
Matchbox toys were ubiquitous items for children across the Western world. Originally labeled Christmas-cracker trash by retailers and shopkeepers, the small-scale 1-75 series soon began to see unprecedented worldwide sales in the 1950s. Smaller and cheaper than most of its...

Lesney Products was formed in 1947 to make zinc castings, mainly for the building industry; toys were a sideline when business happened to be slow. To cash in on the upcoming 1953 Coronation of Princess Elizabeth they decided to model a miniature of the Coronation Coach. When...