Lesney Products
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Lesney Products
Lesney Products & Co. Ltd. was a British manufacturing company responsible for the conception, manufacture, and distribution of die-cast toys under the "Matchbox" name. The company existed from 1947 until 1982. History Lesney was founded on 19 January 1947 as an industrial die-casting company by Leslie Smith (6 March 1918 - 26 May 2005) and Rodney Smith (26 August 1917 - 20 July 2013). The name "Lesney" was an acronym from both partners' (which were not related by blood) names. They had been school friends and served together in the Royal Navy during World War II. Shortly after they founded the company, Rodney Smith introduced to his partner a man named John "Jack" Odell, an engineer he had met in a previous job at D.C.M.T. (another die-casting company). Mr. Odell initially rented a space in the Lesney building to make his own die-casting products, but he joined the company as a partner in that same year. Lesney originally started operations in a derelict pub in north London ( ...
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Matchbox (brand)
Matchbox is a popular toy brand which was introduced by Lesney Products in 1953, and is now owned by Mattel, Inc, which purchased the brand in 1997. The brand was given its name because the original die-cast "Matchbox" toys were sold in boxes similar to those in which matches were sold. The brand grew to encompass a broad range of toys, including larger scale die-cast models, plastic model kits, slot car racing, and action figures. During the 1980s, Matchbox began to switch to the more conventional plastic and cardboard "blister packs" that were used by other die-cast toy brands such as Hot Wheels. By the 2000s, the box style packaging was re-introduced for the collectors' market, such as the 35th Anniversary of Superfast series in 2004 and the 50th Anniversary of Superfast in 2019. Products currently marketed under the Matchbox name include scale model plastic and die-cast vehicles, and toy garages. History Early years: Lesney, the origin of the Matchbox name and the ''1-75 ...
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Gold State Coach
The Gold State Coach is an enclosed, eight-horse-drawn carriage used by the British Royal Family. Commissioned in 1760 by Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings for King George III, it was built in the London workshops of Samuel Butler. It was commissioned for £7,562 (£3.54 million = US$4.188 million in 2022, adjusted for inflation). It was completed in 1762. This coach has been used at the coronation of every British monarch since George IV. The coach's great age, weight, and lack of manoeuvrability have limited its use to grand state occasions such as coronations, royal weddings, and the jubilees of a monarch. Until the Second World War, the coach was the monarch's usual transport to and from Parliament at the State Opening. The coach is housed at the Royal Mews of Buckingham Palace. It is on view for the public. Description The coach weighs four tons and is long and high. It is gilded and features painted panels by Giovanni Battista Cipriani a ...
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Toy Companies Of The United Kingdom
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pets. Toys can provide utilitarian benefits, including physical exercise, cultural awareness, or academic education. Additionally, utilitarian objects, especially those which are no longer needed for their original purpose, can be used as toys. Examples include children building a fort with empty cereal boxes and tissue paper spools, or a toddler playing with a broken TV remote control. The term "toy" can also be used to refer to utilitarian objects purchased for enjoyment rather than need, or for expensive necessities for which a large fraction of the cost represents its ability to provide enjoyment to the owner, such as luxury cars, high-end motorcycles, gaming computers, and flagship smartphones. Playing with toys can be an enjoyable way o ...
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Benbros
Benbros (London) Ltd was a British toy company in existence from the late 1940s to 1965. The company was founded by two brothers, Jack and Nathan Benenson, the name, a contraction of "Benenson Brothers", was adopted in 1951 and the company was based at 145, Gosport Road, Walthamstow. Benbros produced: * Die cast metal model cars and farm machinery under the names of "Qualitoys" and "T.V. Series" that came packed in a box that looked like a television set that were later retitled "Mighty Midgets". * "Zebra Toys" that came in black and white striped boxes that were better quality models. * Hollow cast metal Robin Hood, cowboy and Indian figures and toy soldiers. Timpo Timpo Toys Ltd. was a British toy company created in 1938 by Salomon "Sally" Gawrylovitz (born in Frankfurt 1907, died September 28, 2000 in Zug, Switzerland), also known as Ally Gee. History A Jewish refugee from Germany, Gawrylovitz starte ... Toys sold several of their moulds to Benbros, which can lead to ...
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Collectible
A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms to denote those types. An antique is a collectable that is old. A curio is a small, usually fascinating or unusual item sought by collectors. A manufactured collectable is an item made specifically for people to collect.Danziger, Pamela (July 1, 1069)''Why People Buy Things They Don't Need: Understanding and Predicting Consumer Behavior'' Kaplan Publishing. The business of collectables Created to be collected A "manufactured" collectable (often referred to as a contemporary collectable) is an item made specifically for people to collect. Examples of items commonly sold as collectables include plates, figurines, bells, graphics, steins, and dolls. Some companies that produce manufactured collectables are members of The Gift and Coll ...
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Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels is an American brand of scale model cars introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel bought Tyco Toys, then owner of Matchbox. Many automobile manufacturers have since licensed Hot Wheels to make scale models of their cars, allowing the use of original design blueprints and detailing. Although Hot Wheels were originally intended to be for children and young adults, they have become popular with adult collectors, for whom limited edition models are now made available. History 1968 The original Hot Wheels were made by Elliot Handler. Handler discovered his son Kenneth playing with Matchbox cars and decided to create a line to compete with Matchbox. Hot Wheels were originally conceived by Handler to be more like " hot rod" (i.e. customized/modified or even caricaturized or fantasy cars,often with big rear tires, Superchargers, flame paint-jobs, outlandish proportions, hood blowers, etc.) cars, as c ...
