Football Programmes Centre

Auchinleckian · Forum Moderator Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 4352

I have 26 letters from the SFA to referee Davie Weir from Glasgow, dating from 1954 to 1963. The 1954 one gives advice on players wearing spectacles! There's also 7 receipts from them for fees he's paid as part of his being licensed to referee in the Scottish Football League. There's also one envelope from Ayr Utd in with it. 34 pieces of one off memorabilia, £15 the lot.

holtie96 · Joined: 30 May 2009 Posts: 2319

Payment sent John, cheers holtie

Auchinleckian · Forum Moderator Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 4352

Andy, I've found another couple of letters and 6 SFA headed envelopes in another box, I'll put them in with it. PM me your address Steve.

kcs · Joined: 29 Dec 2008 Posts: 1655 Location: Ashford, Kent

Any Leeds homes pre 54/55 John?
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Auchinleckian · Forum Moderator Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 4352

If only...lot of wartime and 40's turning up at auction nowadays.

kcs · Joined: 29 Dec 2008 Posts: 1655 Location: Ashford, Kent

I keep watching and hoping for a lottery win to start competing at the auctions.

In one sense it's good that the prices are still high as the programmes I do have from this era will be a nice collection to have in the future.....

However, it's not growing very fast!!

Why do you think they are coming up more often nowadays John?
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Auchinleckian · Forum Moderator Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 4352

Mick...and availability.

sharrowblade · Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 6:42 pm Post subject: Re: Leeds

Auchinleckian wrote:

Mick...and availability.

Really?

kcs · Joined: 29 Dec 2008 Posts: 1655 Location: Ashford, Kent

Sorry John, think you mis-understood what I was asking (either that or I have misunderstood your answer)....... Why are they suddenly becoming available at auction?
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Auchinleckian · Forum Moderator Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 4352

No idea why so many have become available, but they're more profuse now than ever before. It's some of the non specialist houses as well that are getting them. Can't think that this would be a deliberate ploy by any collector who was looking to get maximum publicity from them as they'd get from the likes of Sportingold?
'tis a pity they're probably all ending up at the same place though, but he is a class act...

sharrowblade · Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:39 pm Post subject:

If there are more 'run of the mill' Leeds programmes from this era becoming available, then why are the prices remaining so ludicrously high?

Auchinleckian · Forum Moderator Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 4352

I don't think they're run of the mill, and that's why they're attracting really good prices. Pre war, wartime, 1940's aren't exactly abundant Leeds homes. Coupled with reserves from the early 50's that you never see, and the rare friendlies and WRSC matches and there's huge interest.

Rocky · Joined: 15 Jun 2009 Posts: 1536

Here's a few examples of Leeds issues and what they raised at a recent auction in Middlesbrough

HAARLEM v LEEDS 1956/57 – Scarce four page sheet for Leeds friendly played in Holland. Fold & minor edge tear. £490

DE ZWALUWEN v LEEDS 1956/57 – Sought after programme for Leeds friendly played in Holland. £590

LEEDS LEAGUE HOMES 1950s – Small collection inc: Port Vale, Notts C, Blackburn 1954/55, Cardiff 55/56, 56/57 & 57/58. Plus Chelsea v Leeds 56/57. Some scores to centre (7) £86

BRADFORD C v LEEDS W. RIDING SENIOR CUP FINAL 1957/58 – Single sheet for W. Riding Senior Cup Final at Valley Parade. Plus Bradford City Res v Grantham ML 1956/57. Mild creasing. £200

sharrowblade · Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 12:45 am Post subject:

John, I know what you're saying but you've already admitted that there is a lot of Leeds turning up nowadays at auction.
There have been a lot of Leeds late 40s and early 50s over the last 12 months, going for silly money.

The auction houses are currently falling over themselves to get a collection of Leeds for their auctions.

Yes, Rocky reserves and minor competitions will always fetch more as serious collectors will look to expand, but that doesn't explain why ordinary Leeds league games at auction are going for so much.

For example, I was at Stevenage earlier this year, 3 Leeds Aways, 49/50 Southampton, Preston & Sheff United. £240 plus commission. Basically £94 each, why?

Who is the one source you refer to, and why is he a class act?

