Friday 30 May 2014

Corgi Toys Catalogue 1960


There is something slightly unnerving about the clean concrete and 'designed' countryside on the cover of the 1960 catalogue, with an Eastern European socialist look. These were the wonderful days, though, when the State didn't control us drivers as much as they do now! There may be a Ford Zephyr police car heading south here but they would have been looking out for dangerous driving or problems and not whether someone was doing 71mph or not.

Inside the images are much brighter and it all looks like a new artist's work. There are scenes on the pages too, reflecting the content. The Renault Floride now has Floride in brackets and is called a Caravelle. It was a Floride before and I'm sure that's what is on the base so that's an odd change.

Farm machinery gets much more space and there is a little less military although huge missile launchers and a rocket are still pretty impressive content!

A Hovercraft makes an appearance and the Car Transporter in Gift Set 1 now carries a smart group of cars: a Triumph TR2, Austin Healey, Riley Pathfinder and Jaguar 2.4!

I should imagine the stars of the car show that year would have been the minis, Aston Martin's appearance with an opening bonnet and the Jaguar 2.4 now with an interior and spring suspension.

The images I've published are from an American version with prices in dollars and cents so I can't comment on how they're progressing. The M models have been dropped, though.

The cover shows cars and trucks that are all available inside, although it does include a green Land Rover with a cover pulling the horsebox whereas only an uncovered yellow one is illustrated. The Gift Set is just a line drawing.

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