Football fans keen for memorabilia collection to stay in city

Nov 20 2007 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

MORE than 10,000 items charting over a century of footballing history are on the brink of being sold, with a Liverpool solicitor overseeing the deal.

The collection, dating back to 1880, has been gathered together by Dr David France over a quarter of a century and is being sold at a fraction of its market value on condition that it is conserved as one collection in Liverpool and is made available to everyone.

Estimated in some quarters as worth in the region of £1.5m, a charitable trust has been set up to raise finance necessary to buy the collection, including a National Lottery grant.

Dr France, who is based in North America, said: “Many of the items are simply priceless. "I have been told by people who know about these things that my collection is invaluable in terms of the social history it records.

“Everyone involved in the transaction wants to make sure that the items will be made accessible to the public, preserved expertly, added to, digitised and put online.I see it as keeping something precious in the family, the Everton family.” Mace & Jones, Solicitors, has been overseeing the legal side of the deal and helping to find the right buyer. It has been a five-year labour of love for solicitor Norman Jones, who is an Everton fan.

Mr Jones said: “Many of the items in this collection are quite unique and it would be impossible to build up something like this again.”