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An incredible picture archive that charts the rise of Hitler believed to have been meticulously documented by a fan of the Fuhrer has emerged for sale.

The collection of propaganda photographs show Adolf Hitler on a charm offensive in the 1920s and 30s - before the despot started the Second World War and exterminated six million Jews during the Holocaust.

Some of the images try to show a rose-tinted version of the Nazi leader, with him feeding a small deer and accepting a bouquet from a young girl.

Others show the hype that surrounded him - rows of people performing the Nazi salute, a young boy beaming as Hitler signs an autograph for him and a group of girls giggling as they chat to the party leader.

The 400 pictures are accompanied by a handwritten notebook documenting what each picture shows. One page says: 'This tells you what the leader has done for his folk, from 1920 to 1936'.

Young members of the Hitler Youth (top left) and the League of German Girls (top right)  show their support for the Nazi leader, who is also pictured inspecting troops in the SS (shown bottom left) and soldiers of the SA, a paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party which played a significant role in Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s

The collection was collated by a fan of Hitler, as suggested by the fact that some of the images try to show a rose-tinted version of the Nazi leader. Among the images are those that show him feeding a small deer (pictured left) and accepting a bouquet from young girls (pictured middle and right)

The 400 pictures are accompanied by a handwritten notebook in English documenting what each picture shows. One page has 'Adolf Hitler' written in a fancy scrawl at the top with a drawing of the eagle atop the swastika and the initials for the Nazi Party, NSDAP, written underneath (shown)

Some of the captions mention dates and places while others are poetic and obscure such as 'Our flag flutters in our front' and 'Captured by the words the leader speaks'.

The owner of the unusually large collection is a mystery, but it is believed to have been compiled by a fan of the dictator.

One page has 'Adolf Hitler' written in a fancy scrawl at the top with a drawing of the eagle atop the swastika and the initials for the Nazi Party, NSDAP, written underneath.

Hitler became involved with the fledgling Nazi Party after the First World War and set the violent tone of the movement early by forming the Sturmabteilung (SA) paramilitary. This collection shows pictures of SA parades and marches.

He became chief of propaganda for the party in early 1920, engineered the name change to the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers' Party) and designed the party's banner of a swastika in a white circle on a red background - visible on flags and armbands in many of these photos.

After Hitler took control of the party in 1921, he named Heinrich Hoffman as his official photographer and his photos were a significant part of Hitler's propaganda campaign.

The collection features pictures of the German army (top and bottom right), who were required to swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler personally, and also mass rallies involving troops from the Sturmabteilung (SA) paramilitary, which were regularly attended by tens of thousands of spectators

One picture included in the amazing collection is a picture by future Nazi photographer Heinrich Hoffman took in Munich's Odeonsplatz in August 1914 which appeared to show a young Hitler cheering among the crowd at the outbreak of the First World War and was used in Nazi propaganda

Among the revealing photographs are those that show the hype and hysteria that surrounded him - rows of people performing the Nazi salute, a young boy beaming as Hitler signs an autograph for him (top right) and a group of girls giggling as they chat to the party leader (bottom)

One controversial picture included in this collection is a photo Hoffman took in Munich's Odeonsplatz in August 1914 which appeared to show a young Hitler cheering among the crowd at the outbreak of the First World War and was used in Nazi propaganda.

Hoffman claimed he discovered Hitler in the photo in 1929 after the Nazi leader visited his studio and told Hoffman he had been there. Hoffman then searched the negative until he found Hitler.

But historians believe the photo was doctored as other images of the rally do not show Hitler in the place Hoffman's photograph placed him and his moustache in this picture is not the same style that can be seen in photos of Hitler while he was serving in the German Army.

Hitler became the NSDAP's main speaker and between 1928 and 1933 he gathered enough electoral support to see the Nazis become the largest political party in the Reichstag.

Throughout, Hitler strictly controlled his public image in all respects. He would be photographed in any new suit before he would wear it in public and ordered in 1933 that all images of himself wearing lederhosen be withdrawn from circulation.

Another photograph shows the Nuremberg Rally in 1935, where you can see Hitler standing on a platform addressing thousands of people.

The 400 pictures are accompanied by a handwritten notebook documenting what each picture shows. One page says: 'This tells you what the leader has done for his folk, from 1920 to 1936' (shown left). Some of the captions mention dates and places while others are poetic and obscure such as 'Our flag flutters in our front' and 'Captured by the words the leader speaks'

Another photograph shows the infamous Nuremberg Rally in 1935, where you can see Hitler standing on a platform addressing thousands of people (pictured right). On the left, Hitler can be seen assessing work at a car factory, as the Nazi Party committed itself to drastically improving the German economy following the First World War

The controversial collection of photos and notebook, most probably compiled by an English-speaking fan of the Nazi dictator, are being sold by Chalkwell Auctions, based in Southend-on-sea, Essex. The pictures, which have an estimate of £150, will be sold on Wednesday

Hitler (pictured left with Reich Minister of Propaganda Josep Goebbels, on his right) earned his start in politics with the NSDAP in early 1920, later designing the party's banner of a swastika in a white circle on a red background - visible on flags and armbands in many of these photos (shown right)

The Nazi Party held annual rallies at Nuremberg from 1923 to 1938. This one was called the Rally of Freedom and it was here the Nazis introduced the antisemitic Nuremberg Laws.

The collection of photos and notebook are being sold by Chalkwell Auctions, based in Southend-on-sea, Essex.

Trevor Cornforth from the auctioneers said: 'The photographs in this collection may well have been available commercially and to the public. 

'This is a particularly large collection and the unusual thing about it is that it comes with this little handwritten book describing them.

'Unfortunately we don't know anything about the person who wrote the notebook, the seller bought them from an estate clearance and doesn't know anything about the previous owner.

'I don't think the notebook was kept contemporaneously but possibly was someone who was a Hitler fan. They chart the rise but not the fall.

'There's hundreds of pictures and they all appear to be pre-war, so it documents his political rise rather than the war. I have never seen the like of it, it's a fascinating collection of photos.'

The pictures, which have an estimate of £150, will be sold on Wednesday.

Hitler gathered enough electoral support to see the Nazis become the largest political party in the Reichstag by 1933. Hitler strictly controlled his public image in all respects. He would be photographed in any new suit before he would wear it in public and ordered that all images of himself wearing lederhosen be withdrawn from circulation