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Dinkinius's picture
Dinkinius
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-756 Lamp Standard, (Double Arm) (1960-63)

In his monthly column in Meccano Magazine for March 1960, The Toyman had this to say about a new arrival in the Dinky Toys world. (I have taken the liberty of editing what The Toyman wrote as originally he was referring to the pictures in his column.)

 “There is another point of special interest to all Dinky Toys collectors. It centres on the two Lamp Standards, the Single Arm and the Double Arm. Both these are further new additions to the Dinky Toys range and will be enthusiastically welcomed, I am sure, by the hundreds of collectors who operate their own layouts. The Single Arm Standard is No.755 in the series and the Double Arm is No. 756. Tall and elegant, in modern style, they have been designed for use with Dinky Toys, but they can be used quite successfully with Dublo Dinky Toys.

The Standards themselves are of plastic with a detachable grey metal base marked to conform with the popular Pavement Set. Two small holes have been drilled in the base, on either side of the Standard, so that the fitting can be nailed or screwed down in the case of permanent layouts.

The Standards are finished in stone colour, relieved by aluminium-painted holders that carry the lamps. The lanterns themselves are meticulously marked in amber-tinted polystyrene. (To represent sodium-vapour light popularly used for street lighting.) On either side of the Standards are speed de-restriction signs which are removable. ”

Samples of the new additions to the range for March 1960 in boxed quantities containing six individually boxed models were sent out to Meccano Dealers and Invoiced in February against the dealer’s standing orders.

According to all publications I have consulted, the 756 Lamp Standard (Double Arm) as well as its Single Arm compatriot was available between March 1960 and 1964, although some confusion exists as to whether this is correct or not. The pdf file has this for its title: -756 Lamp Standard, Double (1960-64)

But I have reservations as to its deletion year.

Both the 756 Lamp Standard (Double Arm) and its companion 755 Lamp Standard (Single Arm) are included in the October, November and December 1962 Dealer Order Form that was printed in September 1962.

The set is also included in the January 1963 1st 13/163/200 edition catalogue as well as the next edition the July 1963 2nd 13/763/400 catalogue

However, the set is not included in the January 1964 (7/164/450) catalogue, the Australian 1964 edition, March 1964 (7/364/100) with the attached price list with print code of 7/564/100 (May 1964) nor the 2nd Printing of the UK catalogue  in July 1964 (7/764/450).

We then turn our attention to the Meccano Toys of Quality price leaflets for 1964. The first one issued with the print code of 16/164/100 (January 1964) has no reference to the two Lamp Standards. It is interesting to see in this leaflet that the Road Signs, 766, 767, 768, 769 and 771 although listed, have this notation, “Consult your Dealer for prices of these items” which indicates that these are on their way out, as none of them are even included in the next leaflet with the print code of 16/964/60 (September 1964) nor for that matter again, the two Lamp Standards, Single and Double. One can then safely conclude that towards the end of 1963, Meccano was conducting an in-house investigation into its financial and manufacturing processes and deleting those that appear to have reached their “use by date” or were not selling as predicted which included the Lamp Standard Single Arm and Double Arm. The pending take-over by Lines Bros may very well have been the catalyst for this review.

With a production period of only three years plus a few months, this was quite a short time-frame, which may indicate that it and its companion single arm were not very popular items. Its price when launched was 2/6 which was reduced to 2/3 in May 1962, perhaps to generate sales, and this price remained until the item was deleted from the Meccano inventory. For any display a collector would most likely require quite a number of models, so the cost would mount up the more a collector purchased.  Perhaps it was cheaper to make one’s own, using the Meccano product as a template. Although checking through other items of a similar roadside accessory such as petrol pumps, hoardings, traffic lights, telephone call box, road signs, most of these were available in excess of five years.

And here it is one trade pack that was never sold, five internal boxes have never had their contents extracted with the sixth one the only one opened for photography purposes.

Bruce H.   (150)

20161101/1027/2114

Jan Oldenhuis's picture
Jan Oldenhuis
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Bruce-a thorough investigation into the appearance of this model. In order to be able to investigate this, a lot of documentation is needed and you have it. Catalogs, price lists, order forms and so on. Your research has proven that the model was last advertised in 1963. It is right that you state in the title as a period of issue 1960-1963. Presumably the statement 1960-1964 was taken from Dinky Toy Compendium 4a of The Hornby Companion Series by Patrick Trench.

Kind Regards, Jan Oldenhuis, 14 August 2018

janwerner's picture
janwerner
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Hello Bruce and Jan, I had a little check in my Dutch Dinky Toys catalogues and had the remarkable experience that this no. 756 double arm lamp standard is present in the 1963 catalogue, subsequently wanting in the 1964 catalogue and it re-appears in the 1965 catalogue, albeit in the price list only and not pictured in the catalogue. The 1965 catalogue is in fact a 'universal', international one, but the original Hausemann & Hötte price list inserted is in Dutch, stapled in the center: 'In Nederland verkrijgbare Dinky Toys modellen' [Dinky Toys models available in The Netherlands]. So it may be that we should be a bit flexible with dates of issue and discontinuation, as they may probably incidentally differ per market or national agent. It is for instance remarkable too that the no. 581 Horse Box is shown in the section of new and re-introduced models in the Dutch October 1952 catalogue, whereas it was introduced as 'New' in the Meccano Magazine of - as late as - April 1953. Possibly export had priority? All catalogues referred to can be found under the 'Publications' header, so you might have a check yourself. Interesting, isn't it? Kind regards, Jan 

Jan Oldenhuis's picture
Jan Oldenhuis
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DTCA MemberNetherlands

In addition to Jan's contribution and to make it visible to Bruce, I add the images from the Dutch DT 1964 catalogue with Dutch price list, which lacks model 755 and model 756.

