It is a very exciting item, a piece of postal history

Alan Aldridge, auctioneer

The cards rarely come on the market and the guide price is normally between �3,000 and �6,000.

But auctioneer Alan Aldridge, of Devizes auction house Henry Aldridge and Son, says the card going under the hammer at the weekend is especially valuable.

It was sent by Sir Henry to his "Granny and Auntie Char" and is signed by the influential Victorian.

"This is one of the rarest to come on the market. Although 1,000 were made, they were not all sold by Henry Cole," said Mr Aldridge.

"It is a very exciting item. It is a piece of postal history."

Royal artist

Born in 1808, Sir Henry Cole was a Dragoon Guards captain and one of the founders of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

He was also behind the introduction of the penny post and was one of the organisers of the Great Exhibition of 1851.

The card was designed by a well-known artist of the time, John Calcott (JC) Horsley, who painted portraits of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria.

It is being sold by a local man who says the time has come to part with the family heirloom.