BAYKO in HAMLEYS Catalogues

HAMLEYS were obviously very impressed with the [then] fairly new product as they were offering the entire standard BAYKO range of the day. The catalogue itself only contains eight pages printed in colour, so BAYKO, with a colour page to itself, was certainly being pushed heavily by Hamleys.

It's worth reminding ourselves that BAYKO had only been launched, nationwide, twelve months earlier, and had self-evidently come a long way in a short time in terms of market recognition and penetration. C.B. Plimpton's famous enthusiasm was obviously winning the day!

Dating this issue is based on two factors : -

Set #6, here actually referred to as a ”De luxe box”, is included, and it was launched in 1935.

The two entries [below], can, thanks to Andy Harris, be identified as covering the winters of 1936 / 1937 and 1937 / 1938, and the colour scheme shown is wrong for any later period.

The script reads as follows : -

The eccentric syntax of the first sentence of the script is HAMLEYS', not mine, and is unlikely to have been an error as it continues [below].

This image is shown courtesy of Mick Burgess, though, I'm pleased to say, I now own a copy myself!

The pre-war association with HAMLEYS continued, suggesting that they were still pleased with the sales results. Although only one outlet, BAYKO's continuing association with HAMLEYS, must have added to the product's prestige. We are now down to a simple black and white entry, the colour [above] is false and reflects the 'foxed' colour of the paper, which I have whitened, away from the printed areas.

Dating this is problematic, however, one of the other entries on the BAYKO page is BUILDEC, in the middle of the left hand side. Andy Harris tells me this was launched on October 1st, 1936, so we can be reasonably comfortable with the date, particularly as it is described as ”new”.

The BAYKO entry is in the bottom right hand corner of page 20 - slide your mouse over the image [above] to highlight it. If you click anywhere on the image, you will see a larger image of the BAYKO section.

The set illustrated is a set #3, in the usual style of box.

The actual BAYKO script is much more modest than the earlier versions [above].

The script reads as follows : -

The eccentric syntax continues(!) and is HAMLEYS, not mine!

The second, education-related, paragraph form the earlier version has been dropped here.

One point of interest is that, in common with all the items in the catalogue which cost more than £1, larger BAYKO sets were available post free. This appears to have been used as an incentive to buy larger sets or more than one item as there is no price quoted for cheaper items! This detail may, of course, have been incorporated into a separate order form.

I'm happy to say that this catalogue is mine.

It's good to see that the pre-war association with HAMLEYS continued, suggesting that they were pleased with the sales results. However, the entry is noticeably more modest than the above example, and there is no longer any reference to the conversion sets, bringing Hamleys into line with all the other mail order operations I've seen so far. We are now down to a two colour offering.

Andy Harris tells me that a the LOT'S BRICKS prices shown elsewhere [on page 6] in the catalogue, only applied in 1937 / 1938, so again we can be reasonably confident of the dating.

The BAYKO entry is in the bottom right hand corner of page 12 - slide your mouse over the image [above] to highlight it. If you click anywhere on the image, you will see a larger image of the BAYKO section.

The set illustrated is a set #4, in the style of box which mimics that used for set #6. This is the only image of a set #4 that I can bring to mind. It obviously started out as a photograph - otherwise why else would the illustration show the elastic band holding the manual in position‽

The actual BAYKO script is much more modest than the earlier versions [above].

The script reads as follows : -

The eccentric syntax remains, and is HAMLEYS, not mine!

One point of interest is that, in common with all the items in the catalogue which cost more than £1, larger BAYKO sets were available post free. This appears to have been used as an incentive to buy larger sets or more than one item as there is no price quoted for cheaper items! This detail may, of course, have been incorporated into a separate order form.

I'm happy to say that this catalogue is mine.

The pre-war association with HAMLEYS was maintained again here, though sadly, on this occasion, with no available clues as to the actual date. We know that HAMLEYS routinely published a 'Christmas Bazaar' catalogue as part of the Christmas retail-presure-tightening process, but sadly I've no idea as to the exact date, other than the obvious 1930s provenance.

This scanned image was sent to me some time ago alongside an ebay acquisition. Sadly I've mislaid my notes, so can neither give my usual accreditation, nor offer you any dating information which may have come with it. If you can add any information, particularly on the date, then I'd love to hear from you…

The BAYKO item is in the top left hand corner of the image [above] - slide your mouse over the image to highlight it - or click anywhere on the image to see a larger copy of the BAYKO section itself.

