take years to fully sell. 

Jane, who lives with her husband Graham, 69, would trawl through car boots and local shops searching for post cards.

She said: "It started when I was six years old – my sister moved to Australia and send me postcards.

"I kept them and put them into a book and as I got older it became serious interest.

"I would even buy a trunk load of them and then sit here in the lounge and go through the whole case one by one.

"It's the fun of never knowing what we're going to find in the bottom of a box.

Jane started collecting postcards at the age of six (SWNS).

"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.

"I just want it all to go to someone who will appreciate them.

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

Robert French, ephemera specialist at Richard Winterton Auctioneers, said: "It is the most wonderful, eclectic collection of postcards I have ever come across.

"Not only has it got everything in terms of subjects from topographical to transport, it's the sheer quality of the cards themselves and the comprehensive cataloguing and organising accomplished by Jane.

"It is very, very impressive.

"It's almost impossible to put a price on the collection as it's so special.

The first set of postcards are set to go to auction on April 26 (SWNS).

"We would expect a total in the region of £50,000 to £75,000 but in many respects it's priceless."

The first lot of postcards are expected to go under the hammer at The Tamworth Auction Rooms on April 26.

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