The oldest known Royals programme is to be housed in the Reading Football Club exhibition at the town's museum from this week.

Opening in February, the 'COLLECTED: 150 years of Reading FC' exhibition has drawn hundreds of Royals supporters into the attraction to mark the football club's anniversary.

Now entering its final run, with a closing date of August 13, a new set of artefacts have been included.

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As well as a new Robin Friday cabinet, celebrating the club's iconic forward from the 1970s, a programme from 1894 is to be on display from July 19.

Pre-dating the club's professionalism in 1895, the club were playing at Christchurch Meadows, Caversham, and on the day lost 4-1 to 1881 FA Cup winners Old Carthusians.

A fixture in the maiden FA Amateur Cup, which the Old Carthusians went on to win, it was just weeks after the clubs historic heaviest defeat- 18-0 to Preston North End.

Reading Chronicle:

Owned by Keith Moulden, who has kindly donated many of his heirlooms to the exhibit, the life-long supporter 'struck lucky' when he found it with Sotheby's.

Speaking to the Reading Chronicle, he explained: "I found out completely by accident. I have brought things at Sotheby’s before, and they sent me an email to say there was a sale. I must’ve struck lucky because nobody else spotted it or saw the significance in it, so the price was quite favourable. I knew the previous owner, who had it for 40/50 years. It is in very frail condition. It’s a folded sheet in three pieces held within two panes of glass so you can see both sides. The museum is hopeful that they can restore it. It’s readable but it has slipped in the glass, so it is slightly out of sync.

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"Most people would think Reading would walk over Old Carthusians but at the time in 1894 they were one of the top teams in England. They had four England internationals playing, winning 4-1. The match was played on February 17, 1894, the second round of the Amateur Cup. Nobody has found an older Reading programme, it even pre-dates Elm Park, with the game played in Caversham. To the left-hand side of the line-ups, it shows the fixture list for 1893/94 and three weeks before this match Reading lost 18-0 to Preston, the club’s worst ever defeat."

Reading Chronicle:

Charting the club's journey through the decades, only three weeks remain if you are yet to visit.

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