Another visit to the 1877 Homestead site and we found an amazing, made in England, toy truck in 1956. Lesney Toys, of Hackney Marshes in the UK, were the original creator of the "Matchbox" car. Owner Jack Odell's daughter wanted a toy to bring to school in post WWII England and the school staff had passed a rule restricting toy sizes to those that would fit inside of a matchbox since resources, especially metals, were in high demand after the war. This little truck is model 17a - a very early model that began production in 1954.
Lesney Toys sold the "Matchbox" line to Universal Toy Company in 1982, who moved the production process to China. The "Matchbox" has since been sold to Tyco Toys, and then in 1997 to Mattel Toys who owns it today.
What an interesting story this little truck could tell if it could talk? The Lesney Toy company is 3844 miles away from the location it was dug up from. This little toy was made in 1956, and most likely has been in the ground for 68 years!
31 дек 2023
