A temporary export bar has been placed on the items - which include log books of Logie Baird’s assistant, and an early video recording depicting images of Stookie Bill, the world’s earliest surviving video recording which shows one of Logie Baird’s famous puppets.

Stookie Bill has recently been commemorated in Helensburgh as one of the plinths installed in Colquhoun Square.

An appeal has been made from the Helensburgh Heroes centre for donations to raise the £78,750 asking price and keep the items in the United Kingdom - with hopes to bring them to Logie Baird’s home town and display them in the Heroes Centre, which is set to open by the end of this year or in early 2016.

Phil Worms, director of Helensburgh Heroes, appeared on BBC Scotland’s morning radio show on Tuesday to discuss the artefacts - and encouraged people to get involved to retain the items.

He told the BBC people had 'a duty’ to raise the money and keep the items in Britain, hopefully bringing it to Helensburgh.

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey placed a temporary ban on exporting the items, saying they 'belong’ in Britain. He called on a UK buyer to come forward 'to save it for the nation’.

Between November 1926 and April 1927, John Logie Baird and his assistant, Benjamin Clapp developed the idea of rigging up a receiving station and television receiver in America and transmitting pictures over telephone lines from Baird’s laboratories in London, to Clapp’s house in Surrey and from there (where there was a powerful transmitter station), by wireless to the East Coast of the United States of America.

Mr Worms told the Advertiser that Helensburgh Heroes was 'making enquiries’ about the items.

He said: “It would be a shame for them to leave the UK. It would be fantastic if they could come to the home of John Logie Baird, his birth place.

“At this stage we are making enquiries. There will be all sorts of interest in them just now.

“All we can do at this stage is make initial enquiries.”