Marx Farm Cabin

Here is one of the harder to find Marx cabins and was available at least as early as 1951.  My catalog references don't cover the period 1946-1950 so I can't say whether or not it was offered earlier than 1951. The cabin with this particular graphic, was a separate sale item - not available as part of a larger playset (however, the same stampings were used with other graphics and included in multiple playsets) . There would have been a set of brightly colored hard plastic furniture suitable for 54mm-60mm figures included (darn it - and I sold my sets of larger bright colored furniture last year!!!). The chimney is a mis-matched color and is most likely a replacement, however the rest of the tin is in real good shape. Enjoy!

Marx Fort Apache Headquarters with Stable

As I get around to photographing the collection one thing is apparent; the abundance of Marx 'shoebox' buildings, so-called because of their rectangular shape, 5" (12.7cm) H x 4" (10.2cm) W x 12" (30.5) L. But in these you won't find a pair of Buster Brown's or P.F. Flyer's (if you're a child of the '50s you 'll know exactly what I'm talking about).

Today on Toys and Stuff we feature the 'shoebox' Fort Apache Headquarters with Stable. The first Fort Apache set came out in 1951 and was an immediate and enduring hit with kids. I had always looked forward to visiting my Uncle Al and Aunt Dorothy because they had a Fort Apache set always at the ready for use by their grand kids. Later on I would be fