Book excerpt: It's all here! Fifty years of toys! The toys pictured and listed in this book represent the immense volume of items produced from 1947, when the Matchbox company was founded, to the present, including their popular diecast vehicles along with playsets, dolls, plastic kits, robots, and ephemera all in one massive volume-now in its second edition! The international scope of Matchbox toys is illustrated through catalogs, boxes, and labels on toys printed in a dozen languages. Certain toys have been made for sale in specific countries or to promote specific companies or products. The numbering system on miniatures changed in 1982 when worldwide toys began different numbering systems. The result of all these variables is a fascinating and infinite variety of Matchbox toys. Book jacket.