September 1957 brought the second Karrier model and the first of several 'shops'. This first is the quaintly labelled Hygienic Mobile Shop. I do not remember seeing any of these where I lived. We did have a butcher, a baker and probably a candlestick maker but no mobile general stores that I recall. Corgi certainly got their money's worth out of this casting with more Karriers appearing annually for the next few years.
This shop has a very pale green colour, often now appearing almost white. It had fixed wheels and tinplate bearing the lithographed content appearing in the windows. At the back there is even a shop man on some tinplate set some distance in.
[I am grateful to Mr Harris for pointing out that the interior display is, indeed, tinplate with images lithographed - a process The Mettoy Company were already very familiar with - and not card as I had thought. Mr Harris supplied the images below and likes to take Corgis apart and see how they work or are constructed and is a first class source on thee matters. Occasionally he manages to put them back together again too.]
This stayed available until 1962 when it must have started to look rather bland next to models like the Jaguar Mk X. Prices are very wide-ranging for these shops. You'll still find some at very reasonable prices. Look for those with good windows as the display makes all the difference.
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