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Dinky Toys

Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model vehicles, traffic lights, and road signs produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpool.

Dinky Toys were among the most popular die-cast vehicles ever made – pre-dating other popular die-cast marques, including Corgi, Matchbox and Mattel's Hot Wheels.

Vehicles commercialised under the "Dinky" name include cars, trucks, aircraft, military, ships.

Pre-war history
Frank Hornby established Meccano Ltd. in 1908 to make metal construction sets. The company later moved into model railways, with its O gauge clockwork trains appearing in 1920.

In the early 1930s, Meccano made many types of tinplate and other metal cars, such as its Morgan and BSA three-wheelers, mostly in kit form. In 1933, Meccano Ltd issued a series of railway and trackside accessories to complement its O gauge (1/45) Hornby Trains model railway sets. The accessories were first called "Hornby Modelled Miniatures", but in the April 1934 issue of Meccano Magazine, they were given the name "Meccano Dinky Toys" for the first time. In August 1935, the name Meccano was dropped and the marque became DINKY TOYS, which lasted until 1971. By December 1934, the Dinky name was also used for the "Dinky Builder" sets, which were coloured flat metal pieces that could be hinged together to make buildings and vehicles.

One story about the origin of the "Dinky" name is that it derived from a nickname that a friend gave to Frank Hornby's daughter. Another version is that when one of Hornby's daughters-in-law first saw the models, she called them "dinky", a Scottish word meaning "neat" or "fine".

The legacy of vehicles
In the mid-1930s, six vehicles were released (designated 22a through f), including a sports car, a sports coupe, a truck, a delivery van, a farm tractor, and a tank, all cast in lead. Soon after, the first Dinky model car, a sports car based on the MG Magic Midget, was made available individually, numbered 23. At that time, a series 24 (a-h) was introduced, which included a generic ambulance (made until the late 1940s), a grand sport open four-seater, a grand sport two-seater, a coupe and a limousine. The 24 series was also made in France.

Some smaller vehicles were produced alongside model track workers, passengers, station staff and other O scale trackside accessories. All of the early cars were inaccurate representations and had die-cast metal bodies and chassis, and wheels with rubber tyres. By August 1935, there were around 200 different products in the Dinky Toys range which included die-cast ships, aeroplanes and small trains. Dinky Toys model cars were available individually in trade packs of six cars per pack. Most models were not made available in individual boxes until 1952.

The number of commercial vehicles expanded with the addition of Series 28, which included many delivery vans. In 1935, a new series 30 was introduced which, for the first time, featured accurate likenesses of specific vehicles. They included a generic ambulance, a Daimler saloon, a Vauxhall saloon, a Chrysler Airflow saloon, and a Rolls-Royce saloon. Smaller Matchbox-sized Austin 7 saloons and tourers were also made. At about the same time, several models were also made and marketed in France. Liveries of well-known companies began to decorate the commercial vehicles.

Series 30 included:
 * 30a Chrysler Airflow Saloon (originally no. 32)
 * 30b Rolls-Royce
 * 30c Daimler
 * 30d Vauxhall
 * 30e Breakdown car
 * 30f Ambulance

In 1938, a new Series 36 was introduced. Most of those models were also made after World War II, up to 1948. Production was halted during the war so that the Binns Road factory in Liverpool could produce many items for the war effort. Models in series 36, meanwhile, included a Rover Saloon, a Bentley 2 seat sports coupe, an Armstrong-Siddeley limousine, a British Salmson 4 seater convertible, a British Salmson 2 seat convertible, and a Humber Vogue coupe. Chassis were cast with open holes, saving expense and metal. Provision was made on some models for attachment of metal drivers, but not many appeared before the war, making them more valuable.

Dinky had acute problems on early models with zinc pest, also known wrongly as metal fatigue, caused by impure alloys which caused corrosion between molecules, resulting in cracking of the metal, which would crumble prematurely. That was much more common in the years 1938–1941, and is the main reason why it is rare to find surviving toys in good condition from that period. Some early castings have survived in numbers, while others are rare without some form of damage – such as the 28/2 Series vans. Another theory is that the metal was corrupted by contamination with lead from Hornby train and Dinky Toys production, or lead ties from sacks and foil from cigarette wrappers.

Military
Between 1937 and 1939, a number of military vehicles were introduced, numbered from 151 to 162. They were painted army green, and consisted of a medium and a light tank, an Austin 7 military car, a six-wheeled truck, a reconnaissance car, a searchlight lorry, an anti aircraft gun, a Vickers Light Dragon artillery tractor with limber and 18-pounder gun. Most interesting were several fairly detailed trailers, including an ammunition trailer, a cooker trailer and a water tank trailer. The military offerings were produced through 1941, though a few select models – the clever (161b) anti-aircraft gun, the (151a) medium tank, and some of the trailers – were also made again from 1946 to 1955.

Pre-war models were fitted with thin diameter 1.626 mm. (0.064 in.) axles, whereas the post-war axles were 2.032 mm. (0.08 in.). The pre-war hubs were smooth, but after the war there was a raised part in the centre of the hub. Tracks on the tanks and the (162a) Light Dragon artillery tractor were made with a wire-link sprocket chain wrapped around the hubs. That gave a mechanical, although not very realistic, appearance to the tracks. The side panels of the anti-aircraft folded and, not only did the gun swivel 360 degrees, but it could be moved from level to about a 50-degree angle upward. The searchlight was also adjustable in horizontal and vertical directions.

Military models were made until the end of production in the late 1970s. A wide variety of military vehicles were produced, such as thejeep-like Austin Champ, which included a driver and passengers.

Aircraft
In the early days of the Dinky Toys range, aeroplanes and ships formed a considerable part of the output of the Binns Road factory, along with models of cars, vans and trucks. Both civilian and military aircraft were subjects for the Dinky Toys modellers, and the model of the Spitfire was sold in a special presentation box between 1939 and 1941, as part of The Spitfire Fund, to raise money for the supply of a real Spitfire to the Royal Air Force. Some models were clearly identified, whereas others re-issued in 1945 had generic names such as Heavy Bomber (66a) and Two Seater Fighter (66c). The reason for that is not clear, but it may have been that they were not true representations of particular aircraft types. However, there were rumours that some models of aircraft and ships were disguised so that enemy agents would not be able to recognise allied aircraft and shipping from the Dinky Toys models. That was of particular importance in the production of French Dinky models, due to the political friction in Europe before the war and the fact that France was occupied by the Axis forces during hostilities. Those theories do not seem to be valid, because the models with generic names were issued in 1945, after hostilities had ceased.

Production of model aircraft resumed after the war with a mixture re-issues of pre-war models, along with models of new civilian airliners and recently introduced jet-powered aircraft. Production of Dinky planes tailed off in 1968, but was resurgent in 1971 with a range of World War II types complete with battery-powered propellers, as well as modern jet fighters, and even a Sea King helicopter. Those large-scale planes had been developed by Airfix but were made by Meccano Ltd., which had recently been bought by Airfix.

The range included:

 * 60a Imperial Airways Liner (Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta) (1934)
 * 62a Supermarine Spitfire (1939)
 * 60c Percival Gull (1934)
 * 60d Sikorsky S58 Helicopter
 * 60f Cierva C.30A autogiro
 * 60g de Havilland Comet
 * 60h Short "Singapore III" flying boat
 * 60r Short S 23 Empire flying boat
 * 60s Fairey "Battle" bomber (1940–41)
 * 60w Clipper III Flying Boat
 * 62g Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (1939)
 * 62k The King's Aeroplane
 * 62m Airspeed Envoy
 * 62p Armstrong Whitworth Ensign
 * 62s Hawker Hurricane (1940)
 * 62w Imperial Airways Liner Frobisher Class
 * 63 Mayo Composite aircraft
 * 63b Mercury Sea Plane
 * 64a Amiot 370 (1939)
 * 64b Bloch 200 (1939)
 * 67a Junkers Ju 89 (1941)
 * 70a Avro York (1946)
 * 70c Vickers Viking (1954)
 * 70d Twin Engine Fighter
 * 70e Gloster Meteor (1946)
 * 70f Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star (1947)
 * 701 Short Shetland Flying Boat
 * 702 De Havilland Comet BOAC (1954)
 * 703 Handley Page Herald (1955)
 * 704 Avro York Airliner (1954) – re-issued from 70a
 * 705 Vickers Viking – re-issued from 70c
 * 706 Vickers Viscount Airliner (1956)
 * 707 Avro Vulcan – renumbered as 749 before release
 * 708 Vickers Viscount Airliner (BEA) (1957)
 * 710 Beechcraft Bonanza S35
 * 712 US Army T-42A – retracting undercarriage
 * 715 Beechcraft Baron – retracting undercarriage
 * 716 Westland Sikorsky S51 Helicopter
 * 717 Boeing 737 in Lufthansa Livery
 * 731 Twin Engine Fighter – re-issue of 70d
 * 730 Hawker Tempest II Fighter
 * 732 Gloster Meteor (1946) – re-issue of 70e
 * 732 Bell Police Helicopter – same issue number as above (Meteor) – 1974 release
 * 733 Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star – re-issue of 70f
 * 734 Supermarine Swift (1955)
 * 735 Gloster Javelin (1956)
 * 736 Hawker Hunter (1955)
 * 737 P.1B Lightning Fighter (1959)
 * 738 de Havilland Sea Vixen (1960)
 * 715 Bristol 173 Helicopter
 * 718 Hawker Hurricane Mk IIe (1972)
 * 719 Supermarine Spitfire Mk II (1969) – motorised propeller
 * 721 Junkers Ju 87 'Stuka' (1969)
 * 722 Hawker Siddeley Harrier (1970) – retracting undercarriage
 * 723 Hawker Siddeley H.S.125 Executive Jet – retracting undercarriage
 * 724 Sea King Helicopter and Apollo Spacecraft Capsule (1971) – motorised main rotor.
 * 726 Messerschmitt Bf 109E (1972) – motorised propeller
 * 730 US Navy McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom (1972)
 * 731 SEPECAT Jaguar (1973) – retracting undercarriage
 * 749 Avro Vulcan (1955) – boxes marked "992" – "Supertoys" range
 * 997 SE 210 Caravelle Airliner (1962) made alternatively in France and in England – "Super toys" range
 * 998 Bristol Britannia Airliner (1959)
 * 999 Comet Airliner (1956) – re-issue of 702

Although the production of aircraft models continued after the war, the heyday of Dinky ships was between 1934 and 1939. The models, which were 1/1200 to 1/1985 scale, were cast from the same unstable alloy that was used across the entire pre-war Dinky range and have therefore suffered from the metal decay that makes survivors all the more rare. Small metal rollers were also included in the design and concealed in the underside of the hull so that the models could be moved smoothly across surfaces. Mirroring the aircraft range, both civilian and military ships were issued, and again, some were disguised.

