Hull FC Gift Ideas: Derby Prints for Black and White Fans

Ask someone in Hull who they support and the answer usually tells you which side of the River Hull they grew up on. West is Hull FC, the Airlie Birds, black and white. East is Hull KR, the Robins, red and white. It is one of the oldest arguments in English rugby league and it does not stop when the season does.

We have been drawing it. There is now a small set of Hull rugby league prints in the studio, most of them about the derby rather than the badge, and all of them fixed designs rather than personalised ones. Here is what each one is, what it costs, and who it suits.

Same city, different standards

The Hull FC vs Hull KR Map Print is the one we would hand to someone who wants the rivalry on the wall without picking a fight about it. It is drawn in the style of an old illustrated map, with the city split along the River Hull and each side given its club, its ground and its landmarks. The MKM Stadium sits west, Craven Park sits east, and North Bridge, Scale Lane Footbridge, Drypool Bridge and Myton Bridge are all marked in between.

"Old Faithful, In Any Kind of Weather" sits on one side, "Here Be Robins" on the other, and "Same City. Different Standards." holds the whole thing together. It reads as a map first and a joke second, which is why it works in a hallway.

A field guide to two Hull birds

The Hull Birdwatcher's Guide Print files the same rivalry under natural history. The Airlie Bird, commonly found west of the River Hull. The Robin, commonly found east of it. Aged cream background, proper botanical detail, and a run of small digs underneath that only a Hull rugby fan will catch first time.

Buy this one for the fan who reads the programme cover to cover. The joke is slow rather than loud, so it holds up on a wall you walk past every day.

Good Friday, 2016, and a scoreline nobody has let go of

On 25 March 2016 Hull KR led the derby 20-0. With 59 minutes gone that lead was still there. Hull FC won the game 22-20. Ten years on, black and white supporters have not stopped mentioning it.

We have two prints about that afternoon. The first is the 20-0 derby print, which puts the crossed-out lead, the 59 minute mark and the final score on a black, cream and red design. Fair warning, the headline is a swear word printed in full. That makes it a games room or home bar present rather than something for the in-laws.

The second is A Tale of Two Birds, which tells the same story as a storybook page, with the two birds as characters and "One went 20-0 up" as the opening line. Same punchline, one asterisk, far more room to hang it where visitors can see it.

Anatomy of a derby day

The Anatomy of a Hull Derby Print is a percentage breakdown of what derby day is actually made of. Rugby gets a share. So do panic, abusing the opposition, questionable refereeing decisions and very selective memories of what happened. It finishes on "100% Old Faithful" and "In Any Kind of Weather".

It is drawn as a bold vintage infographic, so it suits an office wall where a full-blown derby print would be too much. Of the six, it is the one that makes people stop and read.

Back to back, 2016 and 2017

Not everything here is about the other lot. The Hull FC Back to Back Print is about two summers at Wembley and consecutive Challenge Cup wins in 2016 and 2017. Black, white and gold, the cup itself, the two years, and a line noting that winning it twice in a row is not for everyone.

This is the safest present of the set. No swearing, no dig at anyone, and it marks something that happened rather than something that went wrong for somebody else. Good choice for a dad or a grandad when you are unsure how much banter is welcome.

The stadium itself, day or night

For someone who wants the ground rather than the rivalry, the MKM Stadium Hull FC Rugby Print is an illustration of the pitch, the goalposts and the stands. You pick a version at checkout, a bright daytime design or a night-time one with a deep blue sky and the roof lit up. That is the only choice to make on any print in this guide.

Sizes, frames and what they cost

Every print here carries the same price ladder:

• A5: £10 print only, £14 framed in white or black, £15 in grey. A5 has no mounted option at all.

• A4: £15 print only, £20 framed in white or black, £21 in grey. Add a mount and it is £22, or £23 in grey.

• A3: £18 print only, £28 framed in white or black, £30 in grey. With a mount, £30, or £32 in grey.

Grey costs a pound more than white or black at A5 and A4, and two pounds more at A3. If you are torn on size, there is more on the trade-offs in our guide to what size print to buy.

The frames are solid wood, made in the UK, in black, white or grey only. The front is 1.2mm acrylic rather than glass, which is why they survive the post and why they are sensible above a desk or a bed. You can see how they are put together on our frames page.

Before you order

Everything is printed and framed to order in our studio in Hessle, HU13. Lee and Sam make them, so if something is wrong when it lands, you are talking to the two people who made it.

One useful difference with these. Most of what we sell is personalised, which means it cannot be returned for a change of mind. These derby designs are fixed, so there is nothing to spell wrong, and our standard 30 day returns window applies as long as the print comes back unused and in its original packaging.

Where to start

For the rivalry, start with the map print or the birdwatcher guide. For the 2016 comeback, pick how blunt you want to be. For something everyone in the family can look at, the Back to Back print is the answer.

All of them sit in our sports collection, alongside the personalised football prints, and most of them end up in gifts for him around Christmas and Father's Day. If they follow the football rather than the rugby, we have a separate guide to Hull City gift ideas, and one on personalised gifts made in Hull if you want to read about the studio first.