Royal Mail has issued special stamps to celebrate iconic children’s toys.
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The Classic Toys stamp issue celebrates some of the best-loved British toys of the past 100 years, including the Merrythought bear, Sindy doll, Spirograph, Stickle Bricks, Fuzzy Felt, Meccano and Action Man.
The stamps are on sale from 7,000 Post Office branches across the UK, as well as online at www.royalmail.com/classictoys.
In the 19th century, the growing middle class of the Victorian era was fuelling an expansion in toy-making and major names in British manufacturing started to appear and compete with foreign makers.
By the early 1960s, Britain was exporting more toys than all but three other countries, with annual sales totalling more than £7 million.