Ships
The liner France was the only Dinky Toys ship produced in France after the war. It was made partly of zamac and partly of plastic, at the scale of 1/1200. It was not until 1976 that five further models were added to the long line of maritime releases from Dinky Toys. Those were in the larger scale of 1/180 – 1/200.

Models in the pre-war range include:

 * 50a HMS Hood (51)
 * 50b Battle ship Nelson class
 * 50c Cruiser Effingham
 * 50d HMS York
 * 50e HMS Delhi
 * 50f Destroyer Brook class
 * 50g K class submarine
 * 50h Destroyer Amazon class
 * 50k X class submarine
 * 51b Norddeutscher Lloyd Europa
 * 51c Italia Line Rex
 * 51d CPR Empress of Britain
 * 51e P & O Strathaird
 * 51f Furness Queen of Bermuda
 * 51g Cunard White Star Britannic
 * 52a Cunard/White Star Queen Mary
 * 52c Paquebot La Normandie made in France
 * 52c Battleship Dunkerque made in France

Post-war history
No Dinky Toys models were made between 1941 and 1945. The French Meccano factory was occupied by the Germans, some of whom worked for Märklin, and the British factory was on war work but every Christmas a few models would be sold from pre-war stocks. Thus during and after the war a few 'pre-war' models survived and were sold in 1945. The first new models released after the war were U.S. military jeeps ref.153a in April 1946 in England and ref. 24M in France, it was the first Dinky Toy made at the scale of 1/43. Besides some of the military vehicles offered before and after the war, the first significant releases from Dinky in the late 1940s were the 40 series, which were all British saloons. The first new model car released was an Armstrong Siddeley Coupe. These were the opening chapter of the "golden age" of Dinky Toys in the post-war era and represented far greater accuracy and detail than their pre-war relatives. These were very popular and today are often considered by collectors to be the quintessential Dinky Toys models. The 40 series cars were manufactured from better quality alloy, meaning that the survival rate is higher and although originally sold in trade boxes of six, they were renumbered in 1954 and re-coloured in two-tone paintwork in 1956, the Austin Somerset ref. 40j is probably the first model sold in its own individual yellow box. The first two models in the 40 series were in 1:48 scale, while the others were in 1:45 scale. The Jowett Javelin saloon is an interesting case as plans were made, but the model was never issued. More recently, Odgi Models have remade the Jowett and a couple other Dinky Toys Models which were planned but never manufactured.

The series included :

Dinky Supertoys
As part of the post-war development and expansion of the range, in 1947 Meccano Ltd introduced a series of model lorries modelled to the usual Dinky scale of 1:48, and introduced the altered name of Dinky Supertoys. Some models issued in this line included:

In 1950, Meccano introduced in the Supertoys series a number of Guy Vans finished in appealing period liveries. Each model was an identical all metal box van with opening rear doors. The Guy cab was joined by a Bedford S cab in 1955 and a Guy Warrior cab was introduced in 1960. Later, A.E.C. and other models were also added. Supertoys were commonly packaged in white boxes with thin blue horizontal lines and were marketed all on their own – no longer were these models solely focused on railroad accessories. Still, they did not quite reach the commercial marketing level of later die-cast brands like Corgi Toys or Solido.

Meccano continued producing detailed Dinky Supertoys commercial vehicles through the fifties and sixties, including such subjects as a Mobile Television Control Room and Camera Van in both BBC and ABC Television liveries, a Leyland test chassis with removable miniature 5 ton weights, a series of military vehicles including a Corporal Erecting Vehicle and missile (a subject also modelled by Corgi Toys at the same time), a range of Thornycroft Mighty Antar heavy haulage transporters complete with loads and a Horse Box in British Railways and later in Newmarket liveries.

In 1965 after the take over of Meccano Ltd. by Lines Brothers, the marque Dinky Supertoys was dropped and the large models were renamed Dinky Toys. Later a new trade mark was registered in France : "Super Dinky" but only a few models were issued with this marque before the production stopped definitely.

Post-war car lines
Having been well known before the war, Dinky Toys were popular in the United Kingdom in the early 1950s. The smaller cars were in a scale of 1:45, while the larger cars and many Supertoys, as stated above, were in a scale of 1:48, which blended in with O scale railway sets, but many buses and lorries were scaled down further. The scale of the Dinky Toys land vehicles range from 1/27 for the Lunar Roving Vehicle ref. 355 and 1/99 for the Duple Viceroy Luxury coach ref. 293 / 296. Because of the introduction of data processing, the British Dinky Toys range was reorganized in 1954 with a new numbering system – previously model numbers were commonly followed by letters and often sold in sets with several vehicles. Now each model had its own unique three digit catalogue number (with no letters), and cars were now sold in individual boxes. The renumbering also happened in France, but in 1959.

The Dinky Toys ranges became more sophisticated throughout the 1950s. Some cars in the sporty pre-war line were carried on after the war like the Alvis sports tourer, the Sunbeam Talbot, or the Frazer-Nash BMW. These offerings then led to a magnificent line-up in the post war Dinky range, which included a Lagonda, an Armstrong-Siddeley, MG, Sunbeam Alpine, Austin Atlantic, Austin Healey 100, Aston Martin DB3S racer, Morris Oxford sedan and Triumph TR2. Additionally, several models introduced were American cars, and even now still seem unique choices, such as a 1954 Packard convertible, a 1955 Plymouth Belvedere, a Cunningham, the 1953 and 1957 Studebakers (and a 1957 Packard), a Chrysler New Yorker Convertible, a 1957 Rambler, and a late model Hudson Hornet. In many cases, even domestic British / European vehicle choices for models were not everyday selections, e. g. the Connaught racing car, Maserati Sports 2000, AC Aceca, Humber Hawk, 1954 Bristol LeMans car with large fins – and a Daimler instead of the more routine Jaguar.

Several colourful gift sets of sports and racing cars were offered in the mid-1950s, usually five cars to a set. For example, Gift set no. 4 / 249 offered Cooper-Bristol in British racing green, Alfa Romeo in the Italian red, Ferrari in the blue and yellow of Argentina (Juan Manuel Fangio's country), and H.W.M. in light green, and Maserati in the red and white colours of Switzerland. No. 149, the sports car set, offered an MG, Austin-Healey, Sunbeam Alpine, Aston-Martin and Triumph TR-2.

Production of agricultural machinery and implements had occurred since the 1930s, such as the 1933 number 22e Fordson farm tractor, and such offerings were maintained post-war. One interesting model was the odd Opperman 3-wheeled Motocart, a tilting flat-bed vehicle with engine hanging off to the side of its large front wheel.

Dublo Dinky
In November 1958, Meccano Ltd introduced the Dublo Dinky range of models in 1:76 OO scale, designed to be used with the Hornby railway system. These were relatively cheap to produce – having a one-piece die-cast metal body, a base plate and or windows on some, and plastic wheels. There was the added bonus of being able to compete in the small-scale toy car market which, at the time, was dominated by Lesney's Matchbox.

There were a total 15 Dublo models, although with upgrades and modifications there are possibly up to 42 variations (not including box variations) manufactured. All models came boxed. There were no colour changes throughout the short life of Dublo.

Models were well-proportioned and looked similar in style to contemporary Matchbox or Budgie Toys. For example, similar to Matchbox, the Land Rover (which came with a horse trailer) had windows, grey or black plastic wheels and a black base. Wheels, however, (the Land Rover had one on the bonnet as well as one underneath) were somewhat flatter and wider than those of Matchbox and their circumference was not ribbed at the beginning but this feature was added later. The baseplate, however, was pressed steel with etched lettering (not die-cast with moulded lettering as was the case with Matchbox, Budgie Toys or Lone Star vehicles). Finally, the Land Rover had a trailer hook behind which was a cut, curved extension of the baseplate. The front and rear axles were held to the vehicle differently. The front was covered by the tube of the baseplate and held pinched on each side by extensions of the die-cast body. The rear axle was exposed and run through holes in rounded sections folded over on each side of the plate. The ref. 072 Bedford articulated lorry was a reproduction of the Meccano factory lorry, its articulated flat trailer was dimensioned to receive the Hornby Dublo container.

The range met with limited success and the first model was withdrawn in October 1960 having only been on sale for 18 months – there was no replacement. Within 22 months of their launch there were price reductions to 3 models. Further models were withdrawn in May 1961, September 1962 and March 1963 until in November 1963 those models that remained were taken off the shelf six years after the Dinky Dublo line was introduced. Thus ended the production of Dublo Dinky Toys under Meccano who went into receivership two years later.

Five of the Dublo models enjoyed a new lease on life when Meccano was purchased by Lines Brothers.