Auchinleckian · Forum Moderator Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 4352

Mick Hewitt was who I was referring to. He's run the Leeds and Pudsey Fairs for donkeys years. He has a huge following at Leeds because he does current season subscriptions, he also runs supporters buses to away games (I believe) and has therefore nurtured probably a generation of collectors. When I have a stall at the Pudsey fair, like everyone else, we just wait while the initial stampede is over as everyone zooms in on Mick - it's surreal. When you have that kind of market, who will buy anything and everything relating to Leeds, it's hardly surprising that when the rarer stuff comes up that there's more than just Mick and someone else bidding for it.
Without blowing my own trumpet, when I took over the club shop at Grimsby in 1986 with my old colleagues Ron and Sid, to sell football programmes we did exactly the same. We also sold pre war Town, both their semi finals at very reasonable prices.
We religiously checked "wants lists" at one time wiping over 150 programmes off one collectors list for him. The people that bought those still collect and Grimsby are another club who's pre war, early 40's, and the wonderful Orange Mariner" of the mid 50's still command very good prices.

sharrowblade · Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 1:58 am Post subject:

Yes John, but when one source has a near monopoly in any walk of life, ....it is not a healthy situation.

Basic league programmes are being shovelled up by one source and the prices are being kept high. The question I'm asking is 'why'.

If you were an average Leeds collector, would you be happy with this scenario? (unless of course you were sat on a large collection of 40s & 50s).

The average collector with an average budget is being priced out and if it continues like this they will pack in collecting because as we know many collectors can become quickly dis-heartened.

Molineux Phil · Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Posts: 823 Location: liverpool

I found Mick Hewitt very helpfull he obtained for me one of the few Blackburn progs i had great trouble obtaining from the 59/60 season Blackburn v Leeds ,was looking for this for ages and had almost given up on it but Hewitt sorted it out for me ,if you are looking for any "rare" Leeds H & A Micks your man.

Tynie Topics · Joined: 26 Nov 2009 Posts: 3573

Is it perhaps people looking at the so called “alternative investment market”?

I have certainly noticed a shift upwards in prices for the harder Scotland away programmes on ebay, for example Sweden v Scotland 1975, comes up now and again but not super rare, went for £270 last week when any experienced Scotland collector would have put it in the £40-60 bracket. Same with USSR v Scotland 1971, again normally in the £40-60 bracket but went for £104. A France v Scotland issue from 1984 was up for sale (not on ebay) and the seller was offered £150 for it, the last one on ebay about 9-12 months ago went for £30.

I have also noticed a jump in price of harder Hearts 1940’s/1950’s issues.

Those are only a few recent examples and it may just be down to a handful of collectors fighting it out for stuff they need, but are prices also being affected by the type of people who see programmes solely as an investment, just as they may invest in fine wine or silver or other alternatives to the stock market which have a good recent track record of returning an investment?

Whilst prices for so-called run-of-the-mill items appear depressed, prices for rarer/finer programmes appear to be bucking the trend, in my eyes anyway.

Anyone else noticed sudden shifts in prices?
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Auchinleckian · Forum Moderator Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 4352

sharrowblade wrote:

Yes John, but when one source has a near monopoly in any walk of life, ....it is not a healthy situation.

Basic league programmes are being shovelled up by one source and the prices are being kept high. The question I'm asking is 'why'.

If you were an average Leeds collector, would you be happy with this scenario? (unless of course you were sat on a large collection of 40s & 50s).

The average collector with an average budget is being priced out and if it continues like this they will pack in collecting because as we know many collectors can become quickly dis-heartened.

Can see where you're coming from with the disillusionment angle, but don't forget it's only at fairs. If people put the same kind of leg work that Mick and others have put in over the years, through all avenues there will be tangible results.
About 10 years back I put an ad in a new forum website to buy programmes, and never heard anything until a guy emailed me one day saying he'd seen my advert and he had some Leeds programmes from 1952-3 to 54-5, about 40 in total. Did I want them? We agreed a reasonable price and I managed to get a decent Leeds addition to my stock.
They all ended up with Mick though as he offered some cracking Scottish 1950's rarities in exchange. Result, both happy bunnies.