13 unseen photographs showing Bristol at the height of the tram era

Antique postcards showing Bristol before the start of the car revolution have been unveiled ahead of an auction sale - here we take a look at some of them

Fascinating pictures showing Bristol city centre and surrounding areas at the height of the tram era are to be sold at auction.

Many of the images have not been seen since they were published in the early 20th century - but ahead of their sale at East Bristol Auctions in February we can show a small sample.

While many of the buildings in the pictures are still standing, the road layouts and modes of transport - trams and horse-drawn carts - are unrecognisable to what we see today.

Bristol was proudly the first city in the country to see electric trams, with the first introduced in 1895. But the trams went into decline with the rise in popularity of cars before bombing of the city in the Second World War spelled the end of the era.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.