SCARCE: The Northern Football Annual 1876, For Lancashire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Warwickshire, Westmoreland etc., edited by

SCARCE: The Northern Football Annual 1876, For Lancashire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Warwickshire, Westmoreland etc., edited by the author of ''Football In The North'', contents including a preface, The Rugby Game by Ernest E. Marriott, The Forthcoming Season of 1876-77 by the Editor, The Association Game by ''Verona'', The Sheffield Association, The Rugby Football Union, Principal Matches Played in the North during the Season 1875-76, List of Secretaries' Names & Addresses, List of about 450 Noted Players with one-line summaries of their playing style etc., printed by E. Hulton & Co., Manchester, 1876, rebound by R. Riviere & Son Ltd, with original paper wrappers preserved, for Henry Sotheran Ltd., London This extremely scarce annual was the first to focus on football in the North of England - with football at this time meaning equally the Association and Rugby Union games. Its scarcity means that it is not recorded in John M. Jenkins authoritative work A Rugby Compendium, published by The British Library, 1998; or Peter Seddon's A Football Compendium, published by The British Library, 1999. The only earlier football annuals are the seldom seen John Lilywhite's Football Annual, edited by C.W. Alcock, published in London in 1868, with this single issue then being continued by The Football Annual, edited by Alcock, and first published in London in 1869. Whilst north of the border the Scottish Football Association produced their first annual in 1875-76. The content of Alcock's annuals tended to be south-centric and focusing on the Public Schools. It seems certain that as a response to this, a rival publication was launched in Manchester in 1876 focusing on the already heavily evolved football scene in the north of England. In The Northern Football Annual's preface it is stated ''Considering the number and importance of Football organisations throughout the Northern, as distinct from the Southern, Counties, it seems strange that our task has not long ago been anticipated ... It gives us great pleasure to lay before the Football players of the North of England the first issue of an Annual devoted to their favourite sport, and which we believe will be a compendium of the utmost value to those whose interest in the game is not bounded by the limits of the particular club to which they belong.'' Despite its good intentions, perhaps it was not a commercial success and abandoned after the inaugural publication. This would certainly go a long way to explaining the scarcity of The Northern Football Annual.