London has always been known for its association with football. Islington is the home of one of London’s greatest football clubs, Arsenal. The club was founded in 1886 and over the course of its history, they have gone on to win a number of titles and gained worldwide prestige. Originally Arsenal was based in Woolwich, but in 1913 the club built a new stadium in Highbury and they moved to Islington.
The museum holds a fine collection of objects related to Arsenal and some of these are showcased in their permanent gallery. The objects vary from photographs, match programmes, shirts, medals and flags. These have come from the fans and club, and they provide a good insight into the experiences of fans as well as some of the club’s most interesting matches and greatest achievements.
I’m Fatima and I am a student at the University of Westminster. For one of my modules, I have been volunteering at the museum. During my time here, I have been working with the museum’s Arsenal FC collection. My tasks involved locating the collection’s objects and updating information about the collection in the museum’s Adlib database. Working on this particular project was very interesting, because I learnt about the risks associated with museum objects and the way to handle them properly.
To explore the museum’s database yourself, why not follow this link? http://islington.adlibhosting.com/?extra=9
Here are 3 objects I found interesting from the Arsenal FC collection (either on display or in store):
- Object Number: 1999.67
- Object: Photograph
- Object Description: This is a photograph of one of Arsenal’s football players – Ted Drake. Ted Drake joined Arsenal in March 1934 and he went on to play 167 games for the club. During his time at Arsenal he helped his team win 3 titles and this included two league divisions and one FA cup.
- Object Number: 2005.22
- Object: Match Programme
- Object Description: This is the official programme of Arsenal’s match against Manchester United in 1933. The game was played on 17th May and its kick off was at 7:45 pm. The cover depicts one of Arsenal’s football players – David O’Leary. This is because it was his final match for Arsenal.
- Object Number: 1999.71
- Object: Scrapbook
- Object Description: This is a scrapbook of Arsenal’s 1948-49 season. It was compiled by fan Harry Trigg. Harry was a commentator at the time and his scrapbook includes a signed team photograph.
Here are some images of objects from the Arsenal FC collection:
Friends of Islington Museum 