Lt.Col. James Smith ("king of Matchbox catalogs") sells a CD-ROM of Matchbox catalog information including photos of the covers of one catalog from each year, example page below. All material contained on this page excerpted from the cd-rom is copyright © 1997 by James W. Smith. Material may not be reprinted or used without written permission. Shown by permission 1/10/98

1959 example page

1960

THERE WERE TWO DIFFERENT CATALOGS ISSUED IN 1960.

1960 Matchbox catelog cover

THE FIRST VERSION OF THE 1960 CATALOG WILL BE CALLED 1960-1. THE SECOND EDITION WILL BE CALLED 1960-2. THE COVERS OF THE TWO ISSUES ARE THE SAME. THERE ARE SOME MINOR DIFFERENCES IN CONTENT BETWEEN THE TWO CATALOGS. SOME OF THESE DIFFERENCES ARE NOTED ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES.

 

THE 1960 CATALOGS

1960-1: INTERNATIONAL. ONLY ONE CATALOG WAS ISSUED FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD.

1960-2: INTERNATIONAL.

UNITED STATES. THERE WAS A CATALOG ISSUED FOR THE UNITED STATES. THE ONE SENT TO THE UNITED STATES HAD THE "U.K. 3d." AT THE UPPER LEFT OF THE COVER REMOVED, AND THE INSIDE OF THE BACK COVER SHOWS THE PRICES FOR THE MODELS IN THE UNITED STATES.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE 1960-1 AND 1960-2 ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1960-1

1. Model #4 on page #4 is a tractor.

2. Model #14 on page #5 is cream.

3. Model #27 on page #7 is a Bedford Low Loader.

4. On page #25 there are some line drawings of new models. A motorcycle is shown at the bottom left and a Cadillac is shown at the lower right.

5. On the inside of the back cover, prices for models sold in 22 different countries are shown. Prices for Malaysia and Singapore are not shown while prices for models in Venezuela are shown.

1960-2

1. Model #4 on page #4 is a motorcycle.

2. Model #14 on page #5 is white.

3. Model #27 on page #7 is a Cadillac Sixty Special.

4. On page #25 a Lambretta TV is shown at the lower left and a Chevrolet Impala is shown at the lower right.

5. On the inside of the back cover, models are priced for 23 different countries. Prices for models in Malaysia and Singapore have been added while those for Venezuela have been deleted. Prices for models in Australia added.

 

In addition, there are some shade differences of the same models between the two issues. Note that much of the text of both versions is in three languages: English, German and French.


1959 example page