Norvic Philatelics - Great Britain stamps and special postmarks

Transports of Delight - Toys on Stamps - 18 September 2003

The first Toy Fair in Britain was held in 1953. 50 years later this stamp issue, in the 'Transport' series of stamps, shows British toys from the 1930s to the 1960s.

1st class ( 28p) Meccano Constructor Biplane (1931)	'E' rate ( 38p) Wells-Brimtoy Clockwork Double-decker Omnibus (1938)	42p Hornby M1 Locomotive & Tender (1940)	47p Dinky Toy Ford Zephyr (1956)	68p Mettoy Friction Drive Space Ship Eagle (1960)

Toys have always been popular with children, whether a simple bat and ball, hoop, spinning top or dolls. But when railway expansion was it its peak wooden, then metal toys were made, the latter often working models powered by steam generated by a spirit boiler. Toy aeroplanes appeared soon after the Wright Brothers flights in 1903.

Leading the pack of British toy manufacturers was Frank Hornby who, as early as 1901, patented the 'Mechanics Made Easy' construction kits consisting of perforated metal strips and angles, nuts, bolts and wheels. These kits enabled different models to be made, taken apart, and made into other models. Later the name was changed to Meccano.

In 1920 he started producing the model railways to which he gave his name, and Hornby Railways were an instant and long-lasting success with more recent models including the Eurostar trains which operate in the Channel Tunnel. In the 1930s he developed die-cast metal 'Modelled Miniatures' which, started as model railway accessories known as Meccano Dinky Toys. These were made in factories in Liverpool and at Bobigny in France. When the Liverpool factory closed in 1979 over 1000 different models had been produced.

Wells-Brimtoy started in 1914 as The British Metal and Toy Manufacturers when the public demanded home-produced toys rather than German goods. Based in a North London foundry, they produced toys at night from scarp metal and survived German bombing of two factories during World War 2.

Mettoy, on the other hand, was the creation in 1933 of two German refugees, who produced many clockwork tin lorries and aircraft, much of their output being for the pretigious chain retail Marks & Spencer. Later moving to die-cast metal, Mettoy was the first to add moulded plastic features and to use a friction motor instead of clockwork.

This is the third series of 'transport' stamps, the previous issues being 2002 - Jet airliners and 2001. The series continues in with two issues in 2004 - classic steam trains (January), & ocean liners (April).

The stamps are designed by Trickett & Webb. They used photographs by Martin Langfield. The Meccano biplane and Wells-Brimtoy bus are shown courtesy of Pollocks Toy Museum, the remaineder of the subjects are in private collections.

Miniature Sheet
The miniature sheet contains the full set of stamps, contained withtin a border which appears to be based on a toy catalogue of the 1950s.

Self-adhesive book
On the same day Royal Mail will issue a book of 6 self-adhesive stamps - 4 definitives plus two 'Meccano bi-plane' stamps.

Technical details: The stamps are 41x30mm and are printed by Joh Enschede Stamps of Holland, in sheets of 50. The miniature sheet is also printedby Enschede and the booklet by De La Rue.

All images are taken from Royal Mail's Philatelic Bulletin and Postmark Bulletin, and are Copyright 2003 by Royal Mail.
'Meccano' is a trademark of Nicco Toys. All other copyrights and Trade Marks acknowledged.

Special postmarks available for use on the issue date are shown below. Explanations of some of the postmarks are at the foot of the table.

Ref FD319 Philatelic Bureau FD Postmark	Ref FD320 Toye, Downpatrick, FD Postmark	Ref L8704 First Day of Issue, London Stampex Autumn Exhibition Transports of Delight	Ref L8697 Hornby - Britain's National Stamp Exhibition, Stampex, Islington, London	Ref L8705 The 50th Anniversary Autumn Stampex
Ref E8720 [Biplane] Duxford, Cambridge	Ref E8721 Omnibus, Epping [Essex]	Ref E8722 [Toy train] Bletchley Park PO, Milton Keynes	Ref L8695 Barry Potter Toy Collectors Fairs and Auctions, Sandown Park, Esher	Ref E8725 Making Models Real, Margate, Kent [Hornby train - class A4 locomotive]
Ref E8724 Beaulieu, Brockenhurst [Hampshire]	Ref E8723 [Toy Southern locomotive 513] Margate	Ref L8696 Pollock's Toy Museum, London W1T	Ref L8702 www.scificollector.co.uk, The Strand, London WC2	Ref L8703 Hornby Close, London NW3
Ref L8701 Transport Revisited, Transport Avenue, Brentford, Middlesex	Ref M8709 Northampton [toy plane]	Ref N8710 York [toy train]	Ref N8711 Liverpool [toy biplane]	Ref N8712 Liverpool [toy racing car]
Ref N8713 Hornby, Lancaster [cartoon car]	Ref N8717 Self Adhesives, Hornby, Lancaster	Ref N8716 Hornby, Lancaster [railway locomotive]	Ref N8718 Hornby, Lancaster [railway locomotive]	Ref N8714 Eagle, Lincoln [Mettoy spaceship]
Ref L8700 Stars of Jazz & Transport, Duke Ellington - "Take the A Train", Ellington Road, London N10	Ref N8715 Dinky Trams and Buses of the 1930's, Liverpool	Ref M8673 Transports of Delight, Birmingham	Ref L8732 The Orient Express, Orient Way, London E5	Ref M8736 Transports of Delight, Corgi, Leicester
			Postmark Explanations Duxford (E8720) - site of wartime airfield and Air Museum of the Imperial War Museum Epping (E8721) - site of original Wells (Wells-Brimtoy) factory. Beaulieu (E8724) - Historic motor museum York (N8710) - National Railway Museum Liverpool (several) - location of original Frank Hornby (Meccano, Hornby, Dinky) factory.
Ref M8757 Transports of Delight, Memory Lane, Leicester	Ref L8744 British Toy & Hobby Association London SE5	Ref L8743 Ford Centenary 1903-2003 Dagenham