The Matchbox name started in 1953 as a brand name of the now-defunct British toy company Lesney Products (named after its co-founders Leslie and Rodney Smith), which had been founded in 1947 as an industrial die casting company.

Almost immediately after assuming production, the company began producing toys. A 1948 model of a road roller, based on a Dinky toy, was their first foray into the transportation theme. Their first major sales success followed in 1953, with the million-selling model of Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation Coach.

Shortly thereafter, Lesney co-owner Jack Odell created a toy that effectively provided the final, missing link to the company's future. It was designed for his daughter: Her school only allowed children to bring toys that could fit inside a matchbox, so Mr. Odell crafted a scaled-down version of the Lesney green and red road roller.

This toy ultimately became the first of the 1-75 miniature range; a dump truck and a cement mixer completed the original three-model release that marked the starting point of the mass-market success story of the Matchbox series.

Because the one defining factor for the toys was that each model had to fit in a match-box, the idea was born to sell the models in replica matchboxes, thus yielding the name of the series. It also resulted in the description of the models' scales being "1:box" (as opposed to more "serious" scales such as 1:87, 1:64, or 1:43).

Additional models continued to be added to the range throughout the decade, including cars such as an MG Midget TD, a Vauxhall Cresta, a Ford Zodiac, and many others. As the line grew, it also gradually became more international, including models of VWs, a Citroën, and American makes.

To make such miniatures, the designers took detailed photographs of the real models, even obtaining some original blueprints. This enabled them to make models with surprisingly high levels of detail, despite the small scale.

The size of the models (and their clever packaging) allowed Matchbox to occupy a market niche barely touched by the competition (and certainly not by Dinky); the associated price advantage made Matchbox models affordable for every child, and helped establish Matchbox as a household word for small model toy cars.

Although used generically, "MATCHBOX" (in capital letters and quotation marks) was registered as a worldwide trademark to protect the Matchbox brand from competition.