Lesney

Lesney Products and Co. Ltd. was established on 19 January 1947 by Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith as an industrial die-casting business. It began operating in a disused north London pub, The Rifleman. Jack Odell, an engineer who initially rented space at the premises for his own die-cast work, became a partner later in 1947. Lesney received an order for toy-gun components that year and began making die-cast toys in 1948. Its first toy model was a road roller; other early products included a covered wagon and a soapbox racer. The firm continued making non-toy goods as well.

Lesney produced a Royal State Coach for Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation. That year it also launched the small Matchbox 1–75 range, beginning with miniatures including a road roller, dump truck and cement mixer. The range was marketed with Moko, whose name appeared on early packaging; Lesney later acquired the distributor and sold its toys independently. By the mid-1960s, Matchbox had grown into a broad line of die-cast vehicles. In 1982, after financial difficulties, Lesney entered bankruptcy and receivership. Universal Toys bought the Matchbox brand, tooling and other assets, formed Matchbox International Ltd. and transferred production and tooling to Macau. The Matchbox brand continued under later ownership; Lesney’s own company had ended.