Possibly the biggest sale of TT and Manx Grand Prix memorabilia ever is set to take place on Saturday, May 20.

The sale, run by Murray’s Auctions, takes place at the Isle of Man Motor Museum at Jurby and includes more than 500 lots from the estate of Geoff Cannell.

The former TT press officer, racing commentator, trials rider and TT aficionado was a prolific collector of motorcycle racing souvenirs. But since his death in 2007, much of the collection has been kept in storage and is now being sold by his family.

Auctioneer Murray Keefe said: ’We are very pleased to have the sale at the museum and we are expecting great interest. The auction will be held in a separate area so there is no entrance fee to attend. Details have been emailed out around the world.’

Antiquarian John Hall has been helping out cataloguing the vast collection which, he said, had been swelled by extra lots submitted by other people who had heard about the sale.

’But I would say 90 per cent of it is from Geoff Cannell,’ he said. ’He was known to collect items and I think people used to knock on his door asking if he was interested in this or that.

’We are very pleased and it’s nice for it to be released from storage. We’ve had interest from a number of places, including America.’

For book collectors, there are multiple books on motorcycle racing as well as TT and Manx Grand Prix programmes dating back to the early years of the event. There is also a multitude of miscellaneous items including fuel can caps, finishers’ medals, marshals’ arm bands, motorcycle racing number plates, some of them signed, not to mention badges, Castrol bicycle pennants from the 1950s, enclosure passes, archive audio recordings, score cards and postcards dating back to the 1920s.

But possibly it’s the collection of photographs and autographs from some of the top riders of their day that will attract the most attention.

A vast collection of postcards documents most of the years of the motorcycle TT and Manx Grand Prix, from their beginnings in 1907 and 1923 respectively. Autographed items include programmes, books, clothing and dinner menus, to mention just a few.

There may even be a second sale in due course, but in the meantime the catalogue can be found via the Murray’s website at www.antiquemann.im/

’There’s something in the auction for everyone, from motorcycle books to signed photographs of Mike Hailwood,’ Mr Hall said.