Vintage 1950s Britains Swoppets Knights and Soldiers Rare and Very Collectable

Vintage 1950s Britains Swoppets Knights and Soldiers Regarded as Some of the Most Collectable Toys in the World

ON AUCTION ARE SOME HIGHLY COLLECTABLE BRITAINS SWOPPETS KNIGHTS FIGURINES. SWOPPETS ARE FIGURES CREATED BY THE COMPANY BRITAINS IN ENGLAND IN THE 1950S THAT CAN BE SWIVELLED OR EVEN SWOPPED BASED ON SUITABLE JOINTS AT THE NECK AND WAIST.
 
The Britains catalogue of the time described the Swoppet Knights thus: "Here's perfection in miniature. Magnificent models of Fifteenth Century Knights to relive the Wars of the Roses. Made in the Swoppet tradition, all parts fitting firmly, yet easily detached. Lifting visors, removable swords, swivelling bodies, all brightly coloured and adorned with their heraldic devices. Available singly or in the handsome window boxes illustrated".
 
IT WAS IN JULY OF 1959 THAT THE SWOPPET KNIGHTS FIRST WENT ON SALE.  BRITAINS ISSUED SIX FIGURES ON FOOT - AT FIRST THE KNIGHTS HAD NO MOUNTED COMPANIONS. 
We have the Knight with Lance no 1470 (our lance is broken in half though.)
We have the Knight with Sword no 1471 (our sword is half bent/broken and shield and sword was swopped front to back)
We have two Knights Longbowmen no 1472 (one has arm and bow broken off)
We have the Knight with Pike no 1473 (tabbard on head missing)
We have the Knight with Axe no 1474 (tabbard on head missing.)
We dont have the Knight Crossbowman.
 
During 1962, the Swoppet range was enhanced further with the "modern" British Infantry sets, a puzzling combination of three pretty much unswoppable standing figures. We have one such figure part of this lot.
 
We have two Britains Red Coats Figures with bugles. Both have one arm missing.
 
THE HERALDIC DETAIL IN THE SHIELDS MAY NOT HAVE CORRESPONDED WITH THOSE OF ANY FAMOUS KNIGHTS WHO ACTUALLY FOUGHT AT AGINCOURT, BUT THE FIGURES DEMONSTRATED AN ATTENTION TO ANATOMICAL DETAIL MANY YEARS AHEAD OF THEIR TIME, AND POSSESSED A GRACE AND BEAUTY ALL THEIR OWN. TO THIS DAY THEY REMAIN SOME OF THE MOST COLLECTABLE TOYS IN THE WORLD.
 
PLUS TWO TIMPO TOYS (1938-1978) FIGURINES FOR SPARE. A MOUNTED KNIGHT WITH THE HORSE LEGS BROKEN OFF AND A ARMY OFFICER WITH HAND BROKEN OFF.
 
BRITAINS SWOPPETS KNIGHTS AND SOLDIERS:
The credit for of the idea of "Swoppet" toys is disputed, but the patent was taken out by Britains who listed Selwyn-Smith as the inventor. The launch of Britains Swoppet series took place in March 1958, with the first set of Cowboys. It was in July of 1959 that the Swoppet Knights first went on sale. Once more, Britains issued six figures on foot, though at first the Knights had no mounted companions.  The Knights quickly became established as the jewel in Britains' crown.
The story of the Swoppet Knights has as its hero the pioneering British toy designer Roy Selwyn-Smith. Working for the legendary entrepreneur Myer Zang at Modern Packages in the late 1940s, Selwyn-Smith had taken part in some of the earliest experiments with producing models in plastic, before leaving to join Willmore & Sons. In 1950, Selwyn-Smith and the financier Otto Gottstein started Selwyn Miniatures, the company which gave the world the original lead Knights of Agincourt. However, after the untimely death of Gottstein, and the collapse of this embryonic venture, Selwyn-Smith rejoined Zang in 1951. The moulds for the Knights of Agincourt, as part of Gottstein's estate, were sold to William Britains, and the figures revived under the Britains name in 1954.
The last new addition to the Swoppet Knights range came in 1969. In 1971, the Swoppet Cowboys and "Indians" were finally withdrawn from sale, and, at the end of 1972, it was the end of an era as the Swoppet Knights followed them into glorious but unforgotten extinction. The final demise of the Swoppets has been blamed in some quarters on growing concerns about child safety, as in the early 1970s there were many stories in the press about young children choking on small parts from easily disassembled toys. 
In recent years, Britains (now of course under different ownership) have produced a very collectable set of metal Knights originally known as the "Tournament Knights" but there are many who wish out loud that Britains would also revert to manufacturing high-quality plastic toys of earlier.
 
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