Kind regards, Jan O.

Dinkinius's picture
Dinkinius
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Greetings Jan O and Jan W

Jan O, thank you for your nice comments in #2. It is indeed obvious that the Dinky Toy Compendium 4a of The Hornby Companion Series by Patrick Trench was consulted during the preparation of the PDF file. The first real in-depth study into Dinky Toys by Cecil Gibson in his "History of British Dinky Toys 1934-1964" that was published 15 years before the closure of the factory also contains the date the 756 was deleted as 1964. So too the books on Dinky Toys written by Dr Edward Force also contains the same date, so it is fully understandable why the PDF file on this website continued with this date. Many thanks for bringing to my attention the Compendium to "Dinky Toys and Modelled Miniatures" by Mike and Sue Richardson (which also included the 1964 date) that enabled me to check other sources as well, as these need to be included in any dissertation on a change to its deletion year.

Jan W., thanks for adding the price list that was an addendum to the 1965 catalogue. It is quite possible this price list was printed in The Netherlands as a result of stock that was still available in that country in 1965. Not knowing whether this price list was actually printed by Meccano (there is no print number showing) or by the distributor who had procured a supply of International Editions into which this price list was stapled, is unfortunate. Could you please check to see if there are any print details on your price list and if so, if a copy of the first and last pages can be included in this Topic.  All very interesting. I have a feeling it was the work of The Netherlands distributor or a toy shop in one of the bigger cities.

Actually, I decided to consult my large collection of Australian Price Lists that had been printed by Meccano in the UK. The Price List 16/760/12.5 (2nd P.) (of which I have a spare copy!) lists the model but I am not certain if it was included in the 1st Printing as a model "coming later" as I do not have a copy of that Price List. Interestingly, the Price List for Australia with publication details of 16/363/50 does not contain this set, so with Australia, it is possible the set was no longer being imported into this country after 1962.

However one thing I neglected to include in my first Post was a review of all the 1963 Price Lists.  I have written, "the set is also included in the January 1963 1st 13/163/200 edition catalogue as well as the next edition the July 1963 2nd 13/763/400 catalogue", but interestingly, the Price List with publication details of 16/563/60 (May 1963) does not include the 756.  This could be explained by a temporary lack of supply within the factory, rather than a temporary deletion of the model.

Thanks again gentlemen for your most-welcome contributions.

Kind regards

Bruce   (150)

20180818/0122/1193

janwerner's picture
janwerner
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DTCA MemberNetherlands

Hello Bruce and Jan, some additional pictures then of the catalogue in question below, which I hope will give more clarity. In my opinion every country, language or market had to complete this 'universal' 1965 catalogue by supplying the specific data of models available in that market area and the related prices involved. The price list section, though not bearing any printing mark, is printed on the same quality paper (weight, printing surface) as the rest of the catalogue and must be an integral part of the catalogue production in my opinion, not a later incidental insert. Hausemann & Hötte have been the sole official Meccano agent in NL since 1922. The sticker on the back is not from a major toy shop but, on the contrary, from a village toy shop in Driebergen, in the province of Utrecht (NL). May be Jan O. has, or knows, other examples of this Dutch 1965 catalogue for comparison. Hope this helps, kind regards, Jan  

Jan Oldenhuis's picture
Jan Oldenhuis
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DTCA MemberNetherlands

As addition to Jan W's contribution I add my Dutch price list 1965. As can be seen, it is exactly the same as that of Jan W, without a reference number or print indication, not even the year of issue. What stands out in comparison with the Dutch 1964 catalog is that in the Dutch DT catalog 1964 with stapled Dutch price list model 755 and 756 are missing and the price list is provided with a reference number 72550/29 and 7/464/60 and indication "Vervaardigd door Meccano Ltd, Liverpool 13, Engeland en Meccano (France) Ltd, Bobigny/Seine" and "Gedrukt in Engeland" in the Dutch language, what is missing from the 1965 catalog, in which only the name of the Dutch distributor is mentioned.

The only other, presumably 1965, Dutch price leaflet that I have is one-sided, colored and 60 cm long and 15 cm wide. I show him in two parts, but is one whole. On it are only the latest car models with Dutch prices.

In the USA model 755 and 756 were last advertised in the USA catalog 1963 with USA price list ref. 13/763/60. After that the USA distributors A.C. Gilbert in 1963 and Lines Bros Inc. from 1964 onwards did not advertise model 755 and 756. I only have Dutch, UK, USA and French documentation that I can consult.

Indeed, the 1965 catalog is a general International catalog for all countries with its own nationwide engineered stapled price list. In the 1964 and 1965 catalog, the separate price lists were stapled in the middle of the catalog. I hope this helps to Bruce to make its conclusion.

Kind regards, Jan O.