A rare copy of the first Oor Wullie annual has been sold for £2800 at an auction in Dundee.

The 1941 edition is one of several Oor Wullie and The Broons annuals from between 1941 and 1957 which were sold by Curr and Dewar Auctioneers on Tuesday.

War propaganda drawings by renowned cartoonist Dudley D Watkins, including character Lord Snooty sending a wasps nest to Hitler, were the first lot under the hammer, followed by the annuals.

Steven Dewar, of the auctioneers, said the 1941 Oor Wullie annual was a sought-after collector's item.

Its new owner opted to remain anonymous.

Prior to the sale, the seller of the annuals revealed that the books had been passed down three generations.

They were given to the seller's grandfather by a friend who was an advertising manager at Dundee-based publishers DC Thomson, which prints comics and annuals featuring the famous characters.

When the lot was first announced, Mr Dewar said: "They belonged to the vendor's father after being passed down to him by his own father.

"The vendor's grandfather had a friend who worked at DC Thomson and he was given the annuals on a yearly basis from the company.

"He had no children so he passed them on to his friend, who gave them to his son. They've been in the family ever since.

"The vendor had seen one or two of the first ever annuals sold and thought to himself 'I'm sure I've got one of them'.

"He looked it out and took it to the Antiques Road Show when they were in this area and asked if it was the real thing, and they said 'yes, it's genuine'."

Mr Dewar said there had been high interest in the annual, which retains its bright colouring and has very little wear and tear.

He added: "Once this is bought it will probably be put away and not come out again for a generation. This one came out right at the beginning of the Second World War. It's an artefact of its time.

"It's an investment item and is only going to increase in value. It was one of the first ever issues of what became an iconic brand.

"I'm aware of a few selling over the past few years but this is our first one. One sold in 2014 for £4400 and one sold in December last year for £3400 but it all depends on the condition they're in.

"This one is in good condition and there's no doubt any collectors of the Oor Wullie memorabilia will want to have this as pride of place in their collection."

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