Sharing our Marx toys is a privilege we take seriously.
We have thoroughly enjoyed the friends we've made on this site.
This site is updated regularly. Please check back often to find out more wonderful information about Marx Toys. Last updated on April 4, 2022.
See below for the updated on Marx trucks and the many varieties!
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We, at the MARXMUSEUM , in Erie, Pennsylvania --- website only -- hope people can add to this story. We started finding the toy trucks, in the pictures, and just had to collect different themes to find out where or who made them. The most we know, so far, is that Jay Horowitz made the first example. The first question is---- did Louis Marx have tools for this delivery truck -- Then, did Jay lease the tools to others --- STOP-- note --- Jay Horowitz bought the Marx Toy Company circa 1992 and all intellectual rights and the logos and tooling to reproduce toys . Jay's company is called AMERICAN PLASTICS and was first based in Sebring, Ohio at the Mahoning Plastics facility. We have tried to contact Mr. Horowitz without success. Now, lets go to the pictures and you may see what we have.
The first picture shows three trucks and there respective boxes -- #1 is the Warner Bros. example produced in 1992 and the box states made in Korea -- #2 shows the LUCKY LINDY and the box has noted made by Schylling -- NOW !!!!!! #3 is the toy truck made by Louis MARX & CO., INC.-1130 N.W. ST. MIAMI FL. 33169 !!!!!!!! ---- we measured all three trucks and they have the same dimensions as do the other pictures
Picture #2 --- you see two trucks -- one by WARNER BROS. and the other with the MARX logos--- under a bright light, the MARX truck has the WARNER BROS. litho covered and the MARX logos are --WATER DECALS ??????? --- somebody, we hope, knows where this toy came from :
Picture #3 shows toy trucks with the LOONEY TOONES characters --- made in KOREA ?? but different license plates writing ??
PLEASE WRITE US ANY INFORMATION YOU MIGHT HAVE FOR THIS STORY AND IF WE MAY PLACE IT ON OUR SITE :
BUD,KOBIE&DAN :
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In the article above, we started a story about the MARX tin toy delivery truck. At the time, we had three (3) trucks. Since then, we decided to see how many different logos were being made. The new pictures show how the Schylling Company took over and, so far as we have found, there are many. Originally, the first truck was made in the United States but now the boxes have the origins as follows ---- Korea ( south??) --Hong Kong and China. While the trucks are all the same size, there are, so far, three different types --- pencil holder --- bank --- and solid top. Did the original dies, that made the truck, get shipped to the other countries --- did Schylling buy the original tooling or have new dies been made?
We are going to open a new page and start listing prototype toys that our friends have. Many will have the production toy along side of the prototype. Please visit us often and if you have a question, please write.
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WELL-- It's been too long since we started to restore the toys in the pictures. We have been busy building a new shop for repairing and restoring toys and that is now complete!! We will place some pictures of the shop.
The pictures show our progress on the tractor. It has been sand blasted and the rough spots, from pitting, have been filled with a filler primer and sanded. The top shows a first coat of metal primer. We use enamel in spray cans. We use Krylon because the nozzle may be adjusted and the spray is easy to apply a smooth coat. Most often, we place a very fine coat first and let it dry. Then a finish coat and leave it cure for at least a day (depends on the humidity). Please look at the pictures and come back for our updates.
Bud,Kobie&Dan
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WELL ---- we found another Schylling truck -- BUT -- this one was made with French markings. On the bottom it has these markings
NOSTALGIE AND FABRIQUE EN FRANCE --- so now are the dies, from Schylling being sent, to France, such as Louis Marx did with his tooling and leased for a period of time ? RIPOLIN is the name of a paint. We looked up the French words and , maybe you will, or you know. The three people , with paint brushes , should be noted. One person is painting the sign --- the next is painting the sign painter and the last person is painting the second person !!!!
THANKS for watching our site -- and yes, we answer ALL e-mail.
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HELLO --AGAIN-- TOY PEOPLE OF ALL AGES !!
We have been gone for the last year some of the year for family and the balance for travel ------BUT------ we have returned and will keep the site updated on a more regular basis.
We have opened another repair shop in Florida and will start our past time of restoring toys here as well as in Pennsylvania. An historical museum has asked us to bring back to life two Doepke (dep-key) Model construction toys ( that were donated) for display only. From this home page, click on ----RESTORING TOYS --- and we will post pictures and comments as restoration begins through completion. We are not professionals and do not do this as a business but rather find great joy in the results. Taking a toy from the junk pile and bringing it back to life --- WELL --- try it sometime!!!!!!!!!
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The Louis Marx Company was the largest toy manufacturer in the 1950s -- as most all know !! When the company started selling toys, under the MARX logo, no one could have predicted the millions of different toys that would be produced into the 1980s by Louis and his brother David !!
