Subject:
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Selling MISB Rare First USA Lego Set (First non-European Lego Set)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.market.buy-sell-trade
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Date:
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Tue, 8 Aug 2006 21:57:49 GMT
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Viewed:
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2875 times
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Folks, in cleaning out my closet I am selling a very rare 1961-62 USA/Canada
only Lego set.
It is the #705 Samsonite Basic set (larger than the large European #700/1 basic
set), that was only produced from the fall of 1961 until the fall of 1962.
Here is a history:
When the Lego license for USA/Canada was obtained by the Shwayder Bros.
(original owners of the Samsonite Corp.) in 1961, Lego production started in the
USA in the fall of 1961, and in Canada in early 1962. Of all the sets that were
first produced starting in 1961, all of them EXCEPT this flat box #705 set was
produced until 1965. This #705 set only had a 1 year production life before
being retired in the fall of 1962 (replaced by the tall box set).
The first USA/Canada production of Lego was from the Samsonite plant in
Stratford Ontario Canada. So that plant produced the #705 sets for both
countries. The only difference was the Lego catalog. The USA catalog (included
in this sealed set) shows the glossy USA 1961-62 catalog. The Canada version
would show the matte Canadian 1962 catalog.
Here is a picture of a twin of this set (Eric Strand and I each purchased MISB
copies from a Wisconsin seller):
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1222958
The box top comes off to reveal the parts shrinkwrapped in a nice checkerboard
fashion. This was common to all Lego basic sets from the very first Automatic
Binding Brick sets of 1949 until the sets of 1965.
When comparing this set against the European basic sets, it was larger than all
but the largest (#700/0) European sets (the bottom of the stack in this
continental European catalog):
http://horst-lehner.mausnet.de/lego/katalog/gk64/GK64-1.JPG
The provenance of this set is that it was shipped from the Stratford Canada
plant to a Wisconsin Toy seller. That toy seller went out of business soon
thereafter, and the former toy store owner kept these sets sealed up airtight in
an unused refrigerator in his basement (it helped keep them safe from light and
humidity). The former toy store owners grandson finally decided to sell them,
which is how I obtained my copy.
One of the reasons that the USA Samsonite license was revoked by TLG in 1972 was
because USA sales were not as strong, as compared to continental Europe. In
fact by the late 1960's, the USA only had about $5 million in Lego sales
maximum, very low when compared to Europe.
So in being a "1st year" set, the population of sets produced that first year
was also very low.
Here's your chance to get a legend set, that (until I obtained it) for a long
time I doubted its' existence. This set, the first non-European set to EVER BE
DISCONTINUED.... can be yours MISB for only $300.
Shipping is extra.
istokg@earthlink.net
Thanks,
Gary Istok
P.S. Why am I selling this very rare set? I bought 2 of them! ;-)
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