Programmes
Part One - Pre-War
In common with a number of other Scottish clubs, Falkirk's first ever home programme was issued on 10th August 1929. That particular day Falkirk entertained Aberdeen. Amongst the clubs thought to have started issuing for the first time that day were Celtic, Kilmarnock and St.Bernard's, alongside others. These programmes however, are not now considered 'Official', having been printed by an independent company, although they all clearly had the words 'Official Programme' printed boldly on the front cover, presumably with the blessing of the clubs. Prior to this, programmes in Scotland had been published irregularly, with a few exceptions, such as Heart of Midlothian who first started their own regular programme in 1924. We also know that Hibernian issued as far back as 1925. Other clubs issued occasionally for the important cup match here and there and the SFA issued for Finals (earliest known 1924) and Internationals.
Falkirk's issue that day was a 12 page programme costing twopence (2d) and was published by the Scottish Advertising Co. of Edinburgh. Later, the price was reduced to one penny and the issue trimmed to 8 pages, but the format remained the same for the next eleven seasons, despite a change of publisher around 1935, before production was halted for the duration of the war at the end of 1939-40 season. The issue shown to the left is from the 1934-35 season for the match versus Heart of Midlothian and is a typical example of the programmes from this era.