London: Hundreds of hitherto unpublished photographs taken by the personal photographer of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler before World War II are to be auctioned in Britain next month, the auctioneers have said.

The photos, taken by Heinrich Hoffmann, include shots of the Nazi leader at a 1934 party rally in Nuremberg, as well as images of the 1936 Berlin Olympics and meetings between Hitler and Italian fascist leader, Benito Mussolini.

The items - some 900 negatives and 600 stills - were handed over by a "German gentleman" after lying in a wardrobe at his home, a spokesman for JP Humbert Auctioneers in Towcester, Northamptonshire, said Monday.

Asked why he believed the man had released the photographs for auction, the spokesman said: "They were not his kind of thing."

The pictures, expected to fetch a six-figure sum, are due to be auctioned Jan 18.