The Everton Collection
Encyclopedia
The David France Collection is a collection of football memorabilia, consisting of more than 10,000 items related to the birth and development of Everton Football Club
in Liverpool
, England
.
took over 25 years to assemble the collection from his home in the United States
and includes rare programmes, season tickets, match tickets, medals, photographs, player contracts, cash books, handbooks, financial statements and other ephemera dating back to the 1880s, as well as the official club ledgers detailing the minutes of all board meetings between 1886 and 1964.
For health reasons, Dr France decided finally to part with his collection in 2002. Despite receiving numerous offers from private investors, his dream was to make the collection available to what he called The Everton Family, and sought to transfer his world-class archives to an independent Charitable Trust, at a heavily discounted price.
In September 2007, the Everton Charitable Trust announced that it had secured a grant from the UK Heritage Lottery Fund
to obtain the collection, and it was finally transferred from Dr France to the Trust on 31 December 2007. Following this transfer, it was also announced that Everton F.C.
would donate their own collection of memorabilia, and that, collectively, it would be known as The Everton Collection.
Often referred to as The Everton Scriptures, and sometimes as The DNA of Everton, the official club ledgers chronicle the minutes of the weekly scheduled and emergency meetings of the early Management Committee, and latterly the Board of Directors, and provide details of the decisions of the Directors at over 5,000 meetings recorded in over 10,000 handwritten pages.
The collection boasts an unbroken sequence of 29 volumes from 1886 through to 1964. Prepared and signed by famous club chairmen, including John Houlding
, George Mahon, Will Cuff
and Sir John Moores, the ledgers provide the most complete documentation of the development of a professional football club.
Also, because Everton were one of the last professional clubs to appoint a manager, the Directors were responsible for all scouting appraisals, transfer negotiations and team selections during the first six decades, as well as documenting details of players’ wages, bonuses and benefits. The ledgers provide these details on a number of stars from the club’s history, including Nick Ross, Jack Southworth
, Bert Freeman
, Dixie Dean
, Warney Cresswell
, Cliff Britton
, Joe Mercer
, Tommy Lawton
and Alex Young
.
However, the ledgers do not just deal with the club’s players; they also include important decisions on the overall running of the club. Some of the most notable events recorded, from the early history of the club, in the ledgers include:
There are also more recent historical events:
seemed to be much lower than what was expected from the attendance predictions of the club’s directors, and the local newspaper reporters. At the home match against Sunderland that year, the turnstiles were double-checked prior to kick off and were found to have been tampered with, ensuring that Everton had been defrauded of approximately 15% of the gate money actually taken.
Following the implication and arrest of 15 employees (including turnstile operators, equipment mechanics and groundsmen), Everton introduced meticulously detailed gate books as well as new turnstile equipment.
The collection includes two of these gate books, detailing receipts for each individual turnstile for every match played at Goodison Park
from 1907 to 1911 and 1916 to 1921. Each home fixture has a single page dedicated to it and every entry is signed by the turnstile operator and then verified by a club director.
The collection also includes two cash books, from 1892 to 1894 and from 1897 to 1900, providing details of all expenditure following the move to Goodison Park
and the initial construction work there.
The David France Collection contains over 6,000 programmes covering Everton participation, both home and away, in league games, cup competitions, friendlies and reserve-team fixtures between 1886 and 2002.
It is difficult to calculate the precise number of friendly matches Everton have been involved in during this time, however, experts have estimated that the collection features over 90% of all programmes involving Everton over this period, and is hailed as the most complete compilation of such archival material for any football club.
While the unbroken sequences of programmes is stunning, the actual condition of them is museum quality, with many in excellent condition considering their age.
The collection includes every Everton programme published in the inaugural 1888-9 League season. Another highlight is the 32 programmes from the pre-League era when Everton played at Anfield
. The collection can also claim to include the earliest known programmes for a number of today’s top clubs, including Manchester United
(then known as Newton Heath), Celtic
, Aston Villa
, Derby County
, West Bromwich Albion
, Bolton Wanderers
, Wolverhampton Wanderers
and Blackburn Rovers
.
It is also thought to contain the earliest home programmes for Southampton
, Newcastle United
, Walsall
, Nottingham Forest
, Sheffield United
and Sheffield Wednesday
, as well as numerous programmes from the early European tours undertaken by the club during the 1930s.
The earliest programme in the collection is from a match Everton played against Astley Bridge on 4 September 1886 at Anfield
, with the earliest away programme being when a local team called Stanley entertained Everton on 21 January 1888.
