BAYKO in IRELAND

I currently have five BAYKO Irish Market documents, three Plimpton and two MECCANO, and, although I've no direct evidence, I believe that, for much of BAYKO's life, standard U.K. fliers were the norm on both sides of the Irish border. In some cases, where available, examples without prices may have been used, but this certainly wasn't necessary as the Irish Punt didn't finally sever its one-to-one link with Sterling until March, 1978, over ten years after BAYKO's death. Assuming, of course, that tax rates weren't too far apart at any given time.
A thought has just occurred, please don't leap all over me for political naivety, but, is it remotely possible that these documents found their way into toyshops in Northern Ireland, I doubt it, but if you know better, then I'd love to hear from you…
Given the closeness of the Irish market to the U.K., it's perhaps surprising that more documents haven't emerged, so I have to wonder just how many separate Irish documents were produced : -

April, 1951 - BAYKO Flier
Irish Flier dated April, 1951 - Front
Irish Flier dated April, 1951 - rear
Front
Rear
This is the earliest uniquely Irish document I've come across to date.
The above document is the standard double-sided U.K. flier format of the same date, modified for the Irish market, by the addition of the “Eire” legend both at the top and among the printer's code in the bottom left hand corner of the front of the document…
This style of Flier was also used during the late 1940s and early 1950s in several other BAYKO export markets, showing that the Irish market was very much mainstream.
Apart from the set and conversion set prices, the main aim of the document is to both educate and attract potential Irish customers about the world's first and finest plastic construction toy.
Does the fact that the list of BAYKO sets includes set #4, ten months before its U.K. launch, have any significance? It is possible that the post-war 'export or die' pressures had still not completely abated. Sadly I cannot answer the question…
…however, the U.K. version of the same date does not include set #4!
A small detail is that the only address quoted is the Plimpton factory in Liverpool, suggesting that was where market control remained.
143 mm x 226 mm = 5.6 x 8.9 inches

May, 1952 - Parts and Sets Price List
Irish Parts Price List dated March, 1952 - Front
Irish Parts Price List dated March, 1952 - Rear
The above document is the standard U.K. Parts Price List of the same date, modified for the Irish market. The 'ownership' of the Irish market is visible in two places with “Eire” printed in both the heading and within the printer's code in the bottom left hand corner of the front of the document [above left].
The document is date coded May, 1952.
Remember that there was one-to-one currency parity at the time, so the price differences presumably reflect tax differences.
The list of parts has reached its post-war peak at this stage, until the late 1950s 'afterthoughts'.
A small, but important detail is that the only address quoted is the Plimpton factory in Liverpool, strongly suggesting that this was where the market responsibility remained…
…it also suggests, to me at least, that the commitment to the separateness of the Irish market was somewhat half-hearted.
142 x 220 mm = 5.6 x 8.7 inches

1955 to 1956 - IRISH BAYKO Parts and Sets Price List
The outer pages of the 1950s Irish parts price list
 
Rear
Outer pages above.
Front
  
Inner pages below.
The inner pages of the 1950s Irish parts price list
The above document is the standard U.K. price list of the same date, but with local prices. The prices are different to U.K. prices, presumably due to different tax rates.
The non-alphabetical order of the listed parts suggests this document dates between 1952 and 1956. The 'deliberately vague' address format further narrows this down to the period bracketing the factory's change of address in September, 1955.
There is no mention in this document of an importer which suggests Plimpton supplied Ireland direct from Liverpool, at least at this time.  To date, this is the only specifically Irish document, from the Plimpton era, that I am aware of.
One final point - this document carries the reference code “Ref. 23”, whereas the U.K. equivalent is coded “Ref. 25”. This is the only example I know of where the U.K. and export documents have different codes…
253 x 189 mm = 9.95 x 7.45 inches

November, 1960 - BAYKO Flier
Front of November, 1960 Ireland BAYKO flier
Rear of November, 1960 Ireland BAYKO flier
Front
Rear
The above document is the standard double-sided U.K. flier of the same date, modified for the Irish market.
The only modifications that I have noticed relate to the removal of the set price information, and, of course, the addition of “Eire”, hidden away in the document reference data in the top right hand corner.
178 mm x 245 mm = 7 x 9.65 inches

1963 - MECCANO Products Price List
Front page of 1963 Ireland MECCANO catalogue
1963 Ireland BAYKO price list
Left BAYKO page of 1963 Ireland catalogue
Right BAYKO page of 1963 Ireland catalogue
The above document is the standard U.K. catalogue of the same date, modified for the Irish market. The pull-out price booklet [top right] is in £/s/d. The prices reflect local tax and import duty differences from the U.K.
151 mm x 106 mm = 5.95 x 4.2 inches

In common with most other companies, Plimpton had to protect their product and their markets as best they could…
 
 
Below here are links to related info : -
 
The following 30+ other countries are known to have been export markets for BAYKO : -
 
   
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