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Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more than 150 countries. The company operates through three business segments: North America, International, and American Girl. It is the world's second largest toy maker in terms of revenue, after The Lego Group. Two of its historic and most valuable brands, Barbie and Hot Wheels, were respectively named the top global toy property and the top-selling global toy of the year for 2020 and 2021 by The NPD Group, a global information research company. The name of the company is a portmanteau of the names of two of the company's founders; the surname of Harold Matson and the first name of Elliot Handler. History Origins and early years Harold "Matt" Matson, Ruth Handler, and Elliot Handler founded Mattel as Mattel Creations in January 1945 in a ...
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Lledo
Lledo was a British manufacturing company founded in 1982 by Matchbox (brand), Matchbox co-founder Jack Odell, and Burt Russell, and based in Enfield, London, Enfield. The factory produced mainly die-cast toy, die-cast scale model model commercial vehicle, commercial vehicles, and also model car, cars, from 1983 to 1999, when the company went into bankruptcy. Models were later made in China. "Lledo" was a reversal of Odell's own surname, a mnemonic device from war days in the African desert so as not to forget his wireless call sign. History Days Gone Lledo set out to specialise in replicating early Matchbox series styles, particularly the Models of Yesteryear range. Odell and Russell bought machinery from the Universal company, which had purchased the Matchbox plant and shipped it to Macau. The tooling they purchased was re-shipped back to London Borough of Enfield, Enfield, England where in April 1983 the new Days Gone range was launched. The name is a nice continuation of Mat ...
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Meccano Ltd
Meccano Ltd was a British toy manufacturing company, established in 1908 by Frank Hornby in Liverpool, England, to manufacture and distribute Meccano and other model toys and kits created by the company. During the 1920s and 1930s it became the biggest toy manufacturer in the United Kingdom and produced three of the most popular lines of toys in the twentieth century: Meccano, Hornby Trains and Dinky Toys. Financial problems beset the company in the early 1960s and Meccano Ltd was taken over by Lines Bros Ltd in 1964. History :''See Frank Hornby for the events leading up to the formation of Meccano Ltd''. In 1901 Frank Hornby, a clerk from Liverpool, England, invented a new construction toy called "Mechanics Made Easy", which soon became known as Meccano. To manufacture and distribute Meccano, Hornby needed to raise capital to invest in factory and plant, and this resulted in the establishment of Meccano Ltd in 1908, with Hornby as the sole proprietor. A factory was acquired in ...
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Corgi Classics Limited
Corgi Classics Limited is a British die-cast scale model manufacturer established as an independent company in 1984, which has its origins in the Corgi Toys brand introduced by Mettoy in 1956. It is known for its British and North American vehicle models. Products currently manufactured and marketed by Corgi include die-cast scale model cars, airplanes, buses, and military. The Corgi Toys era: 1956–1995 "Corgi Toys" was launched in 1956 as a new range of die-cast toy model cars by Mettoy Playcraft LTD, the toy car company founded in 1936. These new toy cars were soon a huge hit because at the time they were the only toy cars on the market that included transparent plastic windows, they soon became known as "the ones with the windows". Although Corgi has had many model car competitors ranging from Dinky Toys to Lledo, its name is well known to this day. In its first year of trading Corgi sold 2.75 million cars, making it a clear leader of the British toy car industry ...
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Mettoy-Corgi
Corgi Toys (trademark) is the brand name of a range of die-cast toy vehicles created by Mettoy and currently owned by Hornby Railways, Hornby.Retail
on ''The Guardian''
The Mettoy ("Metal Toy") company was founded in 1933 by German people, German émigré Philip Ullmann in Northampton, England, where he was later joined by South African people, South African-born Germans in Africa, German Arthur Katz, who had previously worked for Ullmann at his toy company Tipp and Co of Nuremberg. After dabbling for some years in the model car market, they decided to produce a range of die-cast toy vehicles as competition to Meccano's Dinky Toy, Dinky model cars, which had dominated the British market for many years. "Corgi Toys" were introduced in the UK in July 1956 and were manufactured in Swansea, Wales, for 27 years before the company went ...
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Lesney Bus No34
Lesney Products & Co. Ltd. was a British manufacturing company responsible for the conception, manufacture, and distribution of die-cast toys under the "Matchbox" name. The company existed from 1947 until 1982. History Lesney was founded on 19 January 1947 as an industrial die-casting company by Leslie Smith (6 March 1918 - 26 May 2005) and Rodney Smith (26 August 1917 - 20 July 2013). The name "Lesney" was an acronym from both partners' (which were not related by blood) names. They had been school friends and served together in the Royal Navy during World War II. Shortly after they founded the company, Rodney Smith introduced to his partner a man named John "Jack" Odell, an engineer he had met in a previous job at D.C.M.T. (another die-casting company). Mr. Odell initially rented a space in the Lesney building to make his own die-casting products, but he joined the company as a partner in that same year. Lesney originally started operations in a derelict pub in north London ( ...
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