Bibliographic Details:

Title: Collecting Matchbox Diecast Toys: The First Forty Years
Author: Kevin Mcgimpsey, Stewart Orr
Publisher: Major Productions Limited, Chester, England
Publication Date: 1989
Binding: Hardback 288 pages
Edition: 1st Edition
ISBN: 0951088513

Synopsis: Why the name Lesney? Why call a range of diecast models 'Matchbox'? How were the models made? These and many more questions are answered for every type of collector in this splendid book complied by a team of enthusiastic and knowledgeable collectors. The story of one of Britain's leading toymakers is recounted in grear detail from the very beginning when Leslie SmithO.B.E. and Jack OdellO.B.E. founded a firm of diecast engineers in 1947. Within a year they were producing diecast toys of a quality comparable with anything that has been produced since.
Divided into twelve chapters, the 288 pages supported by over 180 colour photographs and 69 black and white illustrations, discloses in depth the early influences on the ranges, the appearance of the first 'pocket money toy' in 1953, the origins of the Models of Yesteryear range in 1956 and the growth of the many other collectable series produced up to the present day.
The interest aroused by Matchbox toys eventually spurred on by nostalgic memories of the 1950s and early 1960s was sufficient to spark off a collecting craze which has, over the years, developed into one of the world's leading hobbies. Each generation, it seems, wants to collect the models remembered from their younger days. This situation continues with the majority of an estimated 100,000 Matchbox collectors purchasing the models being produced today.
The firm's enthralling history is recounted from its conception and its many years of success. The financial crisis which occured in the early 1980s forced Lesney to cease trading and it was only through the foresight of the Universal Company who had the vision to undertake a rescue operation and purchase the concern - that the ranges from the 1950s are in the main, still being made today.
Matchbox have made available for the first time hitherto unpublished information from their archives. The book draws on in-depth interviews from the model designers, tool makers and marketing managers that have been involved in the development and production of the countless Matchbox models made.
Stewart Orr and Kevin McGimpsey who are the Curators of the Chester Toy Museum which houses the Matchbox Collection have compiled what will be regarded as being the most comprehensive and interesting book of its kind.
This book distils pure unashamed nostalgia as well as being a mine of information and an essential reference for 'children of all ages' whether they began collecting Matchbox in 1948 or are just about to join the thousands of Matchbox collectors around the world.

Review: For a wonderful story describing how a World renowned company grew from humble beginnings.. this book has it. And with that story is the pictorial evidence, glimpses into all that was Matchbox. One doesn't actually need to be into Matchbox Toys to find the story inspiring.For those that are you will find this book reacquaints you with all your old favourites, pieces of your childhood and fodder for your collecting if you still have the bug.

This book is a comprehensive reference source.. Little or nothing is left out. The texts and photos are beautifully presented and great efforts have been made to give the reader the Full Monty re Matchbox from its inception through its pomp to its demise as a Lesney brand and the story thereafter. It illustrates that, no matter how good things are things change, tastes change, technology forges ahead and the World turns. It was ever thus. This book preserves in aspic the essence of an era through the small world of diecast toys.