All of us have had a favorite toy that we got for Christmas when we were kids. Some of us have had more than one favorite but the thing that stuck with us is the great memories we all hold of those toys and the hours spent playing with them. Toys are a big part of who we are , how we grew up and how we learn to enjoy the simple things in life. Most of us have replaced those childhood toys with new grown up things that keep us entertained. We have kids of our own and get to play all over again with them and when we grow even older we are lucky enough to relive the fun with our grandchildren. Throughout life we never really go without the power of play. Nothing brings back the flood of good memories like seeing an old toy that we had growing up. The memory of finding it under the tree on Christmas morning. The memory of a loved one that gave it to you or spent hours playing with you. Real toys! Ones that were meant to be played with! Ones that were made to get dirty or scratched showing just how much they were enjoyed! This is what toy maker Louis Marx had in mind when he and his brother David incorporated in 1919.
Born in 1896 and graduating high school at the age of 15 he immediately went to work for a mechanical toy company in new York. He became the manager of a toy factory a year later. He was fired over a disagreement about sales.
Louis Marx spent some time in the the service before he became involved in his own business. In fact the Army had a great influence on his life and was reflected in a lot of the toys that he manufactured. Beyond his passion for work was that of his business practices. He developed techniques much like the auto industry did in mass producing his products. He used old designs as much as possible and kept things simple. He worked selling toys made by others until he bought dies from other manufacturers that were going out of business. Over a period of three years after he started he became a millionaire. He was just 26 years old. He became a "Toycoon" over his career manufacturing two thirds of the toys in America for many, many years. He operated three factories near our area. Two near Erie Pennsylvania and one in Glen Dale West Virginia. In later years he had plants over seas as well. He was a genius at predicting what would be popular and was always very generous with his products. It is reported that he would give hundreds of new toys away every Halloween to kids for trick or treat. He did this every year for over forty years. His factories employed local people from the production line to the artists that designed the boxes for the products. Sadly the empire drew to a close in the early seventies with cheaper production overseas and a error in judgement about advertising on television. He spent very little on television advertising while his competitors spent fortunes. He sold off his company to Quaker Oats in 1972 and retired at the age of 76. The company was sold several times over and the factories near Erie were closed down. He died in 1982 ironically the very same day that a bankruptcy court decided that the Glen Dale WV plant could no longer operate.
The majority of us have had or played with a Marx toy. He manufactured everything from mechanical metal toys to plastic play sets of popular television shows. His biggest toy however was the "Big Wheel". Almost everything he made can be found at a museum in the Glen Dale and Moundsville WV area. The museum is owned and operated by Francis Turner. Francis started out collecting Marx toys and then became a toy dealer to make extra money. Over the years he did very well reselling antique Marx toys to other collectors and was able to collect rare pieces for himself. He has amassed thousands of toys and has them displayed at a museum dedicated to the Marx line. He still collects but the museum is now a non profit. All monies are used to run the museum. Francis is a great guy and very enthusiastic about the Marx name and the impact it had on the town of Glen Dale. Below is a pictorial of the museum. I was surprised by the many toys that were locally made here. In fact most of them I had forgot about until I saw them again.
Most of the toys displayed are under glass. Marx manufactured tons of play sets that were character themed. Many of the sets were popular comic strip, radio, or television personalities of the day.
Marx started out making metal mechanical toys that were wind up spring activated.
World War II dramatically changed the material used to make toys. Most metal was used for the war effort and plastics became very popular and very inexpensive. Marx developed massive plastic play sets of various historical events. Later on he developed large scale plastic western "action" dolls.
Some of the most well known Marx toys were never thought of as being made by a local company. It surprised me that some of the toys I had recognized for years actually were made around here.
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm April through December. It is located at 915 second street Moundsville West Virginia. They have an impressive fifties style dinner that serves snacks on the site as well.
For more photographs of the museum go to:
Marx Extras
Another story for this month only:
Toy Stories
Hello Jeff! I work at a small alt-weekly in Erie, PA called the Erie Reader. We're doing a story on Marx Toys (with its old plant located in Erie). Just wondering if you would grant permission to use a few of those to go along with the story, we would credit you in print and online. Thanks so much!
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