The range:
 * 061 Ford Prefect: Introduced in March 1958 and withdrawn October 1960. Three model variations and one box variation.
 * 062 Singer Roadster: Introduced in March 1958 and withdrawn 1960. Two model and one box variation.
 * 063 Commer Van: Introduced in March 1958 and withdrawn 1960. Three model and two box variations.
 * 064 Austin Lorry: Introduced December 1957; withdrawn 1962. Four model variations and four box variations.
 * 065 Morris Pick Up: Introduced December 1957; withdrawn 1960. Two model and one box variation.
 * 066 Bedford Flat Truck: Introduced December 1957; withdrawn 1960. Four model variations and two box variations.
 * 067 Austin Taxi: Introduced March 1959; withdrawn 1966. Two model variations and two box variations.
 * 068 Royal Mail Van: Introduced April 1959; withdrawn 1964. Three model variations and two box variations.
 * 069 Massey Ferguson Tractor: Introduced September 1959; withdrawn 1964. Five model variations and two box variations. Model was also issued with a low sided wagon as part of the Hornby Dublo railway system, no. 6494, boxed.
 * 070 AEC Mercury Tanker: Introduced October 1959; withdrawn 1964. Two model variations and two box variations.
 * 071 Volkswagen Delivery Van: Introduced March 1960; withdrawn 1964. Three model variations and two box variations.
 * 072 Bedford Articulated Flat Truck: Introduced June 1959; withdrawn 1964. Two model variations and no box variations.
 * 073 Land Rover & Horse Trailer: Introduced September 1960; withdrawn 1966. The most complex of all Dublos; three model variations and three box variations. The horse came in light, medium and dark tan.
 * 074 This number was never used : Land Rover was to be marketed as separate but model was never produced.
 * 075 This number was never used : Horse trailer was to be marketed as separate but model was never produced.
 * 076 Lansing Bagnall Tractor & Trailer: Introduced June 1960; withdrawn 1964. No model variation but two box variations.
 * 077 This number was never used : The planned model was to have been an AEC Transporter but model was never produced.
 * 078 Lansing Bagnall Trailer (Trade box of 6): Introduced June 1960; withdrawn 1966. Three box variations.

Competing with the "Ones with Windows"
Dinky offerings at this time were striking, but due to the lack of much competition, development of new models was perhaps a bit slow at least until July 1956, when Mettoy introduced a rival line of models under the Corgi brand name. The most obvious difference was the addition of clear plastic window glazing. While Corgi Toys called their vehicles, "The Ones With Windows", Meccano Ltd responded by updating the Dinky Toys range and the models from both companies quickly became more and more sophisticated featuring such things as working suspension, "fingertip steering", detailed interiors, and jewelled headlights. The first model to have jewelled headlights was the no. 196 Holden Special sedan made from 1963 to 1969.

Truck offerings remained continuously creative including a Simca glass truck with a sheet of "glass" (clear plastic) and a mirror (polished aluminium), a Leyland Octopus flatbed truck complete with realistic chain around the bed, a car carrier with a car carrying trailer, a Dunlop tyre rack full of tyres, a Berliet truck hauling an electrical transformer, and an intricately detailed Brockway bridgelaying truck. One of the most astounding was the Mighty Antar truck hauling a large gold ship's propeller. A wide variety of military vehicles continued under production.

A rival third range of model cars also appeared in 1959 called "Spot-on" which were manufactured in Northern Ireland and produced by Tri-ang, a division of Lines Brothers. This range was kept to one scale, 1:42, also featured mainly British makes, and were comparatively more expensive, never managing to sell as many units as Corgi or Dinky Toys. To compete with Spot-on, the scale of British Dinky Toys was increased to 1:42 in 1963. In 1964 Tri-ang took over the parent Meccano company (which included Hornby trains as well as Meccano itself). Since Dinky Toys were more popular, Spot-On Models were phased out in 1967, although a few cars originally designed for Spot-On were made in Hong Kong and marketed as Dinky Toys. After the take-over, Meccano continued to use the 1:42 scale for many of the English made cars and trucks until 1977. The French factory stuck to 1:43 scale, which it had used since 1947.

The Mattel onslaught
In 1969, two years after appearing in America, Mattel's Hot Wheels entered the U.K. model car market. Their low-friction axles and bright paint schemes gave new play value and appeal. Dinky and other British brands rushed to catch up, usually unsuccessfully. Each manufacturer responded with its own version of Hot Wheels innovations–Dinky's name was "Speedwheels". The company continued to make innovative models, with all four doors opening (a first in British toy cars), retractable radio aerials (another first), new metallic paints, and jeweled headlights (pretty, but not very realistic). Such features, however, were expensive to manufacture and toy prices could only be kept low if the quantity was high, and in the face of Mattel's creation, Dinky faced an uphill battle.

Though the writing was on the wall, Dinky's offerings in the 1970s covered the entire spectrum of vehicles, both real and fictitious. Besides the normal gamut of passenger, sports and racing cars, buses, farm, emergency and military vehicles – cars, aeroplanes and spacecraft were also offered from popular (mostly British) TV shows of the time like Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, UFO, Thunderbirds, the Pink Panther, The Secret Service, and Joe 90 (Dinky Toys 1974). It could be argued, though, that it was too little too late, as Corgi Toys had already been offering for several years vehicles from far more well-known shows and movies in the United States like Batman, The Saint, Daktari, James Bond, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Dinky's seemingly weaker standing made it all the more susceptible to Mattel's unstoppable Hot Wheels onslaught. At least the Corgi name still survives as a well-known collectible brand.

Into the 1970s, many British made Dinky vehicles lost the precision quality of detailing and proportions seen during the two previous decades. Models like no. 186 Jensen FF or no. 213 European Ford Capri were rather chunky and unrefined with thick metal door frames, imprecise grilles, and ungainly doors and bonnets painted in separate colours from the rest of the body. Many just did not look quite right. Others, like the no. 1453 Citroën DS Présidentielle saloon were still impressive–flying French flags, with driver, and battery operated lights. Some of the truck and construction models remained very clever as well, with many moving features, like the Bedford refuse truck or the Taylor Excavator. At this time, Dinky also introduced "Action Kits" which were regular models that came disassembled with build instructions and consisted of about 40 pieces. On the other hand, French Dinky Toys, which had to compete with Solido since 1957, were much more accurate with better paint and sharper details than their English counterparts. The no. 825 DUKW military truck is a good example of the quality of French Dinky Toys.

Mini-Dinky
A second series of small scale models was introduced four years later in 1967, somewhat larger than the Matchbox range at 1:65. Mini-Dinky Toys, as the range was called, featured opening bonnets, doors and boots and were produced in Hong Kong and the Netherlands, with some construction models designed in Hong Kong as copies of models made in Italy by Mercury. The latter were to a smaller scale ranging from 1:87 to 1:130 depending on the model.

Each model was sold in stackable red plastic garages, with clear removable top and sides. The model would slide out of a double hinged opening door to one end. This was in place of the usual cardboard box. Some Mini-Dinkys were also blister packaged in a dark grey pack (some with garage and some not) with bright yellow lettering (Mini Dinky 2011).

Television and movie tie-ins
Although Dinky Toys were not known as widely for producing television related models as Corgi Toys, they still made a number of vehicles widely known from the small screen. Many of these models were the result of beating Corgi Toys to the signing of a licensing deal with Gerry Anderson's Century 21 Productions, whose programmes are immensely popular in the United Kingdom. The French factory produced only one TV series related model: the 1406 Renault 4 Sinpar "Michel Tanguy".

France
In 1912 Frank Hornby set up an office in Paris on Rue Ambroise Thomas to import Meccano toys into France. By 1921, the French market had proved so successful that production of Meccano began in Paris at the newly opened factory on Rue Rebeval, with another plant opening in 1931 in Bobigny where production of the Dinky Toys range would be based. In the early days production consisted mainly of tiny model trains cast in lead, with vehicles gradually increasing in number. By the late 1930s the French Dinky Toys range had begun to diversify from that of the British parent company, concentrating on the products of the French motor manufacturers and eventually including; Citroën, Peugeot, Simca, Renault, Panhard and Ford of France.

During the Second World War the Meccano factory was commandeered by the invading Germans and used in the Nazi war effort. The Bobigny factory was also produced an equivalent toy to the Meccano using the Märklin name. From 1945, the model vehicles were forcibly shod with solid metal wheels and the pumps did not have rubber hoses due to the shortage of rubber which was needed for the army. In the early post war period, rubber was needed badly as the French supply came from Cambodia and Laos in war against France, rubber tyres were not fitted on models until 1950. In 1951, the headquarters and offices which were still at Rue Rebeval closed and Dinky Toys production was now solely based at Bobigny.

In 1951, French Meccano has been the first post-war European manufacturer to introduce 1:43 scale. Initially, the scales of French Dinky Toys were similar to those of English Dinkys. The Citroën Traction Avant (24N), released in 1949, was 1:48, while the Ford Vedette 1949 (24Q), released in 1950, was 1:45, the same scales as used in the British 40 series. But then, in 1946 Meccano France released their first car in 1:43 scale: the Jeep (24M).

By the late 1950s, Italian, German and other marques, like the Dutch DAF were also offered by Dinky Toys of France. Focusing on export, American cars were also made like the late 1950s Studebaker, Chrysler's DeSoto, Buick Roadmaster, Plymouth Belvedere Coupe, Chrysler New Yorker convertible and Saratoga sedan, Ford Thunderbird "Squarebird" and Lincoln Premiere sedan. 1960s cars produced by Meccano France were the first Corvair sedan, a 1967 Ford Thunderbird coupe and a 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 sedan.

Some models such as the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia were produced both in France as 24M / 530 and in the UK at the Binns Road plant in Liverpool as number 187. By the 1960s there was virtually no crossover of product between the two countries resulting in a fascinating range that complemented the models. The vast majority of the French Dinky range was only available in the home market, Belgium, Switzerland, U.S.A. and other non-British Commonwealth countries although a few models did make it across the English Channel both before and after the war. Similarly, some examples of the British range of Dinky Toys were exported to France at the same time. The factory at Bobigny closed in 1970 and production moved to the present Meccano factory in Calais where the range continued to be manufactured until 1972 when the final single sheet catalogue spelt the French Meccano-built end for the best known name in die-cast toys. A contract had been signed with the Spanish firm Auto Pilen who received some tools and produced some models both as Dinkys and Auto-Pilens.

Spain
As import duties were high on finished goods and reduced on components, to get into the Spanish market, Meccano s.a. (France) exported sixteen unpainted and unassembled Dinky Toys to the Novades Poch Company in Barcelona. There the models were finished and fitted with specific Pirelli tyres.

