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Camberwick Bagatelle
Trumptonalia
There are 2 versions of this small bagatelle game.
Both produced by the famous Louis Marx Toy company in Swansea.
Pics 1 and 2 - The 1st version originally came in a red box and dates from 1966 when Camberwick was first broadcast
Pic 3 - It was then sold in a different box.
Because,in an effort to cut costs,Marx stopped using individually illustrated bagatelle packaging.Replacing them with "one design fits all" box in blue,white and cream,that simply had a window so you could differentiate the contents.
Although I've yet to establish in which year that actually started.
And I'm also awaiting some evidence that the newer version had the cellophane window that logic says it probably should.As I've yet to see any survivors having so much as a single,tatty remnant.
The 2nd version. Shown to the right >
It seems to have used the same blue & cream box.
Rather than benefitting from any new,3rd generation packaging.
Same game,different artwork.
And,seemingly,just a new lick of paint to keep the sales bandwagon rolling.
Although it's debatable how successful it was,because survivors are a fair bit harder to find than the 1st version.
And whilst that's a pretty good indicator that it simply didn't sell as well,it doesn't necessarily mean it bombed either.
Because whilst it may well be harder to find ...
it's certainly not on theTrumptonalia endangered species list
In short ....
It was the sort of product they probably thought would be a banker even before it was released.
And it's not hard to see why they were proved right.
And if you're considering an online purchase you'd probably do well to ask about the following things.
As they're often neither mentioned nor shown.
- scratching to the persex top.
- - rust to the tin base plate.
- - - the loss of the 2 small feet that lifts the top part above the horizontal.
And with regard to that last point,it's worth clarifying that the earlier version came with 2 small plastic pegs that fitted into 2 holes
ie. removable for easier storage,but easily lost.
And,probably because of that,the redesigned version ditched the pegs altogether and came instead with 2 semi-circular little plastic feet that were permanently fixed.
Which obviously solved the problem of loosing them.But greatly increased the chances of them being broken. And also makes it trickier to rectify should you buy one and find you have to.
Oh,and one last thing ..... be prepared to receive a very noisey parcel with those balls rattling around inside !
It's described in the 1967 Marx Trade Catalogue as follows:-
Quote ... "A game of skill and chance,measuring 13.5" long,5.5" wide and 2" high,with a full-colour lithographed metal base and fully enclosed in clear plastic.
Scoring is achieved by 5 coloured marbles which are propelled by the full spring plunger -the rotating arrow indicating bonus or penalty points.
Individually boxed." ... End quote
It's also listed with a reference number - G.70C. ( which appears on the back of the later blue and cream box too.)
Sadly,the catalogue photo is just a black & white shot taken at a rather obtuse angle.So I haven't included it here.
