Historic pictures of the girl who was the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland have been saved by Bradford's National Museum of Photography, Film and Television.

The museum was part of a consortium that stepped in to buy the photographs for £471,500 just days before a ban stopping them being exported to private collectors abroad was lifted.

The 14 pictures, which show Alice Liddle and her brother and sisters, were taken in 1860 by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson - better known to literary fans around the world as the author Lewis Carroll.

Carroll's books about Alice's adventures in Wonderland - where she meets outlandish fantasy characters such as the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, The Queen of Hearts and Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee - have sold millions around the world and been made into many film and television adaptations.

The money to buy the pictures was granted jointly to the NMPFT and London's National Portrait Museum by the National Heritage Memorial Fund to keep the pictures in the UK.

A further £100,000 was donated by the National Art Collections Fund charity to meet the asking price for the photos, which were put up for sale at Sotherby's last year before being banned from being exported.

NMPFT head Amanda Nevill said: "To lose what is known to be among the last of the key images of Alice and her siblings would have been a national tragedy.

"These photographs represent some of the most intriguing and enigmatic portraits of childhood in the 19th century. Dodgson is without question one of the most outstanding creative artists of the 19th century.

"His photographs stand alone as a considerable aesthetic achievement but also illuminate other facets of Dodgson's often complex imagination. Their outstanding significance to the study of photography and its acceptance as art cannot be over-estimated."

The pictures are now expected to be put on public display at the NMPFT later this year and are tipped to be a major boost for Bradford's European Capital of Culture bid. Charles Saumarez Smith, director of the National Portrait Gallery, said he was delighted the museums had succeeded in saving the pictures for the nation.

"The moment we became aware of the temporary export ban we worked tirelessly with the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television to keep the collection intact and to ensure its availability for study and public exhibition."