BAYKO in India

I currently now have four BAYKO related documents from the Indian market, plus an email from John Sanders, an antique toy dealer from Canada, who has also provided some useful information. I'm still a little surprised that the Indian BAYKO market was quite so bouyant!

John bought up quite a bit of material from the former toy store, of 100 years standing, Bepin Behary Dass & Grandson in Calcutta, or, more accurately these days, Kolkata. This included a cardboard retail cabinet and a pile of BAYKO literature, so we can be absolutely certain that BAYKO was sold in India.

Their business address was : -

Sadly, despite a thorough search, I have been unable to find any images of this venerable old business…

I am very grateful to Tomek Morawski who has responded to the request above…

…he kindly sent me the photos shown immediately below - many thanks Tomek.

The first photo [left, above] shows Tomek's friend, who visited Bepin Behary Dass in 1995, where, I assume, he bought the excellent wooden model tank that he is holding.

The second photo [right, above] is a framed example of what looks, to me, like a window sticker or other advert for Bepin Behary Dass, which Tomek's friend must have bought home.

BAYKO SET #	Listed Price	Discounted Price
0	16/8	13/3
1	24/12	19/13
2	41/4	33/-
3	66/-	52/13
4	132/-	150/10

BAYKO SET #	Listed Price	Discounted Price
0	16/8	13/4
1	24/12	19/2
2	41/4	33/-
3	66/-	52/10
4	130/-	104/-

The remaining Indian market related documentation I have received from John Sanders takes the form of a letter to Bepin Behary Dass and Grandson from Plimpton, together with a single export Flier inclusion. The letter, in particular, links into several other areas, that, rather than 'hide' it here, I have created a separate page for it, with links from the various relevant sections, including this one.

The breadth of the impact of the letter alone, or rather of its contents, is sufficient to justify this approach anyway - in my opinion.

The envelope itself [right] contains some interesting information…

…did you know there was such a thing as “Second Class Air-Mail”…

…apparently there was in January, 1956.

If you move your mouse over the image of the envelope you will see an unexpected Indian Post Office franking on the rear, which indicates that the letter took just a week to arrive.

If you click anywhere on the envelope image you can see larger images of both the front and rear, so that you will be able to see the two frankings more clearly.

So now lets move on to the contents of the envelope : -

As an inclusion in the B.B.D.&G. envelope, there was a single copy of a BAYKO General Export Flier [left and right], of a style which previously had been unknown to me until early 2015…

…BAYKO's answer to the 'wait ages for a bus…' cliche, perhaps!!!

The first version of this Flier I came across was actually specifically printed for the Canadian market…

This flier is either a copy of the standard U.K. version, printed without prices during a period of price change, for example - which was indeed the case at the time…

…or was a 'General Export' version, being offered to B.B.D.&G. 

We can't tell any more as there is only an direct reference to the leaflet's inclusion anywhere in the letter…

…“Showcards, leaflets etc., can be supplied on request, free of charge”.

If you slide your mouse over the exterior image [left] the image will be inverted, or click on either for a larger version.

That just leaves the two page letter itself which is only 'generically' dated “January, 1956”, rather than a specific date.

► Page 1 [left] forms part of a, presumably general, price reduction communication, yes, that's right, price reductions, “With Effect From 1st February 1956”.

► Page 2 [right] includes a wealth of information on the new BAYKO Set and Spare Parts Cabinets prices, together with details,  unknown in any other document, at least as far as I'm aware, of the standard order quantities for BAYKO Sets, including their export packaging details…

If you wish to read the letter, then click anywhere on either of these two images to launch a larger version.

You might find it interesting to also look at the 1955-56 Oswald Sealy “Wholesale Catalogue Price List”, for an additional perspective on wholesale export documentation, in this case for Australia…

I'm afraid, at this stage, that's all the information I have, but it's nice to know that BAYKO was available in India, though, after the 300% import duty imposed on all foreign imports, in 1953, by Nehru's government, the writing must certainly have been on the wall for BAYKO in the world's largest democracy.

Of course there are few places on the planet with a longer history of U.K. ex-pats in residence, so it's not difficult to predict a market, among them at least, for the world's first and finest plastic construction toy.

If you can help with further details, about BAYKO in India, or, perhaps, just indications of similar large stores where BAYKO may have been sold, then I'd love to hear from you…