Matchbox – a collection of toy cars

Lesney’s Matchbox Toys
Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith founded "Lesney Products" in 1947. The name was derived from the founders' first names: Les-ney. The founders, who were not related despite having the same last name, had no idea what to produce in the beginning, and therefore "Products" was added to the company name. The first moulded car, the Barford Diesel named "Road Roller", saw the daylight in 1948. After only five years the company manufactured not only toy cars, but even other types of toys. Together with Moko, they distributed the Lesney cars in a box featuring the printed image and the make of the car. The size of the packaging was similar to a matchbox, so kids could easily bring their toy cars to school. The vintage toy cars in this theme auction come from a larger private collection.