AN Ottery man, who produced a set of newsletters as a labour of love after 20 years collecting royal documents, has enjoyed glowing praise from collectors and subscribers all over the world.

AN Ottery man, who produced a set of newsletters as "a labour of love" after 20 years collecting royal documents, has enjoyed glowing praise from collectors and subscribers all over the world.

Jim Hanson, of Claremont Field, has seen his life-long love of the royal family turn into an extensive ephemera collection which includes menus, invitations, photographs and various documents commemorating royal events from the Victorian to present times.

Retired consultant Jim teamed up with Ottery publisher and friend Tracey Beaney last year to utilise a snippet of his unique collection to publish six editions of the Royal Ephemera Newsletter, which can also be downloaded from the internet in digital format, ranging from Queen Victoria to Princess Diana. They have proved a hit with royal fans, especially across the Atlantic.

Jim said: "Americans love our royal family and many have taken a real interest surprisingly it is the hard copy that has gone out there, they like to have something to put on their shelves. We have taken great pride in putting these together."

"It was a labour of love for me really, and just nice to impart some knowledge and share it with fellow collectors and royal fans out there."

Jim has been swamped with e-mails of praise from as far afield as New York, Minnesota and Canada praising his work and clamouring for further editions.

While Tracey has recently received an order from Greece, there are no plans at present to produce any more newsletters. However Jim certainly isn't finished with his collection and cites good contacts, auctions and a new-found love of e-bay for its continuing evolution.

He added: "I am not a commemorative collector, I want genuine articles, they have to come from the royal family or to have eminated from a royal palace. I love my collection all the same, although I spend far too much time looking on the internet according to my wife.