The world's largest collection of movie posters boasting artwork from almost every single film ever made has emerged for sale for $7.8 million (£5 million).

The colossal archive features 196,000 posters from more than 44,000 films which have been made since the birth of cinema in the early 1900s and has been single-handedly pieced together by one avid collector over the last 50 years.

Morris Everett Jr, from Cleveland, Ohio, has dedicated his life's work to seeking out original posters from every English-speaking film ever made and compiling them into a comprehensive library.

The Prince and the Showgirl starring Marilyn Monroe, film from 1957, is part the collection

Breakfast at Tiffany's, starring Audrey Hepburn in 1961 is part of the 196,000 strong poster collection

Highlights of the collection include one-of-a-kind poster from 1927 silent film Metropolis said to be worth $47,000 (£30,000) alone, plus original artwork from film classics like Breakfast at Tiffany's, Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.

But it also includes posters from more modern epics like The Godfather, The Terminator, Pulp Fiction and Titanic as well as films right up to the present day.

Mr Everett Jr, 73, is a historian-turned-collector whose passion for posters began in 1961 while he was still at university.

Instead of following in his father's footsteps by collecting stamps he discovered movie posters and set about building a collection.

The first two posters he bought were for 1961 romantic drama Splendor in the Grass, starring Warren Beatty, and the 1938 flick The Charge of the Light Brigade with Errol Flynn.

Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in 1942 was collected by the historian

Morris Everett Jr, from Ohio, stands with some of his movie posters - the world's largest collection

He has since acquired posters and entire collections from all over the world and is the only person attempting to acquire posters from every film made.

In 1991 Mr Everett Jr set up the Everett Collection, turning his hobby into a business by licencing images of his posters.

He has grown it into the world's largest collection which is stored in bank vaults.

Now in his seventies, Mr Everett Jr has decided to sell up so that he can see his life's work enjoyed by others.

The collection is tipped to make $8 million - around £5 million pounds - when it goes under the hammer in one lot at Los Angeles saleroom Profiles in History.

Metropolis, a silent movie from 1927 is the first movie poster that started Everett's collection

Gone With the Wind, from 1939, is one of the original movie posters in the collection

That equates to just $39 (£25) for each poster, but incredibly, experts say if the collection was sold individually it could be worth up to $23 million (£15 million).

Mr Everett Jr said: 'I started collecting 53 years ago when I asked a friend of mine who had a small collection of posters where he got them and he told me about a store in New York called Movie Star News.

'When I went on vacation I went to that store and bought posters from Splendor in the Grass and Charge of the Light Brigade.

'I come from a collecting family and that was where my collection started.

'I bought a collection of 6,000 pieces in the late 1960s and from then on I started buying up other people's collections.

'It became my goal to collect a poster from every single English-speaking film ever made.

The Mummy, from 1932, is part of the collection that is set to sell for a whopping $8 million

The Wizard of Oz movie poster, filmed in 1939, will go under the hammer in one lot at a California saleroom on December 17

'There were only two people in the world at the time collecting posters from every single title. They are both now dead and I acquired both their collections.

'I wanted my collection to be comprehensive, capturing the history of countries through film.

'I bought small collections and large collections, and I even got into financial troubles doing so, but I always considered it a hobby rather than an investment.

'That was until the late 1980s when I went through a divorce and I had to look at my financial situation.

'I realised that instead of investing in the stock market I invested in movie memorabilia.

'I opened a store in Hollywood and a store in Cleveland buying, selling and trading movie posters.

'There's no other collection in the world that even comes close to mine in terms of its comprehensiveness covering movie posters from 1907 right up to the present day.

Girl From 10th Avenue movie poster, filmed in 1935, is part of the comprehensive library

'There are many one-of-a-kind pieces in there. This collection couldn't be replicated today.

'I'm selling the collection now because I want to see the collection go to a good home while I am living and save my family the trouble of dealing with 196,000 posters when I'm gone.

'The collection is unique and it is being sold as a single entity rather than individual lots because I would love it to remain as a whole.

'The crazy thing about it is that even though I've listed my posters for sale I'm still collecting and adding to it. I want to make it the very best I can.

'It's been so much fun putting this collection together and I feel very privileged to have been able to do it.

A collection of the 196,000 posters Morris Everett Jr has collected can be seen in this picture

'It will be a strange feeling not owning it any more but at the same time there will be a small sense of relief at making life a little more simple.'

Auctioneers have described the sale as 'a once in a lifetime opportunity'.

Joe Maddalena, owner of Profiles in History, said: 'The Morris Everett Jr. Collection is the most substantial and significant vintage movie collection in the world and will feature several-one-of-kind treasures never before offered to the collecting public.

'The items exemplify classic Hollywood, reflecting the true lure of Hollywood's Golden Age.'

The auction will be held on December 17.