The models are:

 * 509 Fiat 850
 * 510 Peugeot 204
 * 513 Opel Admiral
 * 514 Alfa Romeo Giulia
 * 517 Renault 8
 * 518 Renault 4L
 * 519 Simca 1000
 * 520 Fiat 600
 * 523 Simca 1500
 * 530 Citroën DS 19
 * 534 BMW 1500
 * 537 Renault 16TL
 * 553 Peugeot 404
 * 558 Citroën 2CV
 * 559 Taunus 17M
 * 560 Furgoneta 2cv Citroën

In 1974 labour was getting too expensive in France, and Meccano subcontracted the manufacture of some models to Auto Pilen s.a. in Spain. These models had already been made in France and were sold exclusively under the marque Dinky. When the Calais factory closed down some of the recent tools were sent to Liverpool where the models were produced with new baseplates. Some of these tools were later sent to Auto-Pilen where they were modified or updated before being re-issued; however, it is not known if the dies were modified by Meccano or by Pilen. These models were sold in France under the marque Dinky, they were clearly identified as Dinky and as MADE IN SPAIN on the base plate. In Spain they were sold as Pilen and marked as such. Pilen models, most of which were Dinky dies, were very popular and numerous in Spain and commonly sold in El Corte Inglés and Galerias Preciados department stores.

According to a contract between Meccano s.a. and Pilen, the last five so called French Dinkys were in fact Pilen models designed and tooled in Algeciras and fitted with a Dinky Toys base plate. Like the previous series, they were sold in France as Dinky and are very rare and as Pilen in Spain.

They were :
 * 11539 VW Siroco
 * 11540 Renault 14
 * 11541 Ford Fiesta
 * 11542 Simca 1308 GT
 * 11543 Opel Ascona

South Africa
Meccano Ltd exported Dinky Toys to all of the United Kingdom's old colonies relatively cheaply because of existing Commonwealth trade agreements. South Africa was one of its big importers.

Around 1952–1954, Meccano Ltd shipped to South Africa a limited-edition set of vehicles for the South African Defence Force. This set included a Motor Truck, a Covered Wagon, an Ambulance, a Dispatch Rider, a Van, a petrol tanker, a fire engine, a road roller, a Mechanical horse and trailer, a loudspeaker van.

When South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth in 1961, it imposed a luxury goods import tax, making Dinky Toys very expensive – a potential loss for Meccano Ltd. To resolve this problem, Meccano Ltd began shipping Dinky Toy parts to South Africa in 1962 where models were assembled and painted locally. The import of unfinished goods was not subject to the tax. These models were sold in South Africa between 1962 and 1963 and it is believed that only one batch of each model was produced, making South African Dinky Toys very rare. South Africa also imported Dinky Toys parts from the French factory in 1966 and six models were assembled and painted locally.

Some of the distinguishing features of South African Dinky Toys are:
 * The boxes have Afrikaans lettering at the one end and "Printed in South Africa" on the side.
 * The colours are often different from those on the same models assembled in the UK.
 * The base plates have a glossy finish, whereas the same models released in the UK have matte black base plates.

South African Dinky Toys from Liverpool were:

 * 112 Austin Healey Sprite Mk. II
 * 113 MG B
 * 139 Ford Cortina
 * 140 Morris 1100*
 * 141 Vauxhall Victor Estate car
 * 142 Jaguar Mk. X.
 * 144 Volkswagen 1500
 * 148 Ford Fairlane
 * 155 Ford Anglia
 * 172 Fiat 2300 station wageon
 * 177 Opel Kapitan
 * 181 Volkswagen
 * 183 Mini Minor Automatic
 * 184 Volvo 122S saloon
 * 186 Mercedes 220
 * 193 Rambler cross country station wagon
 * 194 Bentley Serie S coupe
 * 196 Holden special sedan
 * 198 Rolls-Royce Phantom V
 * 240 Cooper
 * 241 Lotus
 * 242 Ferrari
 * 242 B.R.M.
 * 300 Massey Harris tractor
 * 405 Universal Jeep
 * 449 Chevrolet El-Camino pick-up

South African Dinky Toys from Bobigny:

 * 519 Simca 1000
 * 548 Fiat 1800 familiale
 * 552 Chevrolet Corvair
 * 553 Peugeot 404
 * 554 Opel Rekord
 * 555 Ford Thunderbird

Chile
Circa 1967–1973, for reasons related to import substitution, some Dinky Toys were made in Arica, a tax free port at the very north of Chile. Only twelve models are known today, those which in England were packed in clear boxes and were provided in Chile with specific yellow packaging with a red 'globe' symbol. The boxes were printed with "Armado en Arica" ("Assembled in Arica"). Many of these models were painted in different colours from those made in England. The following are some of the models made in Chile:

 * 110 Aston Martin DB5
 * 116 Volvo 1800 S
 * 129 Volkswagen 1300
 * 232 Ford RV 40 (with left hand drive)
 * 136 Vauxhall Viva (with left hand drive)
 * 153 Aston Martin DB6
 * 161 Ford Mustang Fast back
 * 170 Lincoln Continental
 * 215 Ford GT 40 racing car (with left hand drive)
 * 216 Dino Ferrari
 * 240 Cooper racing car
 * 242 Ferrari 156 racing car
 * 243 Formula 1 B.R.M.

India
Original British-made Dinky Toys had been available in select cities in India from pre-war days until about 1955, when import curbs on toys came into effect. Old stocks of original Dinky toys continued to be available for a few years in Calcutta and other metro areas until supplies were exhausted.

Later, similar to how Corgis became Milton Toys and Matchboxes became Maxwells in India, Dinkys eventually appeared there under a distinct name. In 1963, Meccano closed its Speke factory and sold the dies, the casting machines and remains of spare parts and yellow boxes to S. Kumar & Co. in Calcutta, India. Toys were marketed as Atamco Ltd. products. The toys were first assembled with parts made in Liverpool and packed in original yellow boxes with the Dinky Toys name. The quality was very poor and it is believed that Meccano Ltd. asked S. Kumar & Co. not to use the Dinky name. Kumar then applied stickers with the name NICKY on the boxes to hide the name DINKY. Later when the stock of original boxes ran out, NICKY TOYS boxes of poor quality were printed in India.

These were selected Dinky dies, and not the whole British range – with only 32 different cars and trucks produced. Several aeroplanes were also made.

Hong Kong
Between 1965 and 1967 six model cars were produced for Dinky Toys in Hong Kong for the lucrative U.S. market. Originally intended to be produced by Spot-On, but re-branded as Dinky Toys when the Spot-On parent company (Tri-ang) bought Meccano Ltd, they were built to the usual Spot-On scale of 1:42. These were all American vehicles:
 * 57-001 Buick Riviera
 * 57-002 Chevrolet Corvair Monza
 * 57-003 Chevrolet Impala
 * 57-004 Oldsmobile 88
 * 57-005 Ford Thunderbird
 * 57-006 Rambler Classic

During 1978 and 1979, production of Dinky Toys in Hong Kong was again resumed. These were poor quality models, however, compared to earlier Dinkys, and an attempt to cut production costs and possibly shift production should the Binns Road Factory close, which it eventually did. So, the last new Dinky Toys made by Meccano were Hong Kong products. These are now some of the most sought after of all Dinky Toys. A few, such as Steed's Jaguar from the New Avengers TV series exist as pre-production examples only.

Italy
In 1980 after the Binns Road factory had closed two models have been made in Italy:
 * 122 Volvo 265 DL station wagon
 * 361 Missile firing war chariot

The parts may have been made in England or the tools exported, they were made and assembled by Polistil in Milan.

The Matchbox connection
Changing fashions in the toy industry, international competition and the switch to cheap labour in lower wage countries meant that the days of British-made toy vehicles like Dinky Toys were numbered. After attempts at simplifying the products as a means of saving costs, the famous Binns Road factory in Liverpool finally closed its doors in November 1979. By comparison, Corgi Toys managed to struggle on until 1983. Matchbox was taken over by Universal International of Hong Kong in 1982. Thus ended the era when UK-made die-cast toy models were dominant.

The Dinky trade-name changed hands many times before ending up as part of Matchbox International Ltd in the late 1980s. This seemed to be a logical and perhaps synergistic development, uniting two of the most valuable and venerated names in the British and world die-cast model car market under one roof. For a time some Matchbox vehicles were sold under the Dinky name. In the 1980s, Matchbox began issuing model cars of the 1950s and 1960s through the "Dinky Collection" – these models were marketed toward adult collectors. The models, like a Wolseley Hornet or a 1953 Buick Skylark convertible, were attractive and honoured the tradition of the Dinky name in realism. In fact these were often even more detailed than original Dinkys, instead resembling something more like Lledo's Vanguard range. Still, production stopped after only a few years.

The "Dinky Collection" eventually was absorbed into a themed series offered by Matchbox Collectibles Inc, owned by the US giant Mattel – which portrayed little interest in any historical honoring of the Dinky brand. Mattel has preferred to occasionally re-badge normal Matchbox models with the Dinky name for some editions in certain markets. In some cases 1:43 scale models from the Matchbox era were sometimes given the Dinky name. No new "dedicated" Dinky castings have been created in the Mattel era since Matchbox Collectibles was shut down in 2000.

Atlas partworks issues
In 2008 French partworks publishers, Atlas Editions, began to reissue models previously available as Dinky Toys under licence from Mattel. These models were only available by subscription in some European countries, initially France. This range is a twice monthly partwork featuring a particular Dinky Toy model complete with certificate and an information leaflet on the history of the casting and the real model. These models were from brand new tooling as the original Meccano dies had been previously sold to other toy makers worldwide or were destroyed or lost. The castings were similar to original Dinky Toys but the baseplates were marked "Atlas Editions – Made in China" which replaced the "Meccano – Made in England" (or "France") imprints. The new range is available in the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden.

