Matchbox Strange Calendar

Matchbox is a die cast toy brand introduced by Lesney Products in 1953 and currently owned by Mattel, Inc. Matchbox toys were so named because the original models were packed in boxes similar in size and style to boxes of matches. The series became so popular that the Matchbox name was once widely used by the public as a generic trademark for all die cast toy cars measuring approximately 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) in length, regardless of brand. In the 1970s, Matchbox switched to the more conventional, plastic and cardboard "blister packs" used for other die cast cars such as Hot Wheels, although the box style packaging was re-introduced for the collector market in recent years, particularly successfully with the release of the "35th Anniversary of Superfast" series in 2004. The Matchbox/Lesney factory was a major employer in Homerton, East London, before the company relocated to Rugby in Warwickshire in 1990.
The Matchbox name started in 1953 as a brand name of the now-defunct British toy company Lesney Products (named after its co-founders Leslie and Rodney Smith). Their first major sales success was the million-selling model of Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation Coach.