LEXICON

During the time of the introduction of cartons and of jigsaw puzzles another change was taking place which was developing much more slowly. A writer by the name of David Whitelaw persuaded the company to produce and sell a word game - Lexicon. This was basically a pack of cards but with the faces changed from court cards and pips to letters of the alphabet. The summer of 1932 saw the introduction of this game, when a small edition was produced and sold to test the market. This was the first Waddingtons game and its introduction had an unsuccessful beginning. The first edition was sold through the stationery shops at 1s. 9d. each and sales were practically non-existent. It was decided to pack Lexicon more attractively and raise the price to 2s. 6d. per pack. This was an unprecedented approach in the stationery world and there was much opposition and criticism. However, when the real launching took place in the autumn, heralded by an intensive newspaper advertising campaign, sales, instead of being a hundred a month were thousands a day, and there was a wonderful success which has continued up to the present time.