Category:Burnett Limited

Burnett Limited (1914-1939) had offices in Birmingham and London and are chiefly remembered for their range of tinplate toys, especially the Ubilda range of self-assembly model kits.

We're not aware of Burnett having an actual factory, and it's widely assumed that Burnett's metal toys and moneyboxes were constructed for them by the firm of Barringer, Wallis and Manners, who specialised in the production of lithographed tinplate boxes.

Burnett's product line seems to have ceased production at around the outbreak of World War Two (with Barringer, Wallis and Manners' production output presumably being diverted to war work).

Burnett's designs were apparently acquired by Barringer, Wallis and Manners, perhaps around the same time that BW&M were acquired by Metal Box.

The product line seems to have ceased production in around 1939, with the Metal Box company's output presumably being diverted to war work.

Immediately after the war, some of Burnett's product lines reappeared as Chad Valley products, as the result of a strategic partnership between Chad Valley (who had toy distribution and a recognised brandname, and a range of toys in materials other than metal) and Metal Box (who had metal toy production and the Burnett designs, but no obvious distribution).

References

• Marguerite Fawdry, British Tin Toys (New Cavendish, 1990), ISBN 0904568865 p45 – describes the relationship between Chad Valley, Burnett and Metal Box