In 2016, DeAgostini, the parent company of Atlas editions, launched another range of Dinky Toys in the United Kingdom and Italy, this time relaunching some of the range from 2008 onward, but replacing Atlas Editions with DeAgostini on the baseplate. Offerings to the general public were through selected newsagents in Dorset and Milan or by subscription. After a test run of 5 issues the range was discontinued in the UK. In the United Kingdom, the first five models issued were the Triumph TR2, Bedford CA Van, Ford Thunderbird, Morris Mini Traveller and the Jaguar XK120 coupe. In Italy the first three issues were the Citroen DS, Fiat 600 and the Volkswagen beetle. Issue 6 was continued in Italy and eventually Issue 6 was issued in the UK which as of November 2019 stands at issue 44. The Italian range ended after 70 issues in July 2019.

title: Dinky Toys


text:
The Verve Pipe

The Verve Pipe are an American rock band from Michigan. It was formed in 1992 in East Lansing by Brian Vander Ark, Brian Stout, and Donny Brown.

History
In November 1992, Brian Vander Ark of the band "Johnny with an Eye" signed a production deal with producer/engineer Thomas Jansen, owner of Station C Studios Inc. After Jansen produced, recorded and mixed all "Johnny with an Eye" tracks, Jansen was looking for a little more from the band. During this same period of time Jansen was courting Don Brown's "Water for the Pool" band to come over and record the rest of their album at Station C Studios. Frazer was then given the job of engineering the rest of their album project. In a conversation with Vander Ark, Jansen advised Vander Ark to call Brown to join the band with one guitar member of "Water for the Pool". Frazer then engineered Brown's drums and vocals, and Stout's guitars and vocals, on "Johnny with an Eye" songs, and Vander Arks's guitar and vocals on "Water for the Pool" songs. Frazer mixed the new band released their first album, I've Suffered a Head Injury. The original 10-song version of the CD is no longer available. A seven-song version, without the original recording of "The Freshmen", was later released as an EP. The band, known for its energetic live performances, built strong followings during its early years, especially in the college towns of Kalamazoo and East Lansing.

In the fall of 1993, the band released a second album, Pop Smear, again working with Jansen for pre-production and basic tracks and Frazer with overdubs and mixing, which helped them gain a devoted following in their native state of Michigan and their eventual signing with RCA Records in 1995. A.J. Dunning replaced Stout on guitar for the recording of Pop Smear and remained in the band for their three RCA records. This album featured the popular tracks "Spoonful of Sugar" and "Victoria".

Their first major label release was 1996's Villains, which was a minor hit and launched two respectably selling singles, the first being "Photograph" which charted at #53 on the Billboard Airplay charts, then the No. 5 Billboard Hot 100 hit "The Freshmen", which was their most popular single. On June 28, 1997, the band performed at Edgefest in Barrie, Canada. While performing, someone in the crowd threw a beer bottle towards the stage and it hit Brian Vander Ark in the cheek. The band then left the stage to seek medical attention.

The band came back with a new album, The Verve Pipe, in 1999. The album, however, failed to achieve the commercial appeal of its predecessor. The band's 2001 release Underneath contained the song "Colorful", which was featured on the soundtrack of the film Rock Star, and "Happiness Is", featured on the soundtrack of the film Joe Somebody.

On September 15, 2009, Brian Vander Ark announced on his website that the band would be releasing a new album called A Family Album in October 2009. The band had been approached to contribute a song for a compilation album called Calling All Kids, which led to them creating an "entire album of family[-]friendly songs". It was also noted in the announcement that a new album of rock material would follow the family album. Immediately after the release of the family album, the band undertook a series of small-venue performances, mostly around Michigan and the East Coast.

On March 28, 2014, the band announced on their Facebook page that their first studio album since 2001, titled Overboard, would be released on June 17, 2014, and would be followed with a tour. The first single from the album, titled "Crash Landing", was released on April 1, 2014.

Studio albums

 * Pop Smear (1993)
 * Villains (1996) No. 24 US (RIAA: Platinum)
 * The Verve Pipe (1999) No. 158 US
 * Underneath (2001)
 * Overboard (2014)
 * Parachute (2017)
 * Threads (2021)

Family albums

 * A Family Album (2009)
 * Are We There Yet? (2013)

EPs

 * I've Suffered a Head Injury (1992)
 * A Homemade Holiday (2007)

Compilation albums

 * Platinum & Gold Collection (2004)
 * Super Hits (2007)
 * Villains - Live & Acoustic (2017)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: The Verve Pipe


text:
Percy Kilbride

Percy William Kilbride (July 16, 1888 – December 11, 1964) was an American character actor. He made a career of playing country "hicks," most memorably as Pa Kettle in the Ma and Pa Kettle series of feature films.

Early life
Kilbride was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Elizabeth (née Kelly), a native of Maryland, and Owen Kilbride, a Canadian.

Career
Kilbride began working in the theater in 1900, at the age of 12, as a call boy at San Francisco's Central Theatre. After five years on the San Francisco stage, he played light-comedy roles for stock companies in Boston, Albany, Syracuse, Trenton, and Philadelphia, and eventually left to become an actor on Broadway. He first played an 18th-century French dandy in A Tale of Two Cities. His film debut was as Jakey in White Woman (1933), a Pre-Code film starring Carole Lombard. He left Broadway for good in 1942, when Jack Benny insisted that Kilbride reprise his Broadway role in the film version of George Washington Slept Here. According to Benny, Percy Kilbride was the same character offscreen and on: quiet and friendly but principled, refusing to be paid more or less than what he considered a fair salary. Kilbride followed up the Benny film with a featured role in the Olsen and Johnson comedy Crazy House (1943). In 1945, he appeared in The Southerner.

In 1947, he and Marjorie Main appeared in The Egg and I, starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert as a sophisticated couple taking on farm life. Main and Kilbride were featured as folksy neighbors Ma and Pa Kettle, and audience response prompted the popular Ma and Pa Kettle series. Pa Kettle became Kilbride's most famous role: the gentle-spirited and incredibly lazy Pa seldom raised his voice, and was always ready to help friends—by borrowing from other friends, or assigning any kind of labor to his American Indian friends Geoduck and Crowbar.

Because Universal insisted on releasing only one Kettle feature annually, during the spring months, there was already a backlog of unreleased pictures. Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki, filmed in February 1952, wasn't released for another three years. Kilbride withdrew from the series in 1953 after filming Ma and Pa Kettle Hit the Road Home. It was released in 1954 as Ma and Pa Kettle at Home.

Kilbride retired only from Pa Kettle, not from acting. Although the Kettle films were lucrative and "Kilbride has had a lot of fun making them," wrote columnist Frank Scully, "they have cost him a lot of fat parts on the home lot and elsewhere. He was picked for Return of the Texan only to be shelved for Walter Brennan because the front office thought it would be too tough a job getting that shiftless Kettle out of the public mind." In a 1953 interview, Kilbride discussed the monotony of his career due to his portrayal of Pa Kettle:

"I had my training on the stage, where I did a variety of roles. That's the fun of being an actor: to meet the challenge of creating new characters. But Pa Kettle is always the same. He can do anything; there is no need to establish any motivation. There's no kick in doing him over and over again. I have had dozens of offers to do television series, but I have turned them all down. I might do one-shot appearances; but I won't let myself get tied down to one character."

Kilbride had tried to break away from Pa Kettle, playing character roles in other films through 1950, but he became so familiar in the Kettle pictures that he wound up playing that role almost exclusively. The one exception was a 1952 industrial film promoting home appliances; Kilbride's dry delivery provided, appropriately enough, a voice for a dehumidifier.

Kilbride lived alone in an apartment on Whitley Avenue in Los Angeles, just off Hollywood Boulevard. Pa Kettle was even a dangerous influence on his personal life: "I've reached the time in life when I should own a house and settle down, but I know that Kettle virus would paralyze me when it came to mowing a lawn, sweeping off a porch, or changing a light bulb."

Death
On September 21, 1964, Kilbride and another actor, Ralph Belmont, were struck by a motorist while crossing the street in Hollywood.

Belmont died instantly; Kilbride died three months later from atherosclerosis and terminal pneumonia which were caused by head injuries, having undergone brain surgery at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles on November 11, aged 76.

A veteran of World War I, Kilbride was buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California. Kilbride, who never married, left his estate to four nephews and a sister-in-law.

title: Percy Kilbride


text:
Lowell family

The Lowell family is one of the Boston Brahmin families of New England, known for both intellectual and commercial achievements.

The family had emigrated to Boston from England in 1639, led by the patriarch Percival Lowle (c. 1570–1664/1665). The surname was spelt in many ways until it was standardised as Lowell from about 1721, apparently by the Rev. John Lowell. It was a later John Lowell (1743–1802) from whom the famous dynasty was descended.

Background
The Lowells originally settled on the North Shore at Cape Ann after they arrived in Boston on June 23, 1639. The patriarch, Percival Lowle, was born in Portbury before possibly becoming a merchant in Bristol and later arriving in the New World.

By the 19th and 20th centuries, the Lowells descended from John Lowell (1743–1802) were widely considered to be one of America's most accomplished families.

Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop needed solid, dependable people to settle the North Shore area as a buffer against the French from Canada and urged that the Lowells relocate to Newburyport on the Merrimack River, at the border of the failing Province of Maine.

Origin of the name
Many suggestions about the origins of the medieval name Lowle were offered during the late 20th century. Some argued that it was Welsh or Saxon while others supported the name was of Norman origin. One possibility is that it originates from the Latin word lupellus (wolf-cub) from Latin lupus (wolf).

Lowell family historian Delmar R. Lowell, gave much weight and persuasion to the origins of the name Lowle in his work and he and others concluded the Lowles of England were unquestionably of Norman descent.

There were still Louels in Scotland on the Scottish Marches in the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh when Edward Longshanks, King of England, ordered the nobility and gentry in Scotland to swear an oath of allegiance to him in the Ragman Roll in 1291. It is during this period, in 1288, that the earliest documentation for the name Lowle appears. William Lowle of Yardley in Worcestershire is documented as a yeoman, and standing as a witness to a border dispute between two of his neighbours. It is from this period that Delmar Lowell traces the descent of the Lowles through England until their departure for the colonies.

Documentation for this period also exists in The National Archives of England showing that there were also Lowels in the Welsh Marches. In 1317, William de Braose, 2nd Baron Braose petitioned King Edward II, the King's Council, and the Parliament to request that Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March send two justices to arrest and bring to trial 200–300 men he accused of attacking his Knights and Ministers and for, "trespasses made against the King's peace to Brewose and his people of Gower.", a peninsula, part of Glamorgan in Wales. Members named in this band of men included Ieuan and Griffith Lowel for the attack at Eynon.

