A letter dated September 13th 1895 on Aston Villa F.C. headed paper signed by William Shillcock relating to the reward offered for the recovery of the F.A.Cup, the contents are as follows:

細節

A letter dated September 13th 1895 on Aston Villa F.C. headed paper signed by William Shillcock relating to the reward offered for the recovery of the F.A.Cup, the contents are as follows:
Dear Sir, Your Club have my full consent & permission to offer any reward not exceeding ( 50) fifty pounds or to take any steps you may deem necessary for the recovery of the English Cup. I agree that such actions shall not relieve me of any responsibilities incurred in my exisiting guarantee for safety and return of the English Cup, W. Shillcock.

拍品專文

The above letter is not in the handwriting of W. Shillcock but would appear to have been written by the Aston Villa secretary George B.Ramsay (see following lot) and relates to the original F.A.Cup which was stolen from Shillcock's shop at 73 Newton Row, Birmingham on 11th September 1895. Interestingly, at the time the reward for the recovery of the 'little tin idol' was advertised as (10 and not up to the figure of 50 as suggested in this letter. The original Cup was made by Mawrtin Hall & Company in 1872 at a cost of (20 and stood 18in. tall. It was competed for twenty-four seasons (1872-95) and a replica was made which was in use until 1911 when Lord A.F. Kinnaird was presented with the trophy in appreciation of his services to The Football Association. The original trophy was never recovered.