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Play set:Walt Disney Matchbox Playcase

Lesney Products Co.1979

The Strong National Museum of Play

The Strong National Museum of Play
Rochester , United States

Upon their discharge from the Royal Navy after World War II, Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith teamed up to begin their own diecast company producing industrial parts. Because the parts business was only seasonally profitable, the firm--called Lesney from a combination of the partners' names--manufactured toys in the last months of the year. Lesney's engineer, Jack O'Dell lent his daughter one of the small vehicles to take to school. O'Dell placed the miniature road roller in a matchbox for safekeeping, thus supplying the name for a line of tiny but well-detailed cars, trucks, and carts that grew in popularity with each passing year. In the 1950s and 1960s, Lesney expanded the markets for its toys into the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company, however, was ill-prepared to compete with the racy Hot Wheels Mattel introduced in the late 1960s. Matchbox converted all of its vehicles to "superfast" models in 1972 and 1973 to keep pace with Mattel's popular miniatures. The conversion was successful. Matchbox cars continue to this day, even though the company has been purchased a number of times by ever larger toy manufacturers. Today, Mattel owns the Matchbox line.

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  • Title: Play set:Walt Disney Matchbox Playcase
  • Creator: Lesney Products Co.
  • Date Created: 1979
  • Location: England
  • Subject Keywords: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, car, matchbox
  • Type: Play Sets, Character Products, Transportation Toys
  • Rights: Walt Disney Productions
  • Medium: cardboard, molded plastic, vinyl, metal
  • Object ID: 112.6602
The Strong National Museum of Play

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