| The History of Fairport Convention | |
| Type: | compilation |
| Artist: | Fairport Convention |
| Cover: | FairportConventionHistory.jpg |
| Released: | 1972 |
| Recorded: | 1967–1972 |
| Genre: | British folk rock |
| Label: | Island ICD 4 |
| Producer: | Joe Boyd, Trevor Lucas, Simon Nicol, John Wood, Fairport Convention |
| Prev Title: | The Manor Album |
| Prev Year: | 1972 |
| Next Title: | Rosie |
| Next Year: | 1973 |
The History of Fairport Convention is the first compilation of tracks by Fairport Convention, released in 1972.
At the time it was released, it appeared that the band had folded. The cover had a "family tree" by Pete Frame on the front. Another unusual aspect of the album was that a piece of ribbon was glued to the sleeve, making it look as if a royal seal had been embossed on it. Different reissues had blue ribbons, or red or green. Later reissues of the album had no ribbon, but the central seal was shown in a larger size, and the family tree was missing.
One cassette version of the album had sides 1 and 2 in the same order on the "A" side, and side 3 and 4 on the "B" side. Another version had the tracks "Si Tu Dois Partir" and "The Hen's March Through The Midden / The Four Poster Bed" switched.
In 1988 a CD version was released. It omitted ""Crazy Man Michael" and "Medley". The family tree was not on the cover, but appeared on an insert. Although the album never reached the charts it was steadfastly in print.