The inspiration behind Matchbox cars came from a school rule. Leslie and Rodney Smith started their toy company, Lesney Products, shortly after World War II, and tool and die maker Jack O’Dell ...

Matchbox cars ... so these little toy cars were often damaged or lost. Or smashed with a hammer. Or blown up with ...

Matchbox is the toy brand first created in 1953 and acquired by Mattel in 1997. The company originally competed with Matchbox in the die-cast car space with its own line, Hot Wheels. According to ...

This one ain’t. All the same, I would not trade it for the world — or even for a vintage mint-condition toy Matchbox car. The year was 1966, wintertime in Ohio, and I bit my quivering lip ...