The script reads as follows : -

10/6.

Smaller Set, 7/6.

I'm not sure what, if anything, we can read into the fact that just four sets - sets #1 to #4 - are being offered for sale.

This otherwise excellent document is a pain in the proverbial. Why? Well it's linked to the reason why I've opted to display the front cover [right] before the BAYKO-related bit [below].

Unfortunately - the perennial moan by archivists like your erstwhile webmaster - is that the document is [in this case] nearly, undated.

Let me explain the 'nearly' bit. Firstly, the little royal warrant square [top right of the image] tells us that HAMLEYS was “Established 1760”.

Finally the three 'circles' of script covering the globe's northern hemisphere [upper left hand side of the image] contain the script - “For 179 Years the Finest Toy Shop in the World”. No false modesty for Mr. HAMLEY!

Add the 179 years to the date, 1760, and you get 1939…

…but…

…catalogues project forwards, not backwards, so this one could equally be for 1940.

My preference is actually for 1940, primarily because the 'New Series' product displayed [below] was only launched in May, 1939 - a bit late for a 1939 catalogue print deadline, surely‽

This catalogue contains a total of 28 pages and is printed on a mildly glossy, beige newsprint. It carries a broad range of what the front page [bottom right hand corner] proclaims are - “All British Made Toys”. Given the prevailing state of war, overt patriotism was vital.

The image [above] shows page 5 [the page count, for some reason, ignores everything on both sides of the front and back covers, numbering them separately] of the 1939/1940 HAMLEYS catalogue. The BAYKO entry sits in the bottom left hand corner of the page - slide your mouse over the image to highlight the BAYKO section, or click anywhere on the image to launch a larger version of it. At the top of BAYKO's 'column', which it shares with MINIBRICKS and LOTT'S BRICKS, is the headline “For The Young Builder”.

The full BAYKO script reads as follows : -

I don't know about you, but I find the first script 'sentence' and the lack of declared postal rates for sets #5 and #6 a bit confusing.

I have to admit that I gave a little smile when I read the first line of the header script for this page [above] - though I'm less certain about the second line : -

There's a reason for the question mark in the heading - it's because I'm uncertain which year this Hamleys catalogue was produced. Unfortunately the catalogue itself gives no clues, but it was sold on eBay with a 1958 date quoted in the blurb.

The price of the #2 set shown [top left] - 31/6 [£1.57½] - applied from February, 1955 to the MECCANO takeover in 1959.

The full BAYKO script is as follows : -

There's a good reason for the question mark in the heading, because I'm not certain which year this HAMLEYS catalogue was produced. Unfortunately the catalogue itself gives no clues, but 1959 was the date quoted in the ebay blurb.

The potential problem lies with the price of the #2 set shown [top right] - 31/6 [£1.57½] - which only applied for the first half of 1959, having applied since February, 1955…

…not impossible, of course, but by no means certain.

The actual BAYKO script is as follows : -

Strange that the cost of carriage and packing is cheaper than the previous year.

Particularly when you take the technological gains in the intervening years into account, this catalogue seems, to me, to be a step down in print quality from the pre-war equivalent, though it is printed on glossy paper.

The BAYKO entry is split, with the image being second from the top on the left hand side, and the script being at position #4 in the right hand column.

The actual BAYKO script is as follows : -

I find it interesting, and indicative of the effect of the complete packaging change initiated by MECCANO, that the cost of carriage and packaging for this set is cheaper than the previous year, yet it's a bigger set.

This catalogue repeats the new, lower quality paper, though again it is still printed on glossy paper.

There is no date anywhere in the catalogue, however, the price quoted for the MECCANO era BAYKO set #14, shown here on page 29 [above] at 40/1, is only known from a brief period in autumn 1961.

The BAYKO set #14 is represented by the ”Detached House and Garage” model from page 15 of the MECCANO era manual, which appears as item ”4 in the bottom left hand corner of the page.

The actual BAYKO script is as follows : -

It is worth noting the small increase in price for the set [1.5%], as compared to the substantial increase in the price of packing and carriage [57.1%], both with respect to the previous year.

