Truck | play set:Truckload of Majorette Cars

When the French company Majorette Toys began to market its high-end, diecast vehicles in the United States, it enticed potential buyers by offering them several examples of its toy cars and trucks packaged in a cleverly made box shaped like a tractor trailer. The accompanying letter of introduction was intended to impress retailers. It boasted that Majorette offered 151 models of "world-wide best sellers, such as Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Toyota, Datsun, and Triumph, plus 62 models U.S. models." And it bragged that it made 400,000 vehicles a day and sold them in 87 different countries. The letter promised retailers "European craftsmanship," and urged them to "examine the enclosed models carefully. You'll notice that doors open, hoods flip up and down, tops lift up, some push and shove, some spin, some carry animals, and most have 4-wheel independent suspension"--details that might have been lost on the children who played with the toys.