The David France Collection can also claim that it is possibly the biggest collection of Liverpool
programmes held privately as Everton and Liverpool produced a joint programme between 1904 and 1935 — nearly a thousand programmes.
In the early days of the club, members (including the players) had to pay an annual subscription and were provided with a season ticket as a result. The David France Collection includes a consecutive run of 11 such season tickets, dating from 1881 through to 1892.
The colours of the member's ticket reflect those of the shirts worn for that season, and not only include first-team and reserve fixture lists for the season, but also some of the club officers including presidents, vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer and the first-team captain.
The earliest season ticket in the collection is for the 1881–82 season allowing the member, and his accompanying lady, to attend games at Stanley Park
.
There is also a season ticket for the 1883–84 season, which was the only season that Everton played at Priory Road, before the landlord, Mr James Pruitt, insisted that they move.
Other season tickets included in the collection are from the first season at Anfield
(1884–85), the inaugural League campaign (1888–89
) and the first League Championship winning season (1890–91
).
Match tickets were never intended to be saved; however, recently ticket stubs have become one of the more collectible items of memorabilia.
The collection includes hundreds of Everton tickets, not only of Cup Finals and Semifinals, but also less important matches.
When Everton were based at Anfield
, they used the local public house, The Sandon, as their base which was owned by the club’s president at the time, John Houlding
. When the building went through some renovation work in the mid-1990s, a box of old tickets were found. It is believed that a number of these are also included within the collection.
The earliest match ticket is from a game played on 1 May 1890, between Everton and Notts County
at Anfield
in aid of the Hospital Saturday Fund.
The collection boasts a total of 40 medals awarded to Everton players in various competitions in their history – including a medal awarded for every major trophy won by the club, except the 1986–87
League Championship and the 1995 FA Cup
.
The medals for major competitions won by the club include the first ever League Championship medal awarded to a number of players in 1890–91
, as well as medals for the League Championship winning seasons of 1914–15
, 1927–28
, 1930–31
, 1938–39
, 1962–63
and 1984–85
; the 1906, 1933, 1966 and 1984 FA Cup
winners medals plus a 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup medal.
Other medals included within the collection are those awarded for the Wartime Northern League Championship (1918–19), Division Two winners (1931–32), FA Cup
runners-up medals (1897, 1907 and 1968), Milk Cup
runners-up (1984) plus a number of medals from minor competitions such as the Liverpool Senior Cup
(1895, 1899, 1930 and 1934), the Lancashire Cup (1904, 1910 and 1940), Norfolk & Norwich Hospital Cup (1907) and the Blackpool Hospital Cup (1926 and 1927).
While almost all of the medals are gold, the collection includes a silver medal commemorating the 1924 victory over Newcastle United F.C.
at the Nou Camp Stadium
, when Everton won the Barcelona Cup.
While it is not a medal won with Everton, the collection includes Brian Labone’s
bronze medal which was awarded when England
finished third in the 1968 European Championship
.
leading to the boardroom boast team photographs dating back to 1929–30. Copies were presented to members of the playing staff and coaching staff.
The collection compliments these souvenirs with a number of early team photographs.
Firstly, there is the earliest known team photograph taken in 1881, shortly after the club had changed its name from St. Domingo F.C.
The collection contains other rarities, such as one photograph taken of Everton's first League Championship-winning side. It was taken on the bowling green of the Sandon Hotel (the club's headquarters at the time) and is the only known photograph of the Everton team wearing their infamous ruby shirts with blue trim. The sepia-toned photograph featured the diminutive Fred Geary
sandwiched between the 1891 League championship
trophy and the Liverpool Cup.
The collection also includes over 100 photographs of players and staff taken by journalists and photographers during training sessions, social events and road trips. The candid snaps that weren’t used in publications were usually discarded from the newspaper libraries and photographic studios, but do provide a social commentary on the lifestyles and fashions of professional footballers between 1925 and 1975.
One example shows the team boarding a Cambrian Airlines prop-plane for a 48-hour journey to Australia
, in their tailored club suits, prior to the club’s tour there in May 1964.
Other examples include candid shots of the team on the coach which took them to Speke Airport en route to an FA Cup
fifth round tie at Roker Park
in 1964, while another shows Ray Wilson, Alex Young, Sandy Brown
and Derek Temple
sitting in their first-class carriage at Lime Street train station prior to their leaving for the 1966 FA Cup Final
.