Coat of arms
The Harleian Society, a British publisher of the official Royal Heraldic visitations, describes the Lowle Coate of Arms from the herald's records taken in Somersetshire in the years 1573, 1591, and 1623.
 * Blazon: Sable, a dexter hand couped at the wrist grasping three darts, one in pale and two in saltire, all in argent.
 * Crest: A Stag's head cabossed, between the attires a pheon azure.
 * Motto: Occasionem Cognosce (oh-kay-see-OH-nem kogg-NOHS-keh).

The coat of arms has a shield with black field displaying a right hand cut-off at the wrist and grabbing three arrows, one vertical and two crossed diagonally, in silver; above the shield is a male deer's head with a barbed, broad arrowhead in blue between its antlers. A loose translation of the family motto is Know Your Opportunity.

The use of the Lowle coat of arms has varied slightly between the generations; some families omitted the pheon azure or substituted blunted bolts for the pointed darts; and one generation, notably a pastor, used an urn in his families crest instead of the stag's head. The right for a man to bear arms traditionally passes from father to eldest son; occasionally subsequent generations change the coat of arms to reflect their lives or vocations better, sometimes even "quartering" their coat of arms with another family by way of marriage.

Some believe that the Lowle coat of arms fell into abeyance when Percival Lowle and his sons emigrated to Massachusetts. They were still subjects of the Crown and its favor until the colonies declared Independence from Britain in 1776 and were entitled to bear their coat of arms. Also, there were a number of Lowles who remained in England who could claim the right.

Family tree
The Lowell family of Boston was traditionally known as the descendants of John Lowell (1743–1802) of Newburyport. His descendants were the Lowells, well known as members of the Boston Brahmins.

 * John Lowell (1743–1802), Member of the Continental Congress and Federal Judge
 * John Lowell (1769–1840), lawyer and Federalist
 * John Amory Lowell (1798–1881), industrialist, philanthropist
 * John Lowell (1824–1897), Federal Judge
 * John Lowell (1856–1922), lawyer
 * Mary Emlen Lowell (1884–1975), Countess of Berkeley, m. Randal Thomas Mowbray Berkeley, 8th Earl of Berkeley
 * Ralph Lowell (1890–1978), philanthropist, founder of WGBH and PBS
 * Olivia Lowell (1898–1977), m. Augustus Thorndike (1896–1986)
 * James Lowell (1869–1933), Federal Judge
 * Augustus Lowell (1830–1900), industrialist, philanthropist m. Katherine Bigelow Lawrence (1832–1896), daughter of Abbott Lawrence, Ambassador to the United Kingdom, congressman, industrialist, and original founder of the Harvard School of Engineering
 * Percival Lowell (1855–1916), astronomer
 * Abbott Lawrence Lowell (1856–1943), President of Harvard University, 1909–33
 * Katharine Lowell (1858–1925), m. Alfred Roosevelt (1856–1891), banker, director of Roosevelt & Son, and Gallatin National Bank
 * Elfrida Roosevelt (1883–1963), m. Sir Orme Bigland Clarke, 4th Baronet, military officer
 * Sir Humphrey Clarke, 5th Baronet (1906–1973)
 * Sir Toby Clarke, 6th Baronet (1939–2019), British businessman
 * Theodora Roosevelt Clarke (1985–), United Kingdom parliamentarian
 * Sir Lawrence Clarke, 7th Baronet (1990–), Olympic hurdler and investment banker
 * Major James Alfred Roosevelt (1885–1919), military officer and engineer, awarded the Silver Star for valor during the Meuse–Argonne offensive
 * Katharine Roosevelt (1887–1961), m. Josiah Stanley Reeve, sportsman and foxhunter
 * Elizabeth Lowell (1862–1935), m. William Lowell Putnam (see below)
 * George Putnam (1889–1960), founder of Putnam Investments
 * Katherine Putnam (1890–1983), m. Harvey Bundy (1888–1963)
 * William Bundy (1917–2000), foreign affairs advisor to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson
 * McGeorge Bundy (1919–1996), U.S. National Security Advisor
 * Katharine Lawrence Bundy (1923–2014), m. Hugh Auchincloss Jr. (1915–1998), 1st cousin once removed of Hugh D. Auchincloss
 * Hugh Auchincloss III (b. 1949), m. Laurie Hollis Glimcher (b. 1951), divorced; daughter of Melvin J. Glimcher
 * Jacob Daniel Auchincloss (b. 1988), U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district since 2021
 * Roger Putnam (1893–1972), Mayor of Springfield, Director of the Economic Stability Administration (ESA)
 * Amy Lowell (1874–1925), Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
 * Francis Cabot Lowell (1775–1817), pioneer textile industrialist
 * John Lowell, Jr. (1799–1836), Founder of the Lowell Institute
 * Francis Cabot Lowell, Jr. (1803–1874), industrialist
 * George Gardner Lowell (1830–1885)
 * Francis Cabot Lowell (1855–1911), Federal Judge
 * Edward Jackson Lowell (1845–1894), historian
 * Guy Lowell (1870–1927), architect
 * Frederick Eldridge Lowell (1874–1933), landscape painter
 * Mariana Lowell (1904–1979) m. Jacques Barzun (1907–2012), historian
 * Roger Barzun (1941–), lawyer
 * Matthew Barzun (1970–), Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Sweden m. Brooke Brown
 * Rebecca Russell Lowell (1779–1853), m. Samuel Pickering Gardner (1767–1843)
 * John Lowell Gardner (1804–1884)
 * John Lowell Gardner (1837–1898), m. Isabella Stewart (1840–1924)
 * Charles Lowell (1782–1861), Unitarian minister
 * Charles Russell Lowell (1807–1870)
 * Charles Russell Lowell, Jr. (1835–1864), Civil War general, m. Josephine Shaw
 * Harriet Lowell (1836–1920), m. George Putnam (1834–1917)
 * William Lowell Putnam (1861–1923), lawyer and banker, m. Elizabeth Lowell (see above)
 * Mary Traill Spence Lowell Putnam (1810–1898), author, translator
 * Robert Traill Spence Lowell (1816–1891)
 * Robert T.S. Lowell (1860–1887)
 * Robert T.S. Lowell (1887–1950), naval officer
 * Robert Lowell (1917–1977), Pulitzer Prize–winning poet
 * James Russell Lowell (1819–1891), American Romantic poet, Ambassador to Spain and England

Notable Lowells
Other notable descendants:
 * Abbott Lawrence Lowell, lawyer, historian, philanthropist, and former President of Harvard University
 * Amy Lowell, poet, critic, publisher, and sister of Abbott Lawrence and Percival Lowell
 * Augustus Lowell, businessman, philanthropist, and father of Percival, Abbott Lawrence, and Amy Lowell
 * Carey Lowell, model, actress and philanthropist
 * Charles Russell Lowell, Sr., Unitarian pastor, son of The Old Judge, father of James Russell, and great-great-grandfather of Robert Lowell
 * Charles Russell Lowell, Union General and Civil War hero
 * Delmar R. Lowell, pastor, Civil War veteran, and genealogist
 * Edward Jackson Lowell, author and father of Guy Lowell
 * Francis Cabot Lowell (1775–1817), businessman and namesake of Lowell, Massachusetts
 * Francis Cabot Lowell (1855–1911), U.S. Congressman and Federal Judge
 * Guy Lowell, architect and landscape designer
 * James Russell Lowell, poet, critic, publisher, abolitionist, Harvard professor, and foreign diplomat
 * Joan Lowell, actress and newspaper reporter
 * Rev. John Lowell, colonial era Massachusetts minister
 * John Lowell aka The Old Judge, Federal Judge appointed by President George Washington and American Revolutionary
 * John Lowell, Jr., aka The Boston Rebel, Federalist lawyer and son of The Old Judge
 * John Lowell, Jr. Son of Industrialist Francis Cabot Lowell and founder of the Lowell Institute
 * John Amory Lowell, businessman and philanthropist
 * Judge John Lowell, Federal judge and son of John Amory Lowell
 * Josephine Shaw Lowell, sister of Civil War hero Robert Gould Shaw, first woman to hold a public office in New York City, and wife of Gen. Charles Russell Lowell
 * Maria White Lowell, poet, abolitionist, and wife of James Russell Lowell
 * Percival Lowell, author, astronomer, founder of Lowell Observatory, and brother of Amy and Abbott Lawrence Lowell
 * Ralph Lowell, businessman, philanthropist, and founding force behind Boston's WGBH public television
 * Robert Lowell, poet and lecturer
 * Charles Russell Lowell III (1999-), teacher
 * Sir Cuthbert Ackroyd, 1st Baronet, Lord Mayor of London (1955–56)
 * Godfrey Lowell Cabot, businessman and philanthropist
 * Julian Lowell Coolidge, mathematician
 * Abbott Lowell Cummings, noted Yale architectural historian
 * John Lowell Gardner II, art collector
 * William Lowell Putnam, banker, lawyer, and philanthropist
 * William Lowell Putnam III alpinist, broadcasting executive
 * Ava Lowle Willing, Philadelphia socialite and ex-wife of John Jacob Astor IV (RMS Titanic casualty)
 * Robert Warren Miller, champion sailor and founder of DFS Group
 * Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece
 * Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark
 * Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark, future titular King of Greece

Other descendants of Percival Lowle:
 * McGeorge Bundy, former National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson
 * Dick Cheney, Ex-Vice President of the United States
 * Herman Melville, author
 * John Lothrop Motley, historian
 * Tuesday Weld, actress
 * Tennessee Williams, playwright
 * William Whipple, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence
 * T. S. Eliot, poet
 * Edward Arlington Robinson, poet
 * Elliot Richardson, United States Attorney General
 * Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, son of Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia
 * Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II, soldier, officer of the Legion of Honour
 * Charles Joseph Bonaparte, United States Attorney General and Secretary of the Navy in, his distant relative by marriage, Theodore Roosevelt's cabinet

title: Lowell family


text: Talk:Two-finger salute

title: Talk:Two-finger salute


text:
Dvaravati

Dvaravati was an ancient Mon political principality from the 6th century to the 11th century, located in the region now known as central Thailand,   and was speculated to be a succeeding state of Lang-chia or Lang-ya-hsiu (หลังยะสิ่ว). It was described by Chinese pilgrims in the middle of the 7th century as a Buddhist kingdom named To-lo-po-ti situated to the west of Isanapura (Cambodia), to the east of Sri Ksetra (Burma),  and adjoined Pan Pan in the South. Its northern border met Chia-lo-she-fo, which was speculated to be either Kalasapura, situated along the coast of the Bay of Bengal somewhere between Tavoy and Rangoon, or Canasapura in modern northeast Thailand. Dvaravati sent the first embassy to the Chinese court in around 605–616.

