LESNEY/MATCHBOX Models of Yesteryear Horse Drawn Vehicles.

LESNEY/MATCHBOX Models of Yesteryear Horse Drawn Vehicles.

In the Lledo article, I mentioned that the earliest Lledo models were horse drawn in the tradition of Model of Yesteryear issues that Jack Odell had initially helped create.

Here are the Models of Yesteryear as they appeared in 1959 and 60.

Models of Yesteryear were introduced by Lesney in 1956 to supplement the Matchbox Series small model range which had been made since  since 1953. The models were based on historical renditions of classic vehicles from the steam and early automotive eras. These were often about 3½-4" in length.

Here is a page from the 1960s Lesney catalogue.

The Y-12-A 1899 London Horse-Bus was introduced in 1959 as the first horse drawn vehicle in the Models of Yesteryear range. Boxes changed over the years 

Here is my loose model Note that the vehicle name is not on the base. It is not present on the fire engine either.

The Y-4-B Shand-Mason Horse-Drawn Fire Engine was initially introduced in 1960 with black horses and Kent decal on the side. In 1961, the horses were changed to white. In 1962 the Kent was changed to London, and both black and white horses were offered over the next three years. Again a variety of boxes were used.