In 1902, the Post Office
finally allowed the message and address to be written on one side of a postcard and, thus, freed the other side of the postcard for the inclusion of a picture. As a result postcards increased substantially in popularity and became a cheap medium for the transmission of messages, until the advent of the telephone.
Local photographers often recorded interesting community events and then published them as postcards and the collection includes 20 postcards featuring Everton teams and players from the early 20th century, the majority of which show team photographs prior to important matches.
In the late 20th century, postal covers
were introduced as a means of commemorating special events or anniversaries. The David France Collection includes over 50 postal covers
(or first-day covers as they are sometimes known). Many of these postal covers
were autographed by the stars of the matches and issued as a numbered limited edition.
The first Everton player to appear on a cigarette card was Harry Reay in a series published by Cohen Weenen in 1897, which was surprising given that he only made 2 first-team appearances for Everton during his career.
One of the most popular subjects of Everton cigarette cards was Bill ‘Dixie’ Dean
who appeared on 28 different cards, which is believed to make him the most popular subject of football related cigarette cards ever.
While cigarette cards were discontinued due to post-War rationing of tobacco, other trade cards were produced by tea and confectionery manufacturers, as well as newspapers and magazines.
In the mid-1950s bubble-gum cards were introduced and grew in popularity throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Nowadays, cards are produced along similar lines to the trading cards of Major League Baseball
in America.
The first Everton player to appear on a bubble-gum card was Dave Hickson
in 1956, and the most popular players on these cards were Alan Ball, Roy Vernon
, Alex Young, Ray Wilson and Gordon West
.
The collection includes 20 examples of standard contracts drafted by the Football League and used by Everton between 1890 and 1975.
The collection includes over 200 letters showing the letterheads of approximately 80 different football clubs addressing all types of business and football issues from the co-ordination of transfers through to the re-arrangement of fixtures. Along with the ledgers, they provide a fascinating insight into the day-to-day operations of a football club over the decades.
The earliest letter in the collection dates back to 6 March 1888 in which the secretary of Aston Villa invited Everton to play a match at Birmingham
later in the month in a hand-written letter.
While the letters shed some light on the transfers of Tony Kay
, Dai Davies, Rod Belfitt and Alex Young, as well as many others, they were also used to comply with FA regulations in which teams had to provide their opponents with a list of all eligible players for FA Cup
semi-finals and finals.
There are also letters from less affluent clubs with appeals for financial help. One of these was a proposal from Macclesfield Town
in which they state that they would be willing to act as a nursery club for Everton — though this was turned down by the Everton board at the time.
However this book not only includes numerous autographs Everton players from that era, but also includes a description of the exercises specified by Harry Cooke
, the Everton trainer at the time. The usual entries for these training sessions show that they alternated between running or walking along with gym work or skipping. Occasionally players were treated to brine baths and even “ball practice – passing movements”.
An example of the training taken can be seen in an entry from August 1931 which shows the autographs of Ted Sagar
, Bill ‘Dixie’ Dean
, Warney Cresswell
, Cliff Britton
and 20 team-mates signing in for morning and afternoon training. The morning session consisted of a long walk along Queen’s Drive, through West Derby village, and then along the East Lancs Road and Walton Hall Avenue to Goodison Park.
Grant McDougall of Christie's
said:
Graham Budd of Sotheby's added:
And David Stoker of Liverpool
Records Office stated:
He insisted that all football fans have physical access to the collection in Liverpool
, or online access via a dedicated website.
The collection will be housed within the Liverpool Record Office in Liverpool
Central Library and is expected to be used in various displays associated with the city's new museum.
Presently, the collection is undergoing digitization which the Trust expects to take approximately one year to complete. After this process, the collection is expected to be available for viewing on a dedicated website, and items being on view at a museum within Everton new stadium, as well as various exhibitions throughout the city of Liverpool
.
In March 2009, it was announced that the digitization process was close to completion and that an updated website dedicated to the Collection would be available in September 2009 allowing the public to view the collection on-line.
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Overview
Dr David FranceDavid France
David Harry France is an author, football historian and philanthropist. Throughout the past decade, he has been the driving force behind numerous initiatives related to Everton Football Club including Gwladys Street’s Hall of Fame, the Everton Former-Players’ Foundation, the Founding Fathers of...
took over 25 years to assemble the collection from his home in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and includes rare programmes, season tickets, match tickets, medals, photographs, player contracts, cash books, handbooks, financial statements and other ephemera dating back to the 1880s, as well as the official club ledgers detailing the minutes of all board meetings between 1886 and 1964.
