The "Kings" of West Virginia: The Toy King

Recently, following a conversation with our five year old granddaughter, I set out to find her several mainstays of childhood play.  Neither could be found at Target, Walmart, Dollar General or the half-dozen other stores I visited.  And what are these elusive treasures from days gone by that were the objects of my quest?  Marbles and Jacks.  Undoubtedly, corporate lawyers have explained to stores that these choking hazards should be keep off of shelves.  Perhaps that reasoning, along with the predominance of electronic gadgets, and lower manufacturing costs overseas explains why there is only one remaining U.S. manufacture of marbles and why the last manufacturing plant owned by the "Toy King" (a moniker given by Time magazine) closed its doors for good in 1980. 

Marx bought the die for the Climbing Monkey used from another toy maker.
Marx produced and sold millions of copies of the toy, even though the
original manufacturer thought the toy had outlived its sales potential

Brothers Louis and David Marx were risk-taking entrepreneurs who were marketing geniuses. The Marx Toy Company was founded in 1919.  Early in the company's history the brothers copied (but slightly tweaked so as not to infringe on patents) existing toys, but improved on and produced their versions of the toys less expensively than the competition.  By 1922 the brothers were millionaires.  One of the early successes for the Marx Toy Company came in 1928, when it introduced the yo-yo.  In the 1930's, in the midst of the Great Depression, the brothers opened  factories in Erie and Girard, Pennsylvania, along with a third - their largest - in Glen Dale, West Virginia.  Early trucks and other toys were plated steel which were lithographed.

The early Marx toys were colorful and sturdy and let the
child use his imagination

Firemen and a race car tin wind-up toys from the late 1930's or early 1940's

Marx Melody Makers from the 1930's were produced in four variations: With and
without the backdrop, and with the mouse on top holding either a violin (as
 shown) or a baton.  This version is very rare and is extremely sought-after

During the war years of the 1940's, Marx factories were converted to make munitions and weapons for the war effort.  Following the war, the factories resumed toy production, but metal was still in short supply, so in 1947 Marx developed a "plastics department" in the Glen Dale plant.  This led to a new line referred to as "play sets" in the 1950's and 1960's.  One of the lines was "conflicting" sets:  cowboys versus Indians; police versus mobsters; and later, secret agents versus foreign spies.  There were also "scenario" sets:  farms; medieval castles; frontier forts, western towns and many others.  These play sets contained as many as 100 extremely detailed pieces that were durable and affordable.  Early sets in the late 1940's and 1950's sold between $4.00 and $7.00.  Larger sets in the 1960's sold for $10.00 to $12.00.  (In comparison, a Fort Apache Stockade play set in the original box recently sold on eBay for $203.49.)  By the 1950's Marx Toys was the largest toy manufacturer in the world and produced one-third of all toys found in American homes.

Wind-up "Honeymoon Express."  Using the same dies and changing only the graphics,
this toy was later built as the Mickey Mouse Express and the Subway Express

The Alamo play set.  Basically, the same design as Fort Apache.  Note the number of
supporting pieces and the detail molded into each piece.  Change their colors and those
Mexican soldiers could be Civil War soldiers

King Arthur's Castle and the Knights of the Round Table

As times changed the toys evolved to mirror society.  Marx produced doll houses from the 1920's to the 1970's, but in 1962, immediately following the Cuban Missile Crisis, one doll house featured a bomb/fallout shelter.  Later in the decade, with the nation fixated on the space race, "moon landing" sets were created.  While all of us have fond memories of some favorite toy, probably the two most-remembered Marx toys were the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots (1964) and the ubiquitous Big Wheel (1969).  Marx mass-produced affordable toys that encouraged children's imagination.

The lunar landing in 1969 prompted the creation of this "Moon Landing: play set

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots debuted in 1964, and remained popular for nearly two decades

The original Big Wheel.  Every 5-year-old wanted one.  Suddenly, you could
"cruise" on your bike, right along with the older kids

Part of the company's ability to keep prices low was the fact that they would re-purpose dies using the same model for different sets.  With just a slight change in graphics, a circus big top could become the tent under which the Knights of the Round Table jousted for their ladies' affection.  Another factor for their dominance in the toy industry was their marketing techniques. Their products were readily available in Sears, Roebuck & Co.and Montgomery Ward catalogs as well as in F.W. Woolworth stores.   They also had a "high profile" relationship with Walt Disney and produced toys featuring the Disney characters.  Many of their play sets were based on popular comic book and radio (and later, television) characters.  Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, The Lone Ranger, the Rifleman - name a western action star and chances are, Marx made a play set featuring him.

Car City Parking Garage from the 1960's.  Note the Volkswagen.  Accessories like
this helped to determine a toys approximate age.

The Midtown Service Station was one of Marx's toys that combined plastics with stamped metal

"Marx-A-Mansion", one of the largest doll houses the company produced, from the early 1960's

Characters from radio (Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd), comics
and Disney (one of Snow White's Dwarfs) all found their way into Marx toys

Roy Rogers play set. Note that with only slight changes in the lithograph, this
"town" could become the home of Hoppy, the Lone Ranger, or any other cowboy hero.

Ironically, the company's decline related to some of the very same factors that led to their sustainability in the market place.   In 1972 , Louis Marx, then 76 years old, sold the Louis Marx Toy Company to Quaker Oats.  (Quaker also owned Fisher-Price Toys.)  Following Mr. Marx's departure, the company went into decline, possibly due to factors including ignoring the trend toward electric and electronic toys, lack of advertising budget (specifically the TV market), and high cost of U.S. production.  After 52 years of constant profits under Louis Marx's stewardship, the company suffered huge losses and in a mere three years, Quaker sold the company, in 1975, to Richard Beecham, the British Marx manager.  Beecham tried to turn the company around but it was too late. The Pennsylvania factories closed in 1976 and the West Virginia plant was shuttered in 1980.

Thanks to toy collector Francis Turner, many Marx creations as well as company history can be experienced at the official Marx Toy Museum, opened in 1982 in Moundsville, WV, only a mile from the original factory.  There are interesting displays of original artwork and rare prototypes. The visitor can view early TV commercials and footage from the Glen Dale factory.  There is a timeline with representative toys from each decade. Most significantly, there are more than 100 full play sets in dioramic displays.  An hour or two at the museum will have the visitor hunting for that fondly-remembered toy that can't be found at any mall.

This prototype of the circus diorama featured a real canvas tent and all hand-painted
figures, including all the people in the seats.  It was deemed to be too costly to mass-produce

This is the circus diorama that Marx actually produced...stamped tin, lithographed

How many kids over the years unwrapped shiny new Marx cars and trucks on Christmas morning, and created their own Road Stories?

Trucks...the stuff that dreams...and Road Stories...are made of

Coming in the next edition of Road Stories: The other "King" of West Virginia.