This MARX toy story began when we received a letter from Don in North West Indiana. Don had this toy when he was a child and saved it until he had a boy or girl to ride it !! The big questions were -- what was it called and when was it made. This writer had never found the toy and wrote back to Indiana asking Don to write to the person who has more knowledge of MARX history then we do.
SO --- an e-mail was sent to THE MARX TOY MUSEUM in Moundsville, West Virginia www.marxtoymuseum.com . The owner, Francis Turner , researched and found that the toy was made in 1970 and was called --- FLYING DIP ROLLER COASTER !!!! Francis mentioned that this was only the second FLYING DIP that he had ever found !!!!!!!!!
Don did a great job of restoring a toy that was broken and rusted and now is waiting for the Indiana snow to melt so, that after 44 years on the shelf, his five year old boy can go for spin down the driveway !!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANKS DON --- for the chance to write about another RARE toy from MARX !!!
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| HELLO TOY COLLECTORS OF ALL AGES !!
We have been away for too long and will, again, update our site on a more timely basis:
The ERIE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUMS has been very active and their latest effort is taking place in Girard Pennsylvania. During the year 1858 and YES that is before the Civil War, The Battles family settled in this Elk Creek Valley area and began farming. The first farm house (now called the YELLOW house) was built. Then in 1934, Louis Marx bought the Girard Manufacturing Company buildings. In the mid 1980s, the Battles properties were transfered to the Erie County Historical Society. The Battles homes have been maintained by th ECHS and it seemed fitting that a display of the very first toys made by the Girard Manufacturing Company and then by the Marx Toy Company be assembled :
The YELLOW house is where the toys are show cased. The address is 436 Walnut Street in Girard, Pa. 16417. The many pictures show a portion of the progression of toy manufacturing. The work is on going and another room, in the old farm house, is being prepared for even more toys. We will continue to update this story as the work procedes !!!
This is a great opportunity for the public to step back in time and see a farm house, complete with the original furnishings, and also see some of the toys that were made in Girard and helped MARX become the largest toy manfacturer in the world in the early 1950s !!!!!
For more information call 814-454-1813 extension (0)
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UPDATE OF THE MARX MUSEUM -- ERIE,PA. I-90 AT EXIT #27
We took two new pictures where the Marx Toy Museum was in Erie, Pa. The building was demolished five years ago. In the fore ground, OF THE PICTURES, you may see the white stripped lines where the parking lot was. We drove by and saw the excavator on top of a dirt pile and thought people might like to see (PROGRESS???) in the making !! The new Presque Isle gambling casino is just down the road and land in the area is getting quite expensive. Land owners are preparing their land so it is more attractive to developers and that is the reason for the activity in the pictures:
HAVE FUN:
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Hello toy collectors and children of any age! We have been away from this site and will now share, with you, thoughts about the toy business from our point of view:
TIME GOES ON AND MEN GROW OLD !!!
This was a line in a stage play that I have kept in memory. this quote may be used to describe how time has changed toy collecting. We received an e-mail from Morphy Auctions concerning an auction in Lebanon, Indiana. This auction will be held to desolve the Carter Toy Museum that was opened in 2005. Sadly the owner passed away and we offer our sympathy to the family. We have posted three pictures of the former Marx Museum Inc. in Erie, Pa. that closed it's doors in 2006. The fact is our group of people are becoming fewer. Ask anyone ,under forty years of age, if they know the name Marx Toys or any of the fine tin toy makers and they will just stare at you. Actually, you most likely will not get there attention because their thumbs are busy texting !!!!!!!!
We have friends that are attempting to sell their collection on the internet. They have found the values today not even close to the larger values of just a few years back. Is this because today, a toy is plastic that is intended to be tossed in the waste can ?? Also, the internet has flooded the market with " toys from the attic " to supplement the family income, because of the economy ?? Well -- we will be here to do our very best to keep this fraternity of toy collectors active !!!!
PEACE:
Bud,Kobie&Dan:
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| Where the Marx Museum used to stand |
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| HELLO TOY COLLECTORS !!!!!!
It has been a very nice summer and we are back from our trips in the search of more rare toys. The Marx Toy & Train convention at the Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum was a lot of fun and the special talks were great. One talk, authored by John Twarog, was about special trains that were featured on the Johnny Carson show. This is a convention not to be missed !!
