Samsonite was an American manufacturer of LEGO sets which introduced the very first USA LEGO catalog for Christmas of 1961. LEGO and Samsonite created a partnership to produce and sell LEGO in the US. The result was a 9-year license for exclusive North American distribution rights. Samsonite began marketing sets under the name LEGO by Samsonite in the US in 1961 and Canada in 1962.
1968 LEGO Sets
In 1968, LEGO introduced a new box design, featuring "idea book"-style images on both the front and back, while the now-familiar LEGO logo was moved to the side of the packaging. This design was similar to the approach Samsonite had used for several years. As LEGO continued its transition to a larger and more standardized scale, many Basic sets were updated to reflect this modern scale, while older sets with smaller scales were phased out.