An autograph book compiled in the 1920s which reads like a 'Who's Who' of Birmingham's musical heritage is to go under the hammer in Shropshire today.

The signatures were collected by Hilda Wiseman from Hall Green, who was connected with the vibrant Birmingham musical life which was centred on the Birmingham Town Hall.

In the post First World War years the city was still a leading light in the classical music world thanks to the reputation of the Victorian Triennial Festival.

The book features the signatures of, among dozens of others, Sir Edward Elgar, Jean Sibelius and Gustav Holst.

"It reads like a 'Who's Who' of leading composers," said Richard Westwood-Brookes, documents expert for Mullock's Specialist Auctioneers who will sell the book at the historical documents sale at Ludlow Racecourse

The first signature is that of Jean Sibelius, and the book contains the signatures of Sir Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Sir Eugene Goosens, Sir Granville Bantock, Sir Julius Harrison and Rutland Boughton.

"Leading performers of the day are also featured, including Beno Moiseiwitch, Alfred Cortot, Arthur Rubenstein, Astra Desmond, Sir Landon Ronald, a very young Gerald Moore, and an equally young Dame Myra Hess.

"There is also one further curious addition – that of the famous First World War cartoonist Bruce Bainsfather, with a cartoon of his famous character 'Old Bill'."

The composers featured in the book had a particular affinity to Birmingham, he said. It is thought that Ms Wiseman either worked at the Town Hall or she was a classical music 'stage door groupie'.

"Elgar's association with Birmingham is well known, but Sibelius also had many visits to the City, and in the years before the First World War he conducted world premiers of his works at the Birmingham Festival.

"Vaughan Williams and Holst were from Cirencester and Cheltenham, and Bantock was for a time the Professor of Music at Birmingham University. Julius Harrison came from Worcestershire and Boughton had been a teacher at the Birmingham School of Music."

In the 19th Century Birmingham was pre-eminent on the world music stage, because of the Victorian Triennial Festival where even Mendelssohn unveiled his latest works.

In the early 20th Century its reputation was on the wane.

"Music memorabilia is among the most highly sought after of all, because music crosses all boundaries," said Mr Westwood-Brookes. "It is rare to find so many signatures bound together in one book and Holst's signature alone is worth #100.

"But it is also valuable as a slice of Birmingham's musical heritage. It is a rare historical record of which people were performing in Birmingham in the years after the First World War."

The book carries an estimate of #500-700.