"Some Matchbox items have become highly collectable.
Its version of the Mercedes Benz 230S, bought for less than three shillings (15 pence) in 1968, was sold at auction in 1999 for £4,100."
H'm I'll have to list my originals separately in my will, then. ;-)
Three shillings was a lot of money in 1968. You could buy a house for £4,100 back then.
(kim)
I think Matchbox were 1s 3d (about 6p) when they came out in the 1950s. You can still buy decent diecast Matchbox (Mattell) models with windows and detailed interiors, made in China, for under $1 (
"kim" wrote in news:j5idnRVXwt snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
...
My parents house then a three bedroom terrace (albeit a large terrace - the foreman's houses), now a two bedroom with an indoor bathroom! cost £660 in
1965.
The first house I ever lived in England had an indoor bathroom but outdoor toilet. The bathroom had a geyser which straddled both the sink and the bath. There was a flame thrower on the side of the geyser which swivelled. Once the gas was turned on you had just so many seconds to first light the flame thrower then swivel it round so it ignited the main burner. Take too long and you had a massive explosion on your hands! By way of compensation there was an ex-LNWR branch line at the end of the road. The local newsagent stocked Matchbox toys as a sideline. Whenever my mother visited the newsagent to pay the paper bill I used to nag her to buy me one. Since they weren't very expensive she usually agreed. When I was older I built up a huge collection of Matchbox models with my best friend which we shared. Half the time he minded the collection and half the time I did. We didn't really care which of us owned which vehicle. We also had one of those cardboard play maps which represented Central London. My only quibble with Lesney was that their double-decker bus was far too small to use on a model railway layout.
(kim)
When I worked in a model shop, in Leicester, in the early 60's the standard matchbox models cost 1 and 9 pence. That was made up of 1 shilling to the manufacture, 6 pence to the retailer and 3 pence to the government for sales tax. We used to sell plenty. Graham Grant Sydney Australia
My Great-aunt in Bradford used to send me the first of the Matchbox toys, along with "Eye-Spy" booklets every year - well, I got the first three Matchbox toys before she decided I was too old.
kim said the following on 09/07/2007 02:30:
My Gran's house had that until about 30 years ago - relatively recently. As a kid, why was it I always needed to use the toilet in the middle of the night during a massive thunderstorm? :-)
My Gran's house was like that too, but the bathroom had no hot running water. During the War, the bathtub was used to store coal, and later it was converted to a spare bed for when I visited. Bathing was done in a galvanised tub in the kitchen, with water heated in the laundry boiler. My grandparents lived there all their married life, 1908 to 1962.
My Granny's house had _two_ outside toilets, one just off the kitchen, and one at t'other end of the coal shed. Plus an inside one just off the landing upstairs.
'Course, my Grampa was an alderman.... ;-)
Luckshury!!
Indeed - my grand parents lived in hole in middle o' t' road, 42 o' them. Used t' pay t' mill owner fur privilage o' workin.......
A lad on a bike with a loaf of Hovis has just gone by followed by a brass band.... ;-)
The house I bought in Cheadle hadn't been touched since it was built in 1949 - lead pipes, outside bog, and the speciality rubber covered wiring, the ligting cables being behind the picture rail - said rail being nailed *through* the cables. We had to have everything wired directly into the distrubition board for the first month....
Richard
Richard wrote :-
Indeed - my grand parents lived in hole in middle o' t' road, 42 o' them. Used t' pay t' mill owner fur privilage o' workin.......
A lad on a bike with a loaf of Hovis has just gone by followed by a brass band.... ;-)
The house I bought in Cheadle hadn't been touched since it was built in 1949 - lead pipes, outside bog, and the speciality rubber covered wiring, the ligting cables being behind the picture rail - said rail being nailed *through* the cables. We had to have everything wired directly into the distrubition board for the first month....
But I bet you've got a new water meter !
A chap I met in Cheadle used to make the prototype models of the new JCB's for the factory in wood
Chris
"beamendsltd" wrote
Didn't live in Blackburn, Lancashire then?
John.
What, no ring circuits?
My grandparents' house was originally lit by gas, so all the subsequent electrical wiring was on the surface. A house lit by coal gas must have stunk something awful!
Actually we never did! When Severn Trent took over Cheadle Water Company they surveryed every house telling us we would all have a meter. When they worked out they would have to dig the drive up and install 2 meters for our installation we never saw or heard from them again!
Don't tell Sir Anthony, or he'll start using wood on the real ones.... JCB ain't what they were since the old man died (ref: The Glass Door Fiasco).
Richard
Manchester - but I did overhear some "self-made men" discssing the issue in a bar - something and tonic they were drinking.
Richard
None until I'd re-wired. Letting socket boxes into 4.5 in walls - now that's *fun*, especially when the local brick had enough iron content to conduct (well, ok a slight exaggeration, but a quality masonry bit would last for about 4 holes)!
Richard
"beamendsltd" wrote
I thought everyone had a right to have a water meter installed free of charge? Having said that when I asked Yorkshire Water for one for the (empty) flat above my shop they said would rather not charge any water rates than install one in an unoccupied property. They also said they'd no objection to occasional free use of water in said flat.
John.
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