The year was 1998 and a group of people started to plan the birth of a museum, featuring MARX toys, in Erie, PA. We had a 1927 Buick in the storage barn intending to restore the car to it's original condition. While planning for the new museum, we wanted to have public exposure so it was decided to use the Buick as a parade car. After looking at many MARX toys, we decided to duplicate the MARX LEAPING LENA windup toy into a life size down the road parade car !!!!! After much cutting and bolting, viola !!! we had the body built and painted black and the tires white. THEN--- former MARX artists Dick Rastetter and Norm Thompson put their skills to work and lettered the car exactly like the toy. Look at the picture of the radiator and see the toy in place. We put the car in the Erie Zoo Parade and it was greatly received. Now after many years we have replaced Lena with the two cars shown above and participate in about 4 to 5 parades a year. Toys of any size are a fine way to stay young !!!!!!!!
HAVE FUN:
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| The VIRTUAL MARX MUSEUM volunteers in the community at special events. The parade cars, shown to the left, are a big hit with the children and adults too!!! This picture was taken in front of the ExpERIEnce Children's Museum, in Erie PA and shows some of the volunteers. The occasion was the annual Halloween Party (HALLOBALOO) held on October 24th & 25th 2009. The Virtual Marx Museum volunteers to take the children on a tour of the downtown Erie area. The rides are about fifteen minutes long. Everybody, including adults, really enjoy riding in a " LIFE SIZE " Marx toy train !!!!!! You may see the ExpERIEnce Children's Museum's web site by going to our link page.
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IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ALL TOY COLLECTORS AND HISTORY BUFFS !!
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UPDATE!!!!!! 1/19/2011
The PLAYSET MAGAZINE people, Rusty & Kathy Kern, have once again produced another book about the great Louis Marx Toy Companies empire. The first book, which is still available, was volume #1 and now we have volume #2 entitled "Toy Kings". This current book, again, has information that the world has never known about MARX toys and the people that made them !!!!! We commented before that volume one was exceptional and the pictures were rare. Volume #2 continues on and is a book that is a must read !! You may contact Playset Magazine from our link page.
A new book that details the history of the Louis Marx Toy Company is now available for purchase
from PLAYSET MAGAZINE . This book is a masterpiece of the life of Louis Marx and his empire of Marx toys and playsets. We have read many interpretations of The Marx Company but this is the entire true story never told before. The contents are so detailed, with hundreds of never before published pictures, that we are now reading it for the third time. Russell and Kathy Kern are to be congratulated for such a fine publication. You may preview, and purchase, the book by clicking on their link.... http://www.playsetmagazine.com/
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| Time Goes By and Men Grow Old |
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| It has been two years now that the MARX MUSEUM in Erie PA closed. The story may be found on this page -- look for the line. The toy museum began in 1998 when a group of people met in downtown Erie and made plans to open a museum featuring MARX toys. It was the proper thing to do since Louis B. Marx opened his first toy factory here. There were some former employees, interested people and toy collectors present and the seed was planted !! We found a building and got to work. After a little more than a year, of hard work, the doors opened and the dream came true !!!! Museums, ALL museums, must have dedicated personel to remain open. But--time goes on and men grow old. For those of you that have pictures of the Marx Museum building, please copy the ones on this page. What you are looking at is the final death knoll of the story. There will be another toy museum, in Erie PA and the plans have been on the drawing board for many months. Stay tuned----we will never give up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Click on the McDonalds to find out where to find $.15 hamburgers!!!
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A Sampling of our Marx toy collection can currently be experienced in downtown Erie at two premier museums of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Because we love our toys and are obsessed with Marx Toy history, we have established this "cyber" museum to present and exchange toy pictures and information.
FUN STUFF is planned for the website as well, including updates on the museum displays, articles dedicated to cleaning and repairing tips for your old tin wind-ups, and perhaps an on-line toy appraisal before you list it on e-bay!
Our goal in all this remains the same. We want to share the toys with other Marx wind-up enthusiasts. In doing so, the rich history of Marx Toys will be preserved and protected.
Please keep checking back as we add more reference information about these toys. For example, would you be interested in all the history we can present about the Climbing monkeys, the wind-up geese, the disney character toys? Stay tuned while we finish taking the pictures and writing up the history!!
What would you like to see on this site?
SEND US AN E-MAIL!!!
Sincerely,
Bud,Kobie&Dan
Click here to e-mail your ideas or feedback!
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Hello to the world of toy collectors, toy sellers, and those of you just taking a trip down memory lane!
We, THE MARX VIRTUAL MUSEUM, have established this site as a family oriented place for all ages of people to visit. We offer nothing for sale nor do we have commercial advertisements.
Our museum is for the enjoyment of all people. You have our permission to use the material of www.marxmuseum.com, but please mention that you found the information here so others can find us.
The Marx Virtual Museum is NOT affiliated with any other toy museum. We have this cyber site and we install displays for special occasions in public institutions. We also design and manufacture motion displays with a theme for all ages.
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TOTAL UNIQUE VISITORS TO OUR SITE....
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