COLLECTORS are being given the chance to secure for themselves original illustrations that were once part of everybody’s childhood.

A window into a vanished world, the nostalgia- filled pictures present the optimistic ideals of the 1960s and 1970s and were featured in the ever-popular Ladybird series of books.

Now the first part of a collection of more than 150 of those illustrations are to come under the hammer at Tennants of Leyburn on April 28.

They are the work of John Berry, who was one of Ladybird’s foremost and longest serving artists.

He illustrated over 35 books for Ladybird between 1961 and 1978, including the popular People at Work series and the Hannibal the Hamster series.

The illustrations will be sold in group lots comprising two-to-five pictures and pre-sale estimates are in the region of £200 and £500 per lot.

The second part of the collection will be sold at Tennants on August 2.