Charles Buchan's Soccer Gift Book
From a Buyers and sellers point of view......
The 1963 edition debuted without a dust jacket and featured laminated boards for the first time. This process eradicated the major foxing, which resulted in brown stains on the end papers of previous editions with dust jackets. But the cost savings of using poor-quality paper for the pages on the same editions resulted in foxing on all the edges of pages in the 1963 and a few future editions. The correction of foxing issues using matte paper began with the 1966 editions onwards. Then the curse strikes again; from the 1967 edition until the last edition in 1974, the colour photo on the laminated cover was very dark and could have been at least 25% brighter. It was not the photographer at fault here, but the printing process. The series appears to have been plagued from the very first edition due to the incorrect printing of the title on the spine (upside down), both on the red boards, and on the dust jacket.
Please keep in mind that the above applies to both collectors and sellers of the series. The condition of editions for sale and resale is a crucial factor. We recognise that the annual and football monthly publications held a superior position in the production of football annuals and magazines at the time.
Foxing
Documents, maps, art prints, and watercolor paintings can all suffer from foxing, a mold spore-induced reaction to moisture. It can appear as brown spots, rusty stains, or discolouration. Poor-quality fibre in modern papers can contribute to condition problems. Impurities in the pulp and water used to make the paper can also contribute to foxing.
