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OPPPSS.... BROKEN LINK.... SO HERE'S THE POST INSTEAD.... ;-)
I had seen a catalog entry in an old 1956 Norway catalog, but I wasn't sure if
was (common in old LEGO catalogs) an error, or a real set, since one had never
been seen before, and no other country had this set listing.
But 2 days ago my Norwegian friend Arild found a set not yet seen online... a
rare 1309 ESSO GARAGE set (not to be confused with the 1310/310 ESSO SERVICE
STATION set)... and here it is for the first time....
https://www.flickr.com/photos/82930629@N08/13770006243/sizes/o/
This set is not to be confused with the 1309 CHURCH SET, which was ironically
first produced in 1957, at the same time. The 1957 Norway catalog shows the
ONLY time in LEGO history where 2 sets are shown in the same catalog under the
same number!!
This 1309 ESSO GARAGE SET was found in a 700/4 regular basic set box, but with a
paper banderole that mentions 1309 "ESSO GARASJE" in Norwegian....
https://www.flickr.com/photos/82930629@N08/13770036155/sizes/o/
The contents of this box are unfortunately not original for the most part, but
do contain 3 very important pieces to give us an indication of what the built
set looked like. Those pieces are a 1x8 white printed brick with a (unique to
Norway) ESSO SERVICE decal, a large (part 820 in Bricklink) garage plate, and a
tall freestanding ESSO sign. Also, the box insert is missing...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/82930629@N08/13770425934/sizes/o/
Here is what a 1236/236 GARAGE SET (flat box version) insert would look (image
mocked for this 1309 set)....
https://www.flickr.com/photos/82930629@N08/13808987663/sizes/o/
And here is what a 1309 built model would likely look like...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/82930629@N08/13770161785/sizes/o/
This built model is virtually identical to a 126/236 GARAGE SET, except for a
ESSO SERVICE sign (instead of GARAGE), and the addition of the freestanding Esso
sign. This would help explain why this set was only produced (by A/S Norske
LEGIO of Oslo Norway) for the Norway market for just 1956-57 before being
discontinued. The regular GARAGE SET however continued production for many
years afterwards.
Also, here is the back of the 1 page 1956 Norway catalog (bottom half) that
shows the 1309 ESSO GARAGE SET, and the larger 1310 ESSO SERVICE STATION SET....
https://www.flickr.com/photos/82930629@N08/13770274823/sizes/l
This set was not produced in Billund Denmark by TLG, only in Oslo Norway. So
the folks at the Billund Archives have no records of this set!
The latest addition to my LEGO Collectors Guide! ;-)
Cheers,
Gary Istok
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Now that the 1309 set has been discovered, there is still one set yet to be
discovered... a 1237 "Garage Side Building Set".
The Billund Archives have no information on this set, and it was obviously not
produced there for the Danish market. But it was likely produced in Oslo Norway
for the Norwegian and Swedish market... since it shows up in 1956-57 catalogs
there...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/82930629@N08/12475538205/sizes/o/
I had thought that this set may have been a catalog error or a set that was
withdrawn before production started, but with the existence of the 1309 Esso
Garage Set, that would make the existence of the 1237 set that much more likely.
In my LEGO DVD download, I had put the 1237 set in the "prototype" chapter...
but once we find one, I will have to move it to the early model set chapter...
next to the existing (for Denmark, Norway, Sweden) 1236 Garage Set.
Unlike the 1309 Esso Garage Set, which came in a flat box that supposedly had an
insert to hold the parts in place... the 1237 likely came in a loose rectangular
box... like the early 1236 sets. A 1237 that came up for auction would easily
top 1000 Euros!!
Cheers, and happy hunting!!
Gary Istok
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