Friday, July 28, 2017

Matchboxes

 

 A few weeks ago I posted some photos of our garden string beans that I posed with Matchbox vehicles. Several people commented about the Matchboxes and I thought I'd tell you about them today.


They're mine from childhood, which means late 50s into the 60s. I have no idea how these came to be treasured toys; maybe because we grew up with lots of male cousins and played with their cars? I'll have to ask my sister because we both had our own Matchboxes in identical cases. Let's look inside.



 There are farm vehicles, like this combine, tractor, and wagon complete with bales.


The construction vehicles are some of my favorites. I used the snowplow to plow snow, put up the scaffolding in the Builders Supply truck, and connected the pipes to drain puddles.


The ambulances, police car, Coca-Cola truck, snack trailer, and garbage truck all performed valuable services in the Matchbox communities I built.


Then there are the cars with doors, hoods, and back hatches that open. The blue station wagon used to have a teeny, tiny hunting dog to go with the hunter, but he ran off somewhere over the last 50 years. I used to imagine that someday I would own a Mercedes, Rolls Royce, or cool convertible, but that has only happened with my Matchboxes.


I played with these fun ones a lot. Who wouldn't want a yellow convertible to tow their trailer and two boats to a vacation destination, and then hop on board a motorcoach to view the sights?


The roof of the trailer comes off to reveal a detailed kitchen and living room inside. I loved playing with all of them, and the detail, working doors and hoods, and little extra pieces only added to my enjoyment.


Many of the vehicles are marked with little green Bs on the underside, which means they are Bonny's and my sister Jill should not steal them. My sister and I both had our own Matchboxes, and we did play together and share, but I can also remember some epic fights about whose cars were whose. My mother painstakingly labeled all of our Matchboxes with Bs and Js from the Dymo label maker. I appreciated that as a child, and I appreciate all that tedious labeling even more as an adult.

They were fun 50 years ago and they still provide fun decades later. They are stored in my cedar chest, but I still play with them occasionally. What better way to deal with bumper crops from the garden (or tiny watermelons that won't grow any larger) than to dispatch all available Matchboxes and have a little fun?





Thanks for reading all the way through this picture-heavy post full of my childhood memories. Here's hoping your weekend includes a bit of the same spirit of fun.

17 comments:

  1. I love this post! All of those matchbox cars are in such pristine condition and putting them to work to carry your vegetables is brilliant!

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  2. wow, those are treasures! I have my chatty cathy doll and my chrissy doll, sadly neither are worth anything because I gave EVERYTHING a haircut.

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  3. Love, love, love this post. I never had "my own" Matchbox cars/vehicles, but I remember playing with my younger brother's. (My 2 older brothers I don't think ever played with them.) I do have my Shirley Temple doll (and the clothes my Mom sewed for her) and also my Barbie. The "Bs" on the underside cracked me up - I can just imagine the epic battles - lol.

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  4. I love this post! And, I love the "B's" on some of them, and I laughed out loud at the "she should not steal them" sentence! True treasures, thank you for sharing!

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  5. My three brothers had the very same matchbox cases and probably the same cars. My mother also labeled them with their initials...having 3 younger brothers used to drive me crazy, so I avoided them as much as possible. I still have the original Chatty Cathy,Barbie, & Ginger, but they are in rough shape, I played with them both inside and outdoors.

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  6. I'm amazed at the perfect paint, no chips, no worn spots, all pieces attached cars! My brother had many matchbox cars, but I doubt he has even one and back then they were well used and not as nice as yours. You've quite a collection and I love that you still play with them occasionally.

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  7. Oh my goodness, how wonderful us that!! Thank you! I am picturing your mother staying up late one night making and affixing all of those Bs and Js, dreaming of the peaceful days to come...
    Have a wonderful weekend, B!!
    --V.

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  8. The Best! So many of them are familiar too...but they belonged to my brother. I did not covet a matchbox collection. Like Karen above I was too busy cutting of Chatty Cathy and Chrissy's hair! Happy Weekend my friend!

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  9. This is too cool! I don't have any toys from childhood. My mother gave them all to Goodwill when I moved out of the house and got married. I bet the toy guy on Antiques Roadshow would love to see these. As for the watermelon truck, that is not a matchbox. Is that one yours as well?

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    1. Thanks! I've thought about seeing if they're worth anything, but I think they're worth more to me in sentimental value. The blue Ford tractor pulling the watermelon wagon says "Matchbox Series No. 39" on the bottom, and the wagon holding the tiny watermelon says "Matchbox Series No. 40". They are mine and I think they might be Matchboxes! :-)

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  10. Very fun photos and post. I think Matchbox vehicles predated the Hot Wheels that entertained my son for hours - back in the 80's. My brothers had Matchbox cars though. Toys without batteries, lights, or sounds - what a novel idea. They still are good for imaginative play.

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  11. My husband has model trains and a few cars and people to go with them. Every now and then I've been known to turn a car upside down and place the people around it as if they are discussing how this accident happened. The first time I did it he didn't notice for a few days. lol Helen

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    1. This just makes me laugh! What a great way to surprise your husband and have a little fun!

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  12. What fun, Bonny! thank you so much for sharing the photos and the stories. Marc's collection is in that same carrying case. I haven't looked at his collection in years, but I can't imagine it's as fun as yours!

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  13. Oh man, I had label maker like that which I loved dearly. I have a modern one today, now that I think about it... Awesome cars!

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  14. I love Matchboxes. I have such fond memories of playing with my brother and using his large collection. And what a cut way to photograph veggies!

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    1. They were loads of fun to play with (and still are)!

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