David France Collection

Lore & Background

The David France Collection is renowned for its unbroken sequence of 29 official club ledgers from 1886 through 1964, often called The Everton Scriptures or The DNA of Everton. These ledgers chronicle minutes from over 5,000 meetings of the Management Committee and Board of Directors, providing details on player wages, bonuses, transfers, and team selections, as well as major events such as the founding of the Football League, the departure from Anfield to Goodison Park, the first FA Cup triumph by a Merseyside club, and the first overseas tour by an English League club. The ledgers also document ground improvements, the installation of floodlights and under-soil heating, the elimination of the maximum wage, and preparations for the 1966 World Cup matches at Goodison Park.

Reader's Guide

The David France Collection is significant as one of the most complete documentations of a professional football club's development, offering unparalleled insight into Everton's early history and operations. The collection includes over 6,000 programmes covering Everton matches from 1886 to 2002, including every programme from the inaugural 1888-89 League season and 32 programmes from the pre-League era at Anfield. It also contains two gate books detailing receipts for each turnstile at Goodison Park from 1907 to 1911 and 1916 to 1921, following a fraud incident in 1895 where turnstiles were tampered with, resulting in the arrest of 15 employees. The collection's 40 medals and hundreds of match tickets, including the earliest from 1890, further enrich the historical record. By transferring the collection to a Charitable Trust at a discounted price, Dr France ensured its preservation for the Everton Family, and the subsequent donation by Everton F.C. created a unified archive of the club's heritage.

Did You Know?

• The collection includes an unbroken sequence of 29 official club ledgers from 1886 through 1964, recording minutes from over 5,000 meetings.
• In 1895, turnstiles at Goodison Park were found to have been tampered with, defrauding Everton of about 15% of gate money, leading to the arrest of 15 employees.
• The earliest programme in the collection is from a match between Everton and Astley Bridge on 4 September 1886 at Anfield.
• The collection contains a consecutive run of 11 season tickets from 1881 through 1892, with the earliest from the 1881–82 season allowing a member and his accompanying lady to attend games at Stanley Park.