A set of rare posters covering life in the 19th century including a talk by an escaped slave, which was predicted to sell for £600, has fetched £2,300 at Beverley Racecourse.

An unknown buyer purchased the posters at the auction on the racecourse. The items, of which there were several hundred, came in a leather-bound book and covered life in East Yorkshire with horse fairs, slavery, crimes and circuses all detailed in the posters.

There is even a depiction of a talk by a former slave telling an audience at Beverley Guildhall of his escape from slavery in the US, with more everyday events of the time including livestock auctions and farming equipment sales.

The posters, collected in the first half of the 1800s by local historian Gillyat Sumner of Woodmansey, should stay in public hands, urged a modern historian.

John Markham said the posters were important historically.

Copyright Press Association 2012