The football programme - John Litster

Football today bears little resemblance to the early days of centre partings, laced footballs, muddy fields and cloth-capped spectators, but throughout the thirteen decades of the game football fans have purchased matchday programmes. Of course there has been a marked evolution from the simple teamsheet designed to identify the players through to the modern glossy magazine, but the desire of the football fans to be informed and, latterly, entertained has remained. As well as a detailed history of their development, this book incorporates a comprehensive guide to the hobby of collecting programmes - where to buy, what to look for and how to look after them once you have them. Particular attention is paid to some of the rarest, most unusual and significant programmes - such as the 1915 Old Trafford FA Cup final programme, a copy of which recently fetched 11,500 at auction. Written by John Litster, the editor of Britain's specialist programme collectors' magazine and an acknowledged expert on the subject, The Football Programme includes illustrations of over 150 famous examples and presents the history of these evocative artefacts that are objects of desire for many thousands of collectors around the country.