1978 Matchbox Catalog

This is a beautiful 31 old catalog that depicts the various lines from Matchbox Toys for 1983. A great way to see how Matchbox marketed their product lines 31 years ago.

Matchbox Toys have been in production since the first toys were released under by lesney in England in 1953, the 1-75 Series. Lesney continue to operate the Matchbox brand until they went into backruptcy in 1982. The Matchbox brand was then purchased by Universal Toys, and operated by them until they the Universal Matchbox Group was purchased by Tyco in 1992. On March 31, 1997 Mattel officially took over Tyco Toys, and the two most powerful diecast brands, Matchbox & Hot Wheels were united under one company, and remain that way today.