This is the 1960, MECCANO General Products Price List. As far as I can tell, this is the first to include BAYKO - here proudly displayed on the front cover, in the silver medal position, i.e. second from the top.

This 4 page, folded leaflet format became MECCANO's standard for both domestic and export markets, being used regularly, though not exclusively, for several years.

There is an element of ambition in this document, because set #13 certainly wasn't available at the time this document went to press in July 1960 and set #14 only emerged a year or so later!

Another obvious point of interest with this particular version [left] is the inclusion of the HAMLEYS logo and address, preprinted in the bottom section. Whereas a less favoured retailer, i.e. smaller local toy shops, would normally have to add their own rubber stamp.

This is the 1961, MECCANO General Products Price List, which, again, includes BAYKO, proudly displayed bang in the middle of the front cover, maintaining its silver medal positioning.

This 4 page, folded leaflet format was MECCANO's standard, for both domestic and export markets, being used regularly, though not exclusively, for several years.

The element of ambition in this document, compared with the previous year [above] is less pronounced, because set #13 was certainly now available at the time this document went to press, and set #14 emerged during the year covered by this Price List.

A key point of interest with this leaflet [right] is the inclusion of the HAMLEYS logo and address, preprinted in the bottom section. Whereas a less favoured retailer, i.e. smaller, local toy shops, would invariably have to add their own rubber stamp.

This [right] is the August, 1962, MECCANO General Products Price List as issued through HAMLEYS.

This, apart from the specific HAMLEYS branding, is one of a long line of such documents produced by MECCANO.

This leaflet is created from one sheet of paper, with a single vertical fold, creating a 4-page document.

The BAYKO entry stays bang in the middle of the front page of this 4 page, folded leaflet [move your mouse over the image to highlight the BAYKO section] which is dated 1962…

…the printers code on the back page narrows this down to August.

This is the first of this range of documents to mention the [then] new BAYKO set #15 and conversion set #14C, which both emerged in August, 1962. This is surely influential, if not key, for this document's print date. This is rather surprising, given that start of BAYKO's death throws was only seventeen months in the future!

Click anywhere on the image to reveal a much larger image of the BAYKO section.

This is the May, 1963, MECCANO General Products Price List as issued by HAMLEYS.

This, apart from the specific HAMLEYS branding, is one of a long line of such documents produced by MECCANO.

The BAYKO entry stays bang in the middle of the front page of this 4 page, folded leaflet, which is dated 1963.

There is a printers code on the back page which narrows this down to May.

Given that mainstream BAYKO production stopped in less than a year, it's interesting to see that BAYKO was still given such a prominent position.

This [right] is the 1964, MECCANO General Products Price List as issued by HAMLEYS.

This, apart from the specific Hamleys branding, is one of a long line of such documents produced by MECCANO.

The BAYKO entry stays bang in the middle of the front page of this 4 page, folded leaflet, which is dated 1964. There is a printers code on the back page which narrows this down to September.

Given that mainstream BAYKO production stopped in 1964, it's interesting to see that BAYKO still took such a prominent position, albeit, as far as I've been able to determine so far - for the last time.

This is the 1965, MECCANO General Products Price List as issued by HAMLEYS.

This, apart from the specific HAMLEYS branding, is one of a long line of such documents produced by MECCANO.

The BAYKO entry is at the top of page 2 of this 4 page, folded leaflet, which is dated September, 1965, given that BAYKO has clearly slipped out of its medal position, we are seeing the early signs of the product's demise.

Given that normal BAYKO production stopped in 1964, this document seems to support the theory that MECCANO continued to 'milk' BAYKO by selling sets, unsupported in terms of marketing spend, through 'selected' (?) retailers - including HAMLEYS.

This is the 1966, MECCANO General Products Price List as issued by HAMLEYS.

This, apart from the specific HAMLEYS branding, is one of a long line of such documents produced by MECCANO.

The BAYKO entry is now relegated to the middle of page 2 [right, above] of this 4 page, folded leaflet, which is dated September, 1966.

Given that normal BAYKO production stopped in 1964, this document seems to support the theory that MECCANO continued to 'milk' BAYKO by selling sets, unsupported in terms of marketing spend, through 'selected' (?) retailers - including HAMLEYS.

However, there was a degree of inconsistency here in that the prices of set #11 actually went down compared to the equivalent 1965 document [above]. All the others, of course, went up, though relatively modestly.