Collecting Marx Toy Soldiers, Action Figures and Playsets - Classic Toys From Louis Marx and Company
By Jenni Kerala
Do an instant survey about things collectors usually collect, and for sure you’ll come up with a list that includes toy soldiers and playsets from toy manufacturer Louis Marx and Company. Collecting Marx action figures is a very popular hobby and pastime, especially among men who spent their childhood years playing with Marx toys.
If little girls were so fond of their Barbie dolls and their mini-kitchen playsets, little boys back in the day were into playing with toy soldiers made by Marx. To some, the action toys are trademarks of being a boy, underlining adventuring, bravery and extreme physical abilities.
It would be noteworthy to know the origin of Marx action figures. To begin with, the toy soldiers were designed and manufactured by toy maker Louis Marx and Company. The firm was one of the oldest toy companies and was primed to become the world’s largest toy manufacturer in the 1950s. Louis Marx was the man behind the company and the toy soldiers, action figures and playsets. He was a U.S.-born toy assembler who had been into toy making since his youth. He started his career as a staff member, and later a manager, at Ferdinand Strauss, a maker of mechanical toys.
Louis entered the U.S. Army as a private in 1918. Two years later, he resumed civilian life and revived his career in toy making. Louis was so attached to his military life that he named all his sons with the names of the generals he knew. He later proceeded to establish Louis Marx and Company and made his mark with his own trademark figures.
In the 1930s to the early 1940s, toys were made of metal alloys. The onset of World War II prompted the U.S. and European countries to use all metal reserves for manufacturing military weapons, so plastic versions of the action figures started entering the market in the late 1940s.
Collecting Marx action figures certainly is one of the most interesting and worthwhile hobbies people can do today. Though the action toys can be considered novelty objects nowadays, they surely are still hot collectibles. Some say that people would never grow tired of the toy soldiers and playsets as long as there is always thrilling battles to be waged between the forces of good and evil.
Jenni Kerala is a writer, collector and eBay addict who loves to find interesting and beautiful collectibles — especially vintage and antique items — on the online marketplace. She publishes the Toy Soldier Auctions site where you can find deals on Marx toy soldiers and playsets.
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