Lesney Products facts for kids
Former "Lesney Matchbox Toys" factory pictured in 2009
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| Industry | Toy |
|---|---|
| Fate | Company defunct, Matchbox brand remained after being acquired by Universal Toys |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Founder | Leslie Smith Rodney Smith |
| Defunct | 1982 |
| Headquarters |
United Kingdom
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|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
| Products | Die-cast cars, commercial vehicles |
| Brands | Matchbox |
Lesney Products & Co. Ltd. was a British company that made and sold popular die-cast toys. These toys were famous under the "Matchbox" name. The company operated from 1947 until 1982.
Contents
The Story of Lesney
Lesney was started on January 19, 1947. It was founded by two friends, Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith. They had known each other since school. The name "Lesney" came from combining parts of their names.
How Lesney Began
Leslie and Rodney had served together in the Royal Navy during World War II. After the war, they decided to start a company. They focused on "die-casting," which is a way to make metal parts by pouring melted metal into molds.
Rodney Smith soon introduced his partner to John "Jack" Odell. Jack was an engineer. He joined the company as a partner in the same year.
Early Locations and Products
Lesney first started in an old pub in north London. As the company grew, they moved several times. They finally settled in a factory in Hackney. This place became well-known for the company.
In late 1947, they received an order for parts for a toy gun. This showed them that making toys could be a good business. The next year, they started making die-cast model toys. Rodney Smith left the company in 1951.
The first toy they made in 1948 was a road roller. It looked like a larger "Dinky" model. Dinky was a leading toy car company at the time. This first toy showed that vehicles would be a popular theme for Lesney. Other vehicle toys followed, like a covered wagon and a soap-box racer.
Lesney also made non-toy items. One popular item was a fishing bait press. British anglers (people who fish) liked it a lot.
The Royal State Coach
A very important moment for Lesney was in 1953. This was the year Queen Elizabeth II was crowned. Lesney made a toy replica of the Royal State Coach. They made two sizes.
The smaller version of the coach was a huge success. It sold over a million units! The money from these sales helped Lesney invest in new projects.
The Birth of Matchbox Toys
The most important step before Matchbox was a toy designed by Jack Odell. He made a smaller version of the Lesney green and red road roller for his daughter, Annie.
There is a story that Annie's school only allowed toys that fit inside a matchbox. However, a book called "Matchbox Toys" says this isn't true. The book says Annie kept bringing spiders home in a matchbox. So, Odell promised to make her a toy that fit in a matchbox if she stopped bringing spiders home.
He made the tiny Road Roller. It became very popular at her school. This gave them the idea to sell the toy in a replica matchbox. This is how the famous "Matchbox" name was born!
The road roller became the first toy in the Matchbox 1-75 miniature range. A dump truck, a cement mixer, and a Massey Harris Tractor were also part of the first four models released.
Growth and Success
In the early years, Lesney worked with a company called "Moko" to sell their toys. The toy boxes even said "A Moko Lesney product." Later, Lesney bought Moko. From then on, they sold their toys under their own name.
This was a time of great growth and success for Lesney. In 1966, Lesney received their first "Queen's Award for Industry." By the mid-1960s, Matchbox was the biggest brand of die-cast model vehicles in the world. They had many different toy series.
The End of Lesney
On July 11, 1982, Lesney faced many problems. The economy in Britain was difficult. The company went bankrupt. Other toy companies like Mettoy (who made Corgi toys) and Meccano (who made Dinky toys) also had similar problems.
The Matchbox brand and Lesney's tools were bought by Universal Holdings/Universal Toys. The company was renamed "Matchbox International Ltd." The toy making then moved to Macau.
Jack Odell started a new company called Lledo. He made models similar to the early Matchbox Models of Yesteryear. Since 1997, the Matchbox brand has been owned by Mattel, the company that makes Hot Wheels. Some of the original tools from the Lesney era were still used for Matchbox toys as recently as 2007.
Other Lesney Toys
Even though Lesney is famous for Matchbox, the company made other toys too. These toys were made before and during the Matchbox era. They were not sold under the Matchbox name. Today, these toys are highly collectible.
Some of these toys include:
- Road Roller (1947) – later became Matchbox no. 1
- Cement Mixer (1948) – later became Matchbox no. 3
- Caterpillar Crawler (1948) – later became Matchbox no. 8
- Caterpillar Bulldozer (1948) – later became Matchbox no. 18
- Milk Float (1949) – later became Matchbox no. 7
- Soap-Box Racer (1949)
- Rag & Bone Cart (1949)
- Prime Mover & Trailer (1950)
- Jumbo the Elephant (1950) – a clockwork toy
- Muffin the Mule (1951) – a puppet toy based on a TV show
- Large Royal State Coach (1951 & 1952)
- Small Royal State Coach (1953) – the first big seller
- Massey-Harris Tractor (1954) – later became Matchbox no. 4
- Conestoga Covered Wagon (1954)
