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His flamboyant costumes and over-the-top stage show often led to him getting a hard time from music critics, and his famous riposte to them was: “I’m crying all the way to the bank.”

But Las Vegas superstar Liberace adored Christmas, declaring December was his favourite month – and now a collection of his Christmas cards has gone on show in Cambridge.

Every year from the early 1950s until just before his death in 1987, the piano-playing entertainer sent festive cards to every member of his fan clubs, wishing them all his love for Christmas .

A good many of the personalised cards have been assiduously collected by Landbeach-based artist Neil Parker over the past 15 years, and they now form an unusual exhibition at the Museum of Cambridge.

Neil said: “I’ve got over 30 personalised Christmas cards created by Liberace. They depict Liberace himself, many in his trademark lavish costumes, and they all come with personalised Christmas messages.

“He was a hugely popular entertainer who wowed crowds in Las Vegas and Hollywood, as well as on his weekly TV show.”

In the early 1990s, Neil began to create his own Christmas cards, often depicting himself, to share with friends and family. Then a friend showed him one of Liberace’s cards, and Neil was intrigued.

He said: “I went on to discover that Liberace had a network of fan clubs all over the world,, and each Christmas from 1953 to the Christmas in 1986 just before he died, he sent a card to every member. After discovering this, I managed to find another card, and from then on I was hooked – and my aim is to collect all 34 cards.”

Neil, who has lived in Cambridgeshire all his life and works for a number of small charities in the city, now has 29 cards in his collection. He is missing cards from 1953, 1957, 1959, 1964 and 1966, and is keen to hear from anyone who has one of them.

Hilary Cox Condron, from the Capturing Cambridge project at the museum, said: “We’re thrilled to be exhibiting Neil’s collection. It’s a fabulous example of some of the jewels lurking unseen behind people’s doors – a real feast for the eyes.”

The cards are on show until January 6, and museum opening times are online HERE.