The former Lesney “Matchbox” Toys building in Hackney, east London, photographed in April 2009 shortly before demolition. Photo sludgegulper, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. We show the place, not the toys: their designs belong to Mattel.
Matchbox cars
What it took directly
- documentedThe first Matchbox model took from a rule at Jack Odell's daughter's school: only toys that fit inside a matchbox"In 1952, Odell was inspired by a rule at his daughter’s school that permitted students to only bring toys that fit inside a matchbox." The Strong National Museum of Play, National Toy Hall of Fame entry (Matchbox inducted 2019)
- documentedThe first Matchbox model took from Lesney's own larger road roller toy, scaled down"He scaled down Lesney’s road roller toy, packaged it in a matchbox," The Strong National Museum of Play, National Toy Hall of Fame entry
- documentedLesney's coronation coach, its first hit took from Queen Elizabeth II's golden coach, in her coronation year"the company had its first hit with a miniature of Queen Elizabeth II's horse-drawn golden coach -- produced in the year of her coronation, 1953." Stephen Miller, The Wall Street Journal remembrance of Jack Odell (July 2007)
- documentedThe Matchbox name comes from the boxes the cars were sold in, shaped like matchboxes"The brand name came from the boxes that the die-cast cars were sold in, which resembled matchboxes in size and shape." V&A (Young V&A) collection record for a 1961 Lesney Matchbox Aston Martin
- documentedThe matchbox packaging took from the coronation coach's success"It was only after this that Lesney’s directors hit on the idea of packaging their wares in the matchbox format." The Times obituary of Jack Odell (July 2007), which puts the matchbox idea after the 1953 coach; The Strong's entry puts it first, in 1952. Both accounts are shown.
- documentedMatchbox Superfast answered Mattel's Hot Wheels"In 1968, Mattel roared in with Hot Wheels. Kids traded in the British product for these flashier American muscle cars. Lesney countered with the Matchbox Superfast line" The Strong National Museum of Play, National Toy Hall of Fame entry
What it learned to do
- documentedJack Odell learned from the Army, repairing fighting vehicles in the Second World War"enlisting in the Army, where he repaired fighting vehicles during World War II" Stephen Miller, The Wall Street Journal remembrance of Jack Odell (July 2007)
- documentedMatchbox models learned from the car makers' own blueprints"Car companies, sensing free advertising, eagerly provided blueprints to ensure accurate reproduction." Stephen Miller, The Wall Street Journal remembrance of Jack Odell (July 2007)
- inferredMatchbox's working detail (true dashboards, opening hoods and trunks) comes from Jack Odell's years as an Army vehicle mechanic"His eye for detail and abilities as a die-cutter led to realistic dashboard dials and hoods and trunks that opened." inferred — The Wall Street Journal and The Times record both his wartime repair work and his eye for detail as a die-cutter; neither says the one led to the other
The tradition it sits in
- documentedMatchbox answered Dinky Toys, the British die-cast cars before it"There had for some years been Dinky toys. But, well crafted though these were, they could never be concealed in a small fist and revealed at a strategic moment to dismay rival collectors." The Times obituary of Jack Odell (July 2007)
- documentedMatchbox comes from the school playground, where small boys showed off what fit in a pocket"Matchbox toys tapped cleverly into the insatiable appetite of small boys for model vehicles small enough to be secreted in a pocket and then dramatically produced to the admiration of their peers in the school playground." The Times obituary of Jack Odell (July 2007)
- documentedMatchbox's mixed scales (every vehicle in the same size box) comes from the box, not the vehicles"That different kinds of vehicles could not, thereby, be in scale with each other, did not worry their avid young collectors one jot." The Times obituary of Jack Odell (July 2007)
Where the whole form comes from
- documentedMatchbox comes from Lesney Products, founded in 1947 in a bombed-out London pub by Leslie and Rodney Smith"Meanwhile, a pair of unrelated ex-servicemen named Smith -- Leslie and Rodney -- founded Lesney in 1947 in a bombed-out London pub called The Rifleman." Stephen Miller, The Wall Street Journal remembrance of Jack Odell (July 2007)
- documentedMatchbox comes from industrial die-casting for the electrical and car industries, with toys made in the slack moments"The trio’s intention was to make die castings for the electrical and car industries. It was in the quieter moments in demand that they thought of toys." The Times obituary of Jack Odell (July 2007)
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