The toy company founded by Louis Marx and his brother David and that bore their name, produced a staggering array of toys over three quarters of a century. Beginning by reproducing existing designs cheaper than the originals, the Marx Toy Company quickly gained a foothold in the American toy industry. The company’s motto was “give the customer more toy for less money” and that’s exactly what they did all the while refusing to skimp on quality.
Prior to Word War II, Marx toys used tin to manufacture most of their toys. Their catalog eventually swelled to include toy soldiers, toy guns, dolls and doll houses, toy guns, cars, and scale model train sets. Following the war, they began casting their toys in plastic. During the 1950′s 1960′s they came out with a popular line of plastic toys called “play sets“, which were based on popular TV shows of the time such as Davey Crockett, Gun Smoke, and Wagon Train.
Unfortunately, the Marx Brothers were slow to embrace the new advertising medium of television and lost considerable ground to rival Mattel in this arena. They also didn’t make the move into electronic toys which was probably the final nail in the Marx coffin. The company was eventually sold to the Quaker Oats Company and then to a British toy company that finally had to liquidate the Marx assets. Nevertheless, Marx Toys left an indelible mark on the toy industry and their most memorable toy, The Big Wheel, is enshrined in the National Toy Hall of Fame.
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