Dvaravati also refers to a culture, an art style, and a disparate conglomeration of principalities of Mon people. Archaeological research over the past two decades or so has revealed the presence of a "Proto-Dvaravati" period which spans the 4th to 5th centuries, and perhaps earlier.

Dvaravati lost its importance after the rise of the Angkor in the lower Mekong basin around the 11th–13th centuries. In the 14th century, one of its main principalities, Si Thep, was almost left abandoned, while the remaining was split into the city-state confederation of Suphannabhumi in the west and the Lavo Kingdom in the east.

However, a new kingdom, Ayutthaya, was subsequently founded southward on the bank of the Chao Phraya River in 1351, as the succeeded state, as its capital's full name referred to the Kingdom of Dvaravati; Krung Thep Dvaravati Si Ayutthaya (กรุงเทพทวารวดีศรีอยุธยา). All former Dvaravati principalities, Lavo, the northern cities of the Sukhothai Kingdom, and Suphannabhumi, was later incorporated to the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1388, 1438, and the mid-15 century, respectively.

According to an inscription on a bronze gun acquired by the Burmese in 1767, when Ayuthia, Siam's capital at the time, fell to an invading Burmese force, the Burmese still referred to Ayutthaya as Dvaravati. Several genetic studies published in the 2020s also founded the relations between the Mon people and Siamese people (Central Thai people) who were the descendants of the Ayutthaya.

History
The culture of Dvaravati was based around moated cities, the earliest of which appears to be U Thong in what is now Suphan Buri Province. Other key sites include Nakhon Pathom, Phong Tuk, Si Thep, Khu Bua and Si Mahosot, amongst others. Legends engraved on royal urns report the following kings: Suryavikrama (673-688), Harivikrama (688-695), Sihavikrama (695-718). A Khmer inscription dated 937 documents a line of princes of Canasapura started by a Bhagadatta and ended by a Sundaravarman and his sons Narapatisimhavarman and Mangalavarman. But at that time, the 12th century, Dvaravati began to come under constant attacks and aggressions of the Khmer Empire and central Southeast Asia was ultimately invaded by King Suryavarman II in the first half of the 12th century. Hariphunchai survived its southern progenitors until the late 13th century, when it was incorporated into Lan Na.

The term Dvaravati derives from coins which were inscribed in Sanskrit śrī dvāravatī. The Sanskrit word dvāravatī literally means "that which has gates".

The traditional chronology of Dvaravati is mainly based on the Chinese textual account and stylistic comparison by art historians. However, the results from excavations in Chan Sen and Tha Muang mound at U-Thong raise questions about the traditional dating. Newly dated typical Dvaravati cultural items from the site of U-Thong indicate that the starting point of the tradition of Dvaravati culture possibly dates as far back as 200 CE. Archaeological, art historical, and epigraphic (inscriptions) evidence all indicate, however, that the main period of Dvaravati spanned the seventh to ninth centuries. Dvaravati culture and influence also spread into Isan and parts of lowland Laos from the sixth century onward. Key sites include Mueang Fa Daet in Kalasin Province, Mueang Sema in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, and many others.

Government
Little is known about the administration of Dvaravati. It might simply have been a loose gathering of chiefdoms rather than a centralised state, expanding from the coastal area of the upper peninsula to the riverine region of Chao Phraya River. Hinduism and Buddhism were significant. The three largest settlements appear to have been at Nakhon Pathom, Suphanburi, and Praak Sriracha, with additional centers at U Thong, Chansen, Khu Bua, Pong Tuk, Mueang Phra Rot, Lopburi, Si Mahosot, Kamphaeng Saen, Dong Lakhon, U-Taphao, Ban Khu Mueang, and Si Thep.

Rulers
The excavation in several sites found silver coins dated the 7th century that mentioned the king and queen of the kingdom written in Sanskrit with Pallava script: śrīdvaravatīsvarapunya (King Sridvaravati, who has great merit) and śrīdvaravatīsvaradevīpuṇya (the goddess of the meritorious King Dvaravati). In addition, the copper plate dating from the 6th–mid 7th centuries found at U Thong also mentions King Harshavarman (หรรษวรมัน), who was assumed by Jean Boisselier to be one of the kings of Dvaravati, while George Cœdès considered the plate was brought from the Khmer Empire, and the name mentioned might be the Khmer king as well. However, the periods seem unrelated since King Harshavarman I of Khmer reigned from 910–923, 200 years later than the age of the inscription, and Harshavarman I's grandfather was Indravarman I,  not Isanavarman as the inscription mentioned.

Moreover, the inscription found in Ban Wang Pai, Phetchabun province (K. 978), dated 550 CE, also mentions the enthronement of the Dvaravati ruler, who was also a son of Prathivindravarman, father of Bhavavarman I of Chenla, which shows the royal lineage relation between Dvaravati and Chenla. However, the name of such a king was missing. The other king was mentioned in the Nern Phra Ngam inscription, found in Nakhon Pathom province, dated mid 5th – mid 6th centuries CE but the name was missing as well.

The following is a list of rulers of Dvaravati.

Art
Dvaravati itself was heavily influenced by Indian culture, and played an important role in introducing Buddhism and particularly Buddhist art to the region. Stucco motifs on the religious monuments include garudas, makaras, and Nāgas. Additionally, groups of musicians have been portrayed with their instruments, prisoners, females with their attendants, soldiers indicative of social life. Votive tablets have also been found, also moulds for tin amulets, pottery, terracotta trays, and a bronze chandelier, earrings, bells and cymbals.

title: Dvaravati


text:
Interstate 890

Interstate 890 (I-890) is a 9.35 mi auxiliary Interstate Highway in the vicinity of Schenectady, New York, in the United States. The highway runs southeast–northwest from an interchange with the New York State Thruway (I-90) northwest of Schenectady to another junction with the thruway south of the city and passes through Downtown Schenectady along the way. Most of I-890 is six lanes wide, including a section that runs above an industrial section of Schenectady on an elevated highway. I-890 is a local, toll-free alternative to the thruway, which bypasses the city and its suburbs to the southwest.

The section of I-890 west of Downtown Schenectady was mostly built over what was once part of New York State Route 5S (NY 5S). I-890 was constructed in stages during the 1960s and 1970s, and NY 5S was gradually cut back to its current terminus west of Schenectady as more pieces of I-890 were completed. The highway is one of four Interstate Highways in New York to use distance-based exit numbering, the result of a New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) experiment from the 1970s. In Schenectady County, I-890 is designated as the Schenectady County Veterans Memorial Highway.

Route description
I-890 begins at the toll booth for exit 26 of the New York State Thruway in the Schenectady County town of Rotterdam. It initially heads to the east, connecting to NY 890 and NY 5S by way of a modified trumpet interchange that directly feeds into the thruway junction. At this point, I-890 takes over the four-lane right-of-way established by NY 890 to the north and follows the Mohawk River (Erie Canal) and CSX Transportation's Selkirk Subdivision rail line southeast toward Schenectady. The first 2.5 mi of I-890 passes through mostly undeveloped, wooded areas, a trend that finally ends as the highway curves east to meet the north end of NY 337 at exit 2 near the Via Port Rotterdam shopping mall. Continuing on, I-890 follows the Mohawk River along the northern edge of General Electric's Schenectady plant, connecting to the facility by way of two separate exits serving different parts of the complex.

Not far from the General Electric plant is Downtown Schenectady, which the now six-lane I-890 largely bypasses to the south and west on an elevated highway passing over a mostly industrial section of the city. The section closest to the city center runs past by the campus of Schenectady County Community College and provides panoramic views of Downtown Schenectady. I-890 heads south from downtown, crossing over the Delaware and Hudson Railway and CSX Transportation's Hudson Subdivision before finally connecting to downtown by way of Broadway at exit 5. Past Broadway, the elevated highway comes to an end as I-890 heads southeastward into a dense residential area on a plateau overlooking the city. The homes are not visible from I-890, however, as the freeway is lined on both sides by a thick line of trees serving as noise barriers.

The residential section of Schenectady is served by a single exit for Michigan Avenue, a local street that connects to NY 146 at a junction two blocks north of I-890. From here, the freeway passes under NY 146 before curving to the south and exiting the city limits. Now back in the town of Rotterdam, I-890 runs parallel to NY 146 to an interchange with NY 7. The state route joins I-890, following the highway as it narrows to four lanes and crosses back over the Hudson Subdivision rail line. I-890 and NY 7 connect to High Bridge Road (County Route 48) at exit 8, the last junction in a residential area and the last in Schenectady County. Exit 9, located just south of the Albany County line in a lightly developed commercial area, serves as the end of NY 7's its wrong-way concurrency with I-890; the southbound exit also links to NY 146 by way of a long ramp connecting to the state route. I-890 ends a short distance south of the exit at the toll booths for exit 25 of the New York State Thruway.

The section of I-890 in Schenectady County is designated as the Schenectady County Veterans Memorial Highway. Exit numbering on I-890 is distance-based, a holdover from a NYSDOT experiment during the early 1970s. However, because of how the exits are spaced along I-890, the exit numbers end up being mostly sequential anyway, with the only evidence of distance-based numbering being the existence of exit 4C. I-890 is one of four Interstate Highways in New York that first utilized milepost-based exit numbering in contrast to the sequential exit numbering used elsewhere in New York.

