A SIGNED photograph of Adolf Hitler is coming up for auction in Swindon this month.

The picture, measuring just two by three inches, is one of a collection of around 250 black and white snapshots going uner the hammer at Dominic Winter Book Auctions in Maxwell Street on May 21.

The Hitler picture, captioned Buckeberg 1937, shows the Nazi leader at a pre-war rally in full uniform shaking the hand of a young boy. It is signed in ink.

The collection belonged to a German army officer and the photos date from 1936 to 1943. Other pictures in the collection feature German soldiers on exercise and in camp, a crashed aircraft, tanks and other military equipment.

Auction house owner Dominic Winter said he expected the signed picture alone would realise the asking price of between £700 and £1,000.

He said: "Although items signed by Hitler are scarce, they are around and they are well sought after by collectors. No matter what people think of Hitler, he is still an important character in our history.

"I would expect the signed picture on its own will reach the reserve price."

Another piece of Hitler memorabilia includes a group of three letters written by BBC broadcaster Richard Dimbleby to Carol Roehm, a BBC World Service fan in New York.

The letters, expected to fetch between £400 and £600, are written on sheets of Hitler's personal golden letter-headed notepaper found when Dimbleby became the first BBC war correspondent to enter Hitler's Berlin bunker.

In the first letter to Carol, Mr Dimbleby wrote, "I wish he (Hitler) could have signed the letter instead of me."

He added: "While I was in Berlin I went in to Hitler's study and took three pieces of note-paper from the drawer of his desk. I am going to send you one of those sheets and one of the medals I found in the Chancellery, and I hope they reach you safely."

A picture of Concorde test pilot Brian Trubshaw stepping off the supersonic airliner following a test flight is also up for sale.

It is just one picture in a portfolio of press and manufacturers' photographs of British-built jet airliners. The collection of 90 photos is expected to make between £70 and £100.

Another auction of printed books, maps, historical documents and autographs on Wednesday features a small autograph album containing the signatures of all four of the Beatles in the early 1960s and is expected to fetch between £500 and £800.

A piece of Wroughton history will also go under the hammer at the sale. The historical document is the accounts book of Tarrant, a blacksmith in the village between 1931 and 1936. The book lists jobs and prices for agricultural tool repairs for customers from Wroughton, Swindon, Hook and Broad Hinton. The book is expected to go for between £70 and £100.

A sports book and memorabilia auction on May 15 features a large selection of autographed pictures from football and motor sport.

For more information, call Swindon 611340 or visit the website at www.dominicwinter.co.uk.