BAYKO in BELGIUM
I currently have four BAYKO marketing documents from the Belgian Market, and, fortunately, I have been given several more images to use here : -
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1950, February - Plimpton Era Price List - Flemish

February, 1950 Price List for sets and supplementary parts, in Flemish

February, 1950 Price List for spare parts, in Flemish
The above document, dated February, 1950, is basically a straight copy of the domestic documentation of the same date, translated into Flemish, with prices in Belgian Francs and, of course, the address of the importer.
One query I would raise with this leaflet is why the number of sets is quoted in dozens? The most likely explanation is that this document was aimed solely at Belgian BAYKO retailers.
...or so I thought...
It just shows how ignorant, not to say stupid, I can be, however, thanks to Adrian Brysse I now know that "Dozen" is the plural of "Doos", which is the Flemish word for "Box"!!!
Obviously this is simple BAYKO Flier, aimed directly at the Belgian and Dutch customers!
Thanks to Robin Throp for these images.
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1950, November - Plimpton Era Price List - Flemish

November, 1950 Price List for sets and supplementary parts, in Flemish

November, 1950 Price List for spare parts, in Flemish
The above document, dated November, 1950, is again a straight copy of the domestic documentation of the same date, translated into Flemish, with prices in Belgian francs plus the address of the importer.
The same query applies to this document as well - "why are the sets quoted in dozens?" unless this document was targeted at Belgian retailers.
Thanks to Robin Throp for these images.
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1950 - Plimpton Era Flier - Flemish

Front page of 1950 Belgian flier showing a model and BAYKO details in Flemish

Front page of 1950 Belgian flier showing a model and BAYKO set price details in Flemish
The above document, dated February, 1950, is basically a straight copy of the domestic documentation of the same date, translated into Flemish, with prices in Belgian francs and, of course, the address of the importer.
This particular document is an excellent demonstration that export documents often replicated domestic ones - with the necessary translation.
146 mm x 227 mm = 5.7 x 8.95 inches
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1951 - Plimpton Era Flier - French

Front page of 1951 Belgian flier showing a model and BAYKO details in French

Front page of 1952 Belgian flier showing a model and BAYKO set price details in Flemish
The above document, dated March, 1951, is again a straight copy of the domestic documentation of the same date, translated into French, with prices in Belgian francs and, again, the address of the importer.
Although this document is thirteen months older than the Flemish one directly above, the prices remain unchanged.
A further point of interest is that the price list of available sets includes set #4 - almost a year before it was launched in the U.K. - this is surely too far ahead for the cock-up theory so must indicate that the priority really was being given to the export drive!
146 mm x 227 mm = 5.7 x 8.95 inches
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1952 - Plimpton Era Flier - Flemish

Front page of 1952 Belgian flier showing a model and BAYKO details in Flemish

Front page of 1952 Belgian flier showing a model and BAYKO set price details in Flemish
The above document, dated February, 1952, is, once again, a straight copy of the domestic documentation of the same date, translated into Flemish, with prices in Belgian francs and, of course, the address of the importer.
Sad to report that, since the two documents immediately above were printed, Belgian BAYKO prices had risen by 10%. To be fair, I'm not sure that this inflation was U.K. based, I suspect that exchange rates are behind it.
146 mm x 227 mm = 5.7 x 8.95 inches
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1952 - Plimpton Era Price List - French

Front page of 1952 Belgian price list showing BAYKO standard spare parts details in French

Back page of 1952 Belgian price list showing BAYKO sets and special spare parts details in and French
The above document, dated April, 1952, is the French language equivalent of the U.K. standard version, issued with the Belgian importer's details at the foot of side two.
As it was printed in "Angleterre" we can assume that Plimpton were responsible for the two type-setting errors which so incensed the original owner of this price list that he corrected them in pen!!!
What the poor little chap probably wouldn't have known, was that this document contains a far more fundamental error - the right hand parts list includes the French equivalent of left and right handed Side Bricks...
...and we can't even blame Johnny Foreigner!
Still, at least the he would have had the consoation that the set prices hadn't gone up since March [above].
146 mm x 227 mm = 5.7 x 8.95 inches
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1956 - Plimpton Era Price List - French

Front page of 1956 Belgian price list showing BAYKO standard spare parts details in French

Back page of 1956 Belgian price list showing BAYKO sets and special spare parts details in and French
The above French language document is dated July, 1956, and follows the established format.
As it too was printed in "Angleterre" we can assume that Plimpton were responsible for the two type-setting errors which are still in place - but no hand correction this time!
The quoted set prices have gone down significantly - 8% - since the previous document in 1952 [above] so perhaps the currency fluctuations helped this time!
146 mm x 227 mm = 5.7 x 8.95 inches
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1963 - MECCANO Price List - French

Front page of 1963 Belgian French MECCANO catalogue
1963 Belgian French price list - BAYKO page

Left BAYKO page of 1963 Belgian French catalogue

Right BAYKO page of 1963 Belgian French catalogue
Just like during the Plimpton era, the above document is the standard UK catalogue of the same date, translated into French, with the pull-out price booklet in Belgian francs and the address of the new local importer. It's nice to have the pair [below], but, technically, German is also an official language of Belgium, so, is there a third Belgian version?
I'm also pleased to be able to say that this one is also mine!
151 mm x 106 mm = 5.95 x 4.2 inches
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1963 - MECCANO Price List - Flemish

Front page of 1963 Belgian Flemish MECCANO catalogue
1963 Belgian Flemish price list - BAYKO page

Left BAYKO page of 1963 Belgian Flemish catalogue

Right BAYKO page of 1963 Belgian Flemish catalogue
Just like during the Plimpton era, the above document is the standard UK catalogue of the same date, translated into Flemish, with the pull-out price booklet in Belgian francs and the address of the new local importer. It's nice to have the pair [above], but, technically, German is also an official language of Belgium, so, is there a third Belgian version?
I'm also pleased to be able to say that this one is also mine!
151 mm x 106 mm = 5.95 x 4.2 inches
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Also, courtesy of Bill Foote : -
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1950's - Quality Inspection Slip - Dual Language
This slip was inserted into the conversion set #2X by the Quality Inspector at the Plimpton factory.
It is interesting to note that any problems were expected to be dealt with by the local importer.
Unfortunately it is undated, but the importer was certainly operating from the specified address in 1952.
As far as I've been able to ascertain, this quality inspection slip, with the possible inclusion of a local price list, was the only concession to the importing market...
...otherwise the product was identical.
Quality Inspection Slip from a Set 2X from the Belgian market from the 1950's
This is Shown Courtesy of Bill Foote.
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...and, in a similar vein : -
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1949 to 1951 - Set Contents Sheets - French and Flemish Versions
The French language sheet, below, is shown courtesy of Alan Taylor.
French Language Set Contents.
French Language Product Explanation.
French language set contents - 1949 to 1951?
French language reverse side with brief product explanation - 1949 to 1951?
Dutch language set contents - 1949 to 1951?
Dutch language reverse side with brief product explanation - 1949 to 1951?
Dutch Language Set Contents.
Dutch Language Product Explanation.
I do not know for certain the exact date of these 2 double sided sheets, but I can guess...
...given that they include parts for sets #0 to #3, with appropriate conversion sets, they probably date from between 1949 and 1951.
The above sheets were probably used separately for the respective markets, with both being included with sets for the Belgian market...
The Flemish sheet, above, is shown courtesy of Robin Throp.
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1950's BAYKO Information Sheet - French
French language explanation sheet
French language set contents sheet
Parts explanations.
Set contents explanations.
It is perfectly possible that this document was targeted primarily at the French market, but it may also have been used in Belgium.
I don't know the date of this leaflet either, but I can guess...
...or at least narrow it down to being later than the sheets above, i.e. 1952 or later, but, obviously, before the 1959 MECCANO takeover.
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There is also a multi-lingual BAYKO sheet, which I came across in the Liverpool Maritime Museum archives, that includes both French and Flemish language scripts.
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In common with most other companies, Plimpton had to protect their product and their markets as best they could...
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...and, in a completely different vein : -
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Although not actually a document specific to the Belgian market, I have a letter sent by Plimpton, in 1952, to a customer in Antwerp, which you may find interesting...
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Below here are links to related info : -
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The following countries are known to have been export markets for BAYKO : -
PORTUGAL
SOUTH AFRICA and
SOUTH CENTRAL AFRICA
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Click on highlighted country names above for more info.
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Click on any of the links below for related information.
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Latest update - June 8, 2010