An extraordinary collection of rare postcards showing female football players has been found ahead of International Women’s Day. The stunning images have never been seen together before.
They are now on display at a special exhibition. Some of them date as far back as 1895. They provide a brilliant snapshot of the success of women’s football until it was controversially banned in 1921.

The historian who finally managed to put the full set together said he was delighted to have secured the postcards before Saturday – 8th March which is International Women’s Day. Steve Bolton said: ‘The original women’s football postcards really are a unique piece of history and it is astonishing that they have survived over 100 years.

Most of my collection has been acquired from eBay, with a few items from specialist sports auctions and a few very, very kind donations.’ Steve, 60, a teacher, is a passionate collector of early women’s football memorabilia, with match programmes going back to 1921 and postcards going back to 1895. He spends hours on eBay searching for the hidden gems.

He said: ‘Rare male football postcards can go for a great deal of money, whereas it is still possible to find bargains depicting women footballers, if you know what to look for. But the market is growing – I managed to pick up a rare 1925 French team postcard for a three figure sum, only to see 10p pencilled on the back. It must have once been in a shoebox at a collectors fair, for the price of ten pence!’

Steve became a historian after discovering his grandmother, Lizzy Ashcroft, was one of the great players of the 1920s. He was just a child when Lizzy died, aged 68, in 1973. Steve said: ‘In a way I’m an accidental historian. I simply started off trying to find out when my granny’s first and last games were and somehow have now ended up with over 100 folders of research.’

The postcards are on display at Valence House Museum, Dagenham, east London. On Saturday Steve is giving a talk on International Women’s Day at the museum and showing the short film Granny, about his grandmother. Penny Ryder, the actress who actually starred in the film, will be attending.