WORLD BATTLES STICKER ALBUM

Battle of Salamis (Click to enlarge)

One of the things that got me hooked on history at an early and impressionable age was a sticker album of world battles. Each two-page spread depicted a major battle with key figures missing, which then had to buy packs of stickers in order to complete.

This was the same as other sticker albums, and of course I am sure that there were some stickers that were much rarer than others, forcing you to buy a LOT more stickers if you wanted to complete everything. Anyway, despite this exploitative aspect it was a pretty exciting way for a young kid in the 1970s to learn about history.

For many years I was sure this album had been released by the Italian Company Figurine Panini, more famous for their football album, but I could never find any trace of it online.

Battle of Adowa (Click to enlarge)

However, after a sustained search on the internet I stumbled onto an article at the "Collecting Toy Soldiers" blog that informed me that it was by a completely different company, Cox International. No wonder I couldn't find it! Cox is apparently located in the Belgian city of Antwerp. The images used here are pinched from the "Collecting Toy Soldiers" blog so show your thanks by checking it out.

But even better, I found that Cox International are still selling these on eBay. I mean, why wouldn't they, as something like this has an enduring appeal.