For health reasons, Dr France decided finally to part with his collection in 2002. Despite receiving numerous offers from private investors, his dream was to make the collection available to what he called The Everton Family, and sought to transfer his world-class archives to an independent Charitable Trust, at a heavily discounted price.
In September 2007, the Everton Charitable Trust announced that it had secured a grant from the UK Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
to obtain the collection, and it was finally transferred from Dr France to the Trust on 31 December 2007. Following this transfer, it was also announced that Everton F.C.
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
would donate their own collection of memorabilia, and that, collectively, it would be known as The Everton Collection.
Club ledgers
The collection boasts an unbroken sequence of 29 volumes from 1886 through to 1964. Prepared and signed by famous club chairmen, including John Houlding
John Houlding
John Houlding was an English businessman, most notable for being Lord Mayor of Liverpool, and the founder of Liverpool Football Club.-Biography:Houlding was self-made businessman in the city of Liverpool...
, George Mahon, Will Cuff
William C. Cuff
William Charles Cuff was an English football manager of Welsh descent who was in charge of Everton F.C. for over 500 games between 1901 and 1918.He was elected as Chairman of Everton F.C. on 13 June 1922.-External links:**...
and Sir John Moores, the ledgers provide the most complete documentation of the development of a professional football club.
Also, because Everton were one of the last professional clubs to appoint a manager, the Directors were responsible for all scouting appraisals, transfer negotiations and team selections during the first six decades, as well as documenting details of players’ wages, bonuses and benefits. The ledgers provide these details on a number of stars from the club’s history, including Nick Ross, Jack Southworth
Jack Southworth
John Southworth , was a footballer who played in the early days of professional football for Blackburn Rovers and Everton as well as being capped three times for England...
, Bert Freeman
Bert Freeman
Bertram Clewley Freeman was an English footballer who was one of the most prolific goal-scorers of his time, playing at centre forward for Woolwich Arsenal, Everton, Burnley and Wigan Borough...
, Dixie Dean
Dixie Dean
William Ralph Dean , better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean originally started his career with Birkenhead based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child, where he became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football...
, Warney Cresswell
Warney Cresswell
Warneford "Warney" Cresswell was an English professional footballer, who helped Everton win the Football League championship twice and the FA Cup. His ability and talents earned him the sobriquet "The Prince of Full Backs" and helped him win seven caps for England...
, Cliff Britton
Cliff Britton
Clifford Samuel Britton was a footballer and football manager. He was born 29 August 1909 in Hanham in Bristol and died 1 December 1975.-Playing career:...
, Joe Mercer
Joe Mercer
Joseph 'Joe' Mercer, OBE was an English football player and manager.-Playing career:Mercer was born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, the son of a former Nottingham Forest and Tranmere Rovers footballer, also named Joe. Joe Mercer senior died, following health problems resulting from a gas attack...
, Tommy Lawton
Tommy Lawton
Thomas "Tommy" Lawton was an English association footballer who rose to fame a short time before the outbreak of the Second World War and enjoyed a successful career which lasted until well into the 1950s....
and Alex Young
Alex Young (footballer)
Alex Young is a former Scottish footballer. He was a prolific goal-scorer in Everton's 1962-63 championship season.-Biography:...
.
However, the ledgers do not just deal with the club’s players; they also include important decisions on the overall running of the club. Some of the most notable events recorded, from the early history of the club, in the ledgers include:
- The founding of the Football LeagueThe Football LeagueThe Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
and the subsequent preparations for the inaugural season (Ledger A: 1886–1891) - The winning of the League Championship, as well as the awarding of the first ever League Championship medals (Ledger B: 1891–1892)
- The build up of the rent dispute and the departure from AnfieldAnfieldAnfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
to Goodison ParkGoodison ParkGoodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
, which subsequently led to the formation of Liverpool F.C.Liverpool F.C.Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
(Ledger 1: 1892–1898) - The first FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final to be hosted by a League club, as well as the annual selection of team colours – before Everton settled on royal blue shirts and white shorts in 1902 (Ledger 2: 1898–1903) - The first overseas tour by an English League club (Ledger 3: 1903–1905)
- The first FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
triumph by a MerseysideMerseysideMerseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
club (Ledger 4: 1905–1907)
There are also more recent historical events:
- Ground improvements to accommodate over 78,000 spectators at Goodison ParkGoodison ParkGoodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
; the installation of state-of-the-art floodlights and under-soil heating and the elimination of the maximum wage for professional footballers. (Ledger 24: 1956–1959) - The first participation of a MerseysideMerseysideMerseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
club in European competition, as well as initial preparations for five 1966 World Cup matches at Goodison ParkGoodison ParkGoodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
, including one of the semi-finals. (Ledger 25: 1959–1964)
Financial annals
In 1895, the amount of cash taken at the turnstiles at Goodison ParkGoodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
seemed to be much lower than what was expected from the attendance predictions of the club’s directors, and the local newspaper reporters. At the home match against Sunderland that year, the turnstiles were double-checked prior to kick off and were found to have been tampered with, ensuring that Everton had been defrauded of approximately 15% of the gate money actually taken.
Following the implication and arrest of 15 employees (including turnstile operators, equipment mechanics and groundsmen), Everton introduced meticulously detailed gate books as well as new turnstile equipment.
The collection includes two of these gate books, detailing receipts for each individual turnstile for every match played at Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
from 1907 to 1911 and 1916 to 1921. Each home fixture has a single page dedicated to it and every entry is signed by the turnstile operator and then verified by a club director.
The collection also includes two cash books, from 1892 to 1894 and from 1897 to 1900, providing details of all expenditure following the move to Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
and the initial construction work there.
Programmes
It is difficult to calculate the precise number of friendly matches Everton have been involved in during this time, however, experts have estimated that the collection features over 90% of all programmes involving Everton over this period, and is hailed as the most complete compilation of such archival material for any football club.
While the unbroken sequences of programmes is stunning, the actual condition of them is museum quality, with many in excellent condition considering their age.
The collection includes every Everton programme published in the inaugural 1888-9 League season. Another highlight is the 32 programmes from the pre-League era when Everton played at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
. The collection can also claim to include the earliest known programmes for a number of today’s top clubs, including Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
(then known as Newton Heath), Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
, Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
, West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
, Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
and Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
.
It is also thought to contain the earliest home programmes for Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
, Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
, Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
, Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
, Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
and Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
, as well as numerous programmes from the early European tours undertaken by the club during the 1930s.
The earliest programme in the collection is from a match Everton played against Astley Bridge on 4 September 1886 at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
, with the earliest away programme being when a local team called Stanley entertained Everton on 21 January 1888.
The David France Collection can also claim that it is possibly the biggest collection of Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
programmes held privately as Everton and Liverpool produced a joint programme between 1904 and 1935 — nearly a thousand programmes.
Season tickets
The colours of the member's ticket reflect those of the shirts worn for that season, and not only include first-team and reserve fixture lists for the season, but also some of the club officers including presidents, vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer and the first-team captain.
The earliest season ticket in the collection is for the 1881–82 season allowing the member, and his accompanying lady, to attend games at Stanley Park
Stanley Park, Liverpool
Stanley Park is a park in Liverpool, England, designed by Edward Kemp, which was opened on 14 May 1870 by the Mayor of Liverpool, Joseph Hubback. It is significant among Liverpool's parks on account of its layout and architecture. It has a grand terrace with expansive bedding schemes that were...
.
There is also a season ticket for the 1883–84 season, which was the only season that Everton played at Priory Road, before the landlord, Mr James Pruitt, insisted that they move.
Other season tickets included in the collection are from the first season at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
(1884–85), the inaugural League campaign (1888–89
1888-89 in English football
The 1888–1889 season was the 18th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:A new competition, The Football League, started this season...
) and the first League Championship winning season (1890–91
1890-91 in English football
The 1890–91 season was the 20th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Everton started the 1890–91 season in superb form with five straight victories, with Fred Geary scoring in each of the first six matches...
).
Match tickets
The collection includes hundreds of Everton tickets, not only of Cup Finals and Semifinals, but also less important matches.
When Everton were based at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
, they used the local public house, The Sandon, as their base which was owned by the club’s president at the time, John Houlding
John Houlding
John Houlding was an English businessman, most notable for being Lord Mayor of Liverpool, and the founder of Liverpool Football Club.-Biography:Houlding was self-made businessman in the city of Liverpool...
. When the building went through some renovation work in the mid-1990s, a box of old tickets were found. It is believed that a number of these are also included within the collection.
The earliest match ticket is from a game played on 1 May 1890, between Everton and Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
in aid of the Hospital Saturday Fund.
Medals
1986-87 in English football
The 1986–87 season was the 107th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The First Division championship went to Everton in their final season under the management of Howard Kendall before his departure to Athletic Bilbao. His side overcame a spate of injuries to fight off...
League Championship and the 1995 FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
.
The medals for major competitions won by the club include the first ever League Championship medal awarded to a number of players in 1890–91
1890-91 in English football
The 1890–91 season was the 20th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Everton started the 1890–91 season in superb form with five straight victories, with Fred Geary scoring in each of the first six matches...
, as well as medals for the League Championship winning seasons of 1914–15
1914-15 in English football
The 1914–15 season was the 44th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The 1914 Charity Shield was not contested due to suspension of football during World War I-Events:...
, 1927–28
1927-28 in English football
The 1927–28 season was the 53rd season of competitive football in England.-Events:This was the season in which Dixie Dean scored an astounding 60 goals in 39 league appearances for Everton – 58.8% of their seasons total .-Honours:...
, 1930–31
1930-31 in English football
The 1930–31 season was the 56th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Of note this season was Manchester United's record of the worst start in a major European league – they lost their first twelve games of the season and went on to be relegated....
, 1938–39
1938-39 in English football
The 1938–39 season was the 64th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour...
, 1962–63
1962-63 in English football
The 1962–63 season was the 83rd season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*Everton won the League Championship, their first post-war title.*Manchester United won the FA Cup, their first major trophy since the Munich Air Disaster in 1958....
and 1984–85
1984-85 in English football
The 1984–85 season was the 105th season of competitive football in England.-Bradford City disaster:56 spectators died and more than 200 were injured when a fire ripped through the Main Stand at Valley Parade during Bradford City's Third Division fixture with Lincoln City on 11 May...
; the 1906, 1933, 1966 and 1984 FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
winners medals plus a 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup medal.
Other medals included within the collection are those awarded for the Wartime Northern League Championship (1918–19), Division Two winners (1931–32), FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
runners-up medals (1897, 1907 and 1968), Milk Cup
League Cup
In association football, a League Cup or Secondary Cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament to be called "League Cup" was held in Scotland in 1946/47 and was entitled the Scottish...
runners-up (1984) plus a number of medals from minor competitions such as the Liverpool Senior Cup
Liverpool Senior Cup
The Liverpool County Football Association Senior Cup, commonly known as the Liverpool Senior Cup, is a football knockout tournament involving teams from the city of Liverpool, England and surrounding areas....
(1895, 1899, 1930 and 1934), the Lancashire Cup (1904, 1910 and 1940), Norfolk & Norwich Hospital Cup (1907) and the Blackpool Hospital Cup (1926 and 1927).
While almost all of the medals are gold, the collection includes a silver medal commemorating the 1924 victory over Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
at the Nou Camp Stadium
Camp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....
, when Everton won the Barcelona Cup.
While it is not a medal won with Everton, the collection includes Brian Labone’s
Brian Labone
Brian Leslie Labone was an English footballer who played for and captained Everton. A one-club man, Labone's professional career lasted from 1958 to 1971, during which he won the Football League championship twice and the FA Cup once...
bronze medal which was awarded when England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
finished third in the 1968 European Championship
1968 UEFA European Football Championship
-Semi-finals:-----Third place play-off:-Final:-Replay:-Top scorers:There were 7 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 1.75 goals per game.2 goals Dragan Džajić...
.
Team groups
The corridors of Goodison ParkGoodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
leading to the boardroom boast team photographs dating back to 1929–30. Copies were presented to members of the playing staff and coaching staff.
The collection compliments these souvenirs with a number of early team photographs.
Firstly, there is the earliest known team photograph taken in 1881, shortly after the club had changed its name from St. Domingo F.C.
The collection contains other rarities, such as one photograph taken of Everton's first League Championship-winning side. It was taken on the bowling green of the Sandon Hotel (the club's headquarters at the time) and is the only known photograph of the Everton team wearing their infamous ruby shirts with blue trim. The sepia-toned photograph featured the diminutive Fred Geary
Fred Geary
Fred Geary was an English professional footballer who played at centre forward for Everton in the 1890s, and made two appearances for England, scoring a hat-trick on his debut....
sandwiched between the 1891 League championship
1890-91 in English football
The 1890–91 season was the 20th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Everton started the 1890–91 season in superb form with five straight victories, with Fred Geary scoring in each of the first six matches...
trophy and the Liverpool Cup.
Candid photographs
One example shows the team boarding a Cambrian Airlines prop-plane for a 48-hour journey to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, in their tailored club suits, prior to the club’s tour there in May 1964.
Other examples include candid shots of the team on the coach which took them to Speke Airport en route to an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
fifth round tie at Roker Park
Roker Park
Roker Park was an English football stadium situated in Roker, Sunderland. The stadium was the home of the English football club Sunderland A.F.C. from 1897 to 1997 before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Near the end of the stadium's history, its capacity was around 22,500 with only a small...
in 1964, while another shows Ray Wilson, Alex Young, Sandy Brown
Sandy Brown (Scottish footballer)
Alex 'Sandy' Brown was born on 24 March 1939 in Grangemouth, Scotland. He was best known as an Everton player where he played from 1963 until 1971.- Career :...
and Derek Temple
Derek Temple
Derek William Temple is an English former footballer who played in the Football League as a forward for Everton and Preston North End in the Football League. He was capped once for England....
sitting in their first-class carriage at Lime Street train station prior to their leaving for the 1966 FA Cup Final
1966 FA Cup Final
The 1966 FA Cup Final was a football match played on 14 May 1966. It was contested by an Everton team that was the first team to reach an FA Cup Final without conceding in the preceding rounds and Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley....
.
Postcards and postal covers
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
finally allowed the message and address to be written on one side of a postcard and, thus, freed the other side of the postcard for the inclusion of a picture. As a result postcards increased substantially in popularity and became a cheap medium for the transmission of messages, until the advent of the telephone.
Local photographers often recorded interesting community events and then published them as postcards and the collection includes 20 postcards featuring Everton teams and players from the early 20th century, the majority of which show team photographs prior to important matches.
In the late 20th century, postal covers
Philatelic cover
A philatelic cover is an envelope or post card prepared with a stamp and address and sent through the mail delivery system for the purpose of creating a collectible item. Stamp collectors began to send mail to each other and to themselves early on, and philatelic mail is known from the late 19th...
were introduced as a means of commemorating special events or anniversaries. The David France Collection includes over 50 postal covers
Philatelic cover
A philatelic cover is an envelope or post card prepared with a stamp and address and sent through the mail delivery system for the purpose of creating a collectible item. Stamp collectors began to send mail to each other and to themselves early on, and philatelic mail is known from the late 19th...
(or first-day covers as they are sometimes known). Many of these postal covers
Philatelic cover
A philatelic cover is an envelope or post card prepared with a stamp and address and sent through the mail delivery system for the purpose of creating a collectible item. Stamp collectors began to send mail to each other and to themselves early on, and philatelic mail is known from the late 19th...
were autographed by the stars of the matches and issued as a numbered limited edition.
Cigarette cards
Football was one of the more popular subjects for illustrating cigarette cards. The collection includes all 312 cigarette cards ever known to be produced involving Everton between 1897 and 1939.The first Everton player to appear on a cigarette card was Harry Reay in a series published by Cohen Weenen in 1897, which was surprising given that he only made 2 first-team appearances for Everton during his career.
One of the most popular subjects of Everton cigarette cards was Bill ‘Dixie’ Dean
Dixie Dean
William Ralph Dean , better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean originally started his career with Birkenhead based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child, where he became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football...
who appeared on 28 different cards, which is believed to make him the most popular subject of football related cigarette cards ever.
Trade cards
In the mid-1950s bubble-gum cards were introduced and grew in popularity throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Nowadays, cards are produced along similar lines to the trading cards of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
in America.
The first Everton player to appear on a bubble-gum card was Dave Hickson
Dave Hickson
David "Dave" Hickson is an ex-football player, who played for Everton, Aston Villa, Huddersfield Town, Liverpool and Tranmere Rovers.-Club career:...
in 1956, and the most popular players on these cards were Alan Ball, Roy Vernon
Roy Vernon
Thomas Royston "Roy" Vernon was a Welsh international footballer who played for Blackburn Rovers, Everton and Stoke City.-Career:...
, Alex Young, Ray Wilson and Gordon West
Gordon West
Gordon West is an English former professional football goalkeeper.-Blackpool:He made his debut for Blackpool at the age of 17...
.
Player contracts
Prior to licensed football agents, football clubs had considerable power over the players and provided them with standard 12-month contracts.The collection includes 20 examples of standard contracts drafted by the Football League and used by Everton between 1890 and 1975.
Letters
The earliest letter in the collection dates back to 6 March 1888 in which the secretary of Aston Villa invited Everton to play a match at Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
later in the month in a hand-written letter.
While the letters shed some light on the transfers of Tony Kay
Tony Kay
Anthony Herbert Kay is a former English footballer who became notorious after being banned from the professional game for life following the British betting scandal of 1964....
, Dai Davies, Rod Belfitt and Alex Young, as well as many others, they were also used to comply with FA regulations in which teams had to provide their opponents with a list of all eligible players for FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
semi-finals and finals.
There are also letters from less affluent clubs with appeals for financial help. One of these was a proposal from Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town F.C.
Macclesfield Town Football Club is an English football team. The club was formed in 1874 and is based in the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire. The team play its home games at the 6,355 capacity Moss Rose stadium...
in which they state that they would be willing to act as a nursery club for Everton — though this was turned down by the Everton board at the time.
Autographs
The David France Collection includes hundreds of autographs from all eras of the club’s history; however, one of the more fascinating items is the Training Book from 1931. At this time, one of the rules was that players had to sign in for both morning and afternoon training. A red line was drawn across the page at the allotted time for the start of training and any players signing in after this time were usually fined by the club.However this book not only includes numerous autographs Everton players from that era, but also includes a description of the exercises specified by Harry Cooke
Harry Cooke
William Henry "Harry" Cooke, also known as Billy Cooke was an English professional footballer, best known as a player for Luton Town.-Career:...
, the Everton trainer at the time. The usual entries for these training sessions show that they alternated between running or walking along with gym work or skipping. Occasionally players were treated to brine baths and even “ball practice – passing movements”.
An example of the training taken can be seen in an entry from August 1931 which shows the autographs of Ted Sagar
Ted Sagar
Edward "Ted" Sagar played football for Everton and England.He was known as a fearless goalkeeper of great ability. He was quite light in an era when goalkeepers were barged into more often than today. He joined Everton as an apprentice in 1929 after playing for Thorne Colliery in Yorkshire and...
, Bill ‘Dixie’ Dean
Dixie Dean
William Ralph Dean , better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean originally started his career with Birkenhead based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child, where he became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football...
, Warney Cresswell
Warney Cresswell
Warneford "Warney" Cresswell was an English professional footballer, who helped Everton win the Football League championship twice and the FA Cup. His ability and talents earned him the sobriquet "The Prince of Full Backs" and helped him win seven caps for England...
, Cliff Britton
Cliff Britton
Clifford Samuel Britton was a footballer and football manager. He was born 29 August 1909 in Hanham in Bristol and died 1 December 1975.-Playing career:...
and 20 team-mates signing in for morning and afternoon training. The morning session consisted of a long walk along Queen’s Drive, through West Derby village, and then along the East Lancs Road and Walton Hall Avenue to Goodison Park.
Reaction to the collection
Everton Football Club supporters like to sing about their illustrious history, therefore it is not surprising that they have fully embraced The David France Collection. Feedback from memorabilia experts has been just as positive.Grant McDougall of Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
said:
It is the most comprehensive collection of memorabilia I’ve had the good fortune to catalogue. The official ledgers, rare programmes, unique season-tickets and magnificent medals are of interest to football enthusiasts of all ages and all persuasions. And there is so much more.
Graham Budd of Sotheby's added:
This collection has no match anywhere in the football world. It’s a unique record of Everton's history – possibly a history unparalleled by any other club. The collection offers a unique record of the evolution of British football and of the city of Liverpool.
And David Stoker of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
Records Office stated:
The ledgers and programmes are of significant historical importance. They tell the week-by-week story of Merseyside over the past 125 years.
Everton Collection Charitable Trust
Dr France claims that he was simply the guardian of Everton's history. It had always been his desire that the people of Merseyside have access to his treasures.He insisted that all football fans have physical access to the collection in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, or online access via a dedicated website.
The collection will be housed within the Liverpool Record Office in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
Central Library and is expected to be used in various displays associated with the city's new museum.
Presently, the collection is undergoing digitization which the Trust expects to take approximately one year to complete. After this process, the collection is expected to be available for viewing on a dedicated website, and items being on view at a museum within Everton new stadium, as well as various exhibitions throughout the city of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
In March 2009, it was announced that the digitization process was close to completion and that an updated website dedicated to the Collection would be available in September 2009 allowing the public to view the collection on-line.