History
The original riverside roadway along the southern bank of the Mohawk River in western Schenectady was designated as part of NY 5S in the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. NY 5S entered the Schenectady area on River Road and followed River and Rice roads and Erie Boulevard into Downtown Schenectady, where it ended at NY 5. In the initial plans for the Interstate Highway System, outlined by the Bureau of Public Roads in the 1955 Yellow Book, the city of Schenectady would be served by two highways: one bypassing the city to the southwest (the New York State Thruway) and another that would loop north of the bypass route to serve Downtown Schenectady. The western portion of the loop route would run through the NY 5S corridor.

The first section of I-890 to be completed was the portion from New York State Thruway exit 25 southeast of Schenectady to Altamont Avenue (NY 146), which opened to traffic as I-890 c. 1962. A short extension to Brandywine Avenue was completed by 1964. By 1968, all of I-890 west to modern exit 3 was complete and open to traffic. As planned, I-890 replaced NY 5S from Downtown Schenectady to exit 3, where NY 5S now terminated. The remainder of the expressway was built c. 1974. NY 5S was cut back to I-890 exit 2 in the mid-1970s, then to its modern eastern terminus in the late 1980s following a reconfiguration of the interchange linking I-890 to New York State Thruway exit 26.

title: Interstate 890


text:
Johnny Ventura

Juan de Dios Ventura Soriano (8 March 1940 – 28 July 2021), better known as Johnny Ventura nicknamed El Caballo Mayor, was a Dominican singer and band leader of merengue and salsa.

In 2004, he received the Latin Grammy Award for Best Merengue/Bachata Album for his album Sin Desperdicio; also, he was nominated for Best Merengue Album (2006), Best Contemporary Tropical Album (2010) and Best Salsa Album (2016) categories. In 2006, he received the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2022, he entered the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The merengue legend was a legislator of the Lower House between 1982 and 1986. He also served as vicemayor of Santo Domingo from 1994 to 1998, and as mayor of Santo Domingo from 1998 to 2002.

Early history
He began his career as a singer when he presented himself with some friends in a program of devotees which was broadcast by La Voz de la Alegría weekly. The young Ventura, only 16 years of age, obtained first place of the participants. A little later, he started appearing in the programs of devotees which were sponsored by La Voz Dominicana. When Ventura Soriano appeared for the first time in the TV show: La TV busca una estrella, that was broadcast Friday night at seven, they rang the bell. In the following week, like a champion, Juan de Dios returned to be welcomed in the same competition. He practiced, worked and was crowned for the hit. Then he won first prize. Thereupon he won a lot of prizes in the devotees programs, until he was finally rewarded with the much desired scholarship which the broadcasting company, property of José Arismendy Trujillo Molina, gave for young talents. With La Voz Dominicana Juan de Dios studied music, vocal techniques and expression. This made Ventura one of the most famous singers in Latin America.

Political career

 * Ventura was elected Deputy to the National Congress from 1982 to 1986.
 * He was Vice Mayor of Santo Domingo, Capital of the Dominican Republic, from 1994 to 1998.
 * He was Mayor of Santo Domingo, Capital of the Dominican Republic, from 1998 to 2002.

Musical career
In 1959, Juan de Dios decided to take the name 'Johnny Ventura'. He started his career as a singer in several bands that presented themselves at the dances in La Feria. He worked with the orchestra of Rondón Votau and in 1961 with the band of the Dominican percussionist Donald Wild.

In 1962 he sang with Combo Caribe of Luis Pérez, with whom he recorded Cuidado Con el Cuabero, of which he was the author, and La Agarradera, of Luis Pérez. It was with this band that he recorded his first LP consisting of 12 songs.

In 1963, Johnny Ventura was recruited by the musical director Papa Molina to join La Super Orquesta San José, of which he was the director at that time. He joined as singer and as player of the güira. For two years Ventura was part of La Super Orquesta with stars such as Vinicio Franco and Grecia Aquino. Although no records remain of this group, this period was a landmark in his career.

In 1964, the Cuban impresario Angel Guinea insisted that Johnny Ventura create his own orchestra, the "Combo Show" which is known as an important part of the history of popular Dominican music.

In 1965, with his orchestra, Ventura recorded for the Fonogram label the albums La Coquetona, La Resbalosa and El Turun Tun Tun. In 1967 he travelled to the United States, where he immediately became a star. He is credited with the song "La muerte de Martin", with the voice of Luisito Martí, the Combo Show made their first golden record with ''Ah..! Yo No Se... No'' (1971).

In 1999, Ventura was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame and won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the same organization in 2003.

In 2006, Ventura was presented with the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by the Latin Recording Academy in recognition of his career.

He has been compared to American singer Elvis Presley.

Personal life and legacy
On 28 March 2020, Ventura announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic and was hospitalized. On 13 April 2020, he announced he had recovered and had tested negative for the coronavirus.

Ventura died from a heart attack on July 28, 2021, at the age of 81.

Ventura's son, Jandy, also a musician who has branded himself as "El Legado" (The Legacy), released Yo Soy El Merengue with his father eight months after his death. It's unclear whether they recorded the song before Johnny's death or whether Jandy used an old, unreleased recording of Johnny. Jandy also collaborated with Milly Quezada and Carlos Vives to release Buscando Al Caballo (Homenaje a Johnny Ventura) on May of 2022.

Discography

 * La Agarradera Vol. 4 (1962)
 * Cuidado con el Cuabero (1963)
 * El Llorón (El Florón) (1964)
 * 1920 y Otros Éxitos (1964)
 * El Turun Tun Tun (1965)
 * El Boogaloo Está en Algo (1965)
 * La Resbalosa (1965)
 * Siempre Pa' Lante (1966)
 * Figurando (1966)
 * El Papelito Blanco (1967)
 * Noches en Quisqueya (1968)
 * El Mamito (1968)
 * Siempre en Órbita (1969)
 * El Guataco (1970)
 * Más Éxitos (1970)
 * Ah..! Yo No Se... No (1971)
 * Salsa y Algo Más... (1971)
 * ¿Tú Sabes a Qué Yo Vine? Te Digo Ahorita (1972)
 * Bambaraquiti (with Joseito Mateo) (1972)
 * Traigo Mi Salsa... Pa' Tu Lechón (1972)
 * Navidades En Merengues y Salves (with Rafael Colón) (1972)
 * El Pingüino (1973)
 * Acompaña a Sus Creaciones (1973)
 * ...De Nuevo Presente (1973)
 * Salsa! (1973)
 * La Protesta de los Feos (1974)
 * Un Poquito Para Atrás: Mamá Tingó (1974)
 * El Hijo del Pueblo (1975)
 * En Acción (1975)
 * 12 Aniversario (1976)
 * ¡El Que Venga Atrás Que Arree! (1976)
 * Solo Para Bailadores (1976)
 * Excitante (1977)
 * El Disco Rayao (1977)
 * 2 Ases al Tiro (with Rolando Laserie) (1977)
 * Navidades Dominicanas (with Luis Alberti) (1977)
 * Amar Es Vivir (with Rafael Colón) (1978)
 * Presentando a Mi Nueva Cosecha (1978)
 * En Su 15 Aniversario (1979)
 * Yo Soy el Merengue (1980)
 * Johnny Mucho... Mucho Johnny! (1981)
 * Lo Que Te Gusta (1981)
 * El Sueño (1982)
 * Flying High (Volando Alto) (1983)
 * Concierto de Amor (with Rafael Colón) (1983)
 * Y Buena Que Está... María (1984)
 * El Hombre y Su Música (1985)
 * Navidad Sin Ti (1985)
 * Capullo y Sorullo (1986)
 * El Señor del Merengue (1986)
 * Si Vuelvo a Nacer (1987)
 * El Caballo... Una Leyenda (1988)
 * Ayer y Hoy (1989)
 * Quisqueya y Borinquen (1990)
 * Éxtasis (1990)
 * 35 Aniversario Con Sus Invitados (1992)
 * Siempre (1993)
 * Retoñando (1994)
 * El Gran Encuentro del Combo Show (1995)
 * Como el Café (1996)
 * Sin Desperdicio (2003)
 * 103 Boulevard (2006)
 * Volvió la Navidad (2009)
 * El Viejo Ta' en la Calle (2013)
 * Tronco Viejo (2016)

Compilations

 * 12 Grandes Éxitos (1960)
 * Vamos a Bailar Merembé (1968)
 * Super Hits (1973)
 * En Alas de Quisqueyana (1976)
 * Super Hits Vol. 3 (1977)
 * Salsa y Más Salsa (1977)
 * Por el Campeonato Mundial! (with Wilfrido Vargas) (1977)
 * Sonido Negro (1979)
 * 14 Éxitos de Johnny Ventura (1981)
 * Las Tapas (1981)
 * Un Saludo al Diputado: 14 Éxitos Vol. 2 (1982)
 * Classic: Con Su Sabor Original (1985)
 * 16 Éxitos (1987)
 * 20 Éxitos en Salsa (1991)
 * Los Reyes del Merengue (con Wilfrido Vargas) (1991)
 * 12 Golden Hits (1993)
 * Grandes Éxitos (1993)
 * The Best (1994)
 * Brillantes (with Sergio Vargas) (1994)
 * El Rey y la Reina del Merengue (con Milly Quezada) (1996)
 * Cara a Cara (with Sergio Vargas) (1997)
 * El Disco de Oro (1997)
 * 40 Aniversario: En Vivo (1998)
 * Palo Bonito (1999)
 * 20th Anniversary (1999)
 * Merenguero Hasta la Tambora (2000)
 * Oro Merenguero (2000)
 * El Oro del Caballo Negro (2001)
 * 22 Ultimate Hits Series (2002)
 * Serie Azul Tropical (2003)
 * Soy (2004)
 * 10 de Colección (2005)
 * ¡Oye Que Rico Mami... Salsa! (2006)
 * 20 Éxitos Originales (2006)
 * El Rey del Merengue (2007)
 * Mis Favoritas (2011)

title: Johnny Ventura