EVOCATIVE fancy dress photographs of children taken more than 125 years ago will go on display in Leeds this month.

And experts are asking for help to tell the stories behind some of the costumed characters who posed for the camera in 1891.

The images were captured during an extravagant fancy dress ball hosted by the then Mayor and Mayoress of Leeds Mr and Mrs Alf Cooke, in celebration of their silver wedding anniversary.

More than 190 children were invited to the event, all dressed in storybook outfits which included Red Riding Hood, Dick Whittington, the Arabian Nights, Cinderella and the Snow Queen.

More unusual costumes also included a matador, three particularly unfortunate boys who were dressed as Little Lord Fauntleroy and Constance J. Farrar, who came dressed as a Girl Graduate- still an unconventional aspiration for girls at that time.

Some of the Mayor and Mayoress’s ten children also feature in the album, most notably Alf Cooke junior, who copied his dad and dressed as The Miniature Mayor.

Because so many of the costumes are inspired by fairy tales, the album is set to feature in Abbey House Museum’s new Fairy Tales and Fantasy exhibition from January 21, which will look at the history and reality behind some of the most popular stories of all time.

Kitty Ross, Leeds Museums and Galleries’ curator of social history said: "Fairy tales have captured the imaginations of children across the world for centuries and have played such an important role in inspiring and influencing young people and adults from so many different cultures and generations.

"This incredible album of photos is a source of delight and entertainment, but also must contain a wealth of untold stories about Leeds and the people who have lived here over the years.

"There is scope for a lot of future research to try and track the lives of these children who were photographed enjoying themselves back in 1891 and it would be fantastic to hear from anyone who might have more information of these youngsters and their families."

Children invited to the party had surnames that reflected the leading business and professional families at the time.

To view the whole album online, visit https://flic.kr/s/aHskNd8Cyo

Anyone with more information about the photos can email discovery.centre@leeds.gov.uk

Family names of children in the album include: Armitage, Atkinson, Batley, Beevers, Blair, Bleasby, Bowling, Brown, Cartlidge, Chorley, Cobb, Cumpston, Dacre, Davis, Denton, Dickenson,Dobson, Farrar, Fortherby, Foster, Gale, Gibbs, Hallas, Hammond, Hardcastle, Harland, Hargreaves, Harvey, Hayward, Heaps, Hill, Hinchcliffe, Hoggard, Holt, Hudson, Hunt, Hutton, Ickingill, Johnson, Kitchen, Laycock, Lauri, Leyland, Liddle, Loe, Masser, Mason, Middleton, Midgley, Nicholson, Nickson, Oldroyd, Passavant, Pickles, Pincus, Proctor, Richardson, Rishworth, Robinson, Rowley, Sedgwick, Slater, Smith, Sumner, Teal, Tennant, Tordoff, Wade, Warren, Wheelhouse, White, Wilkinson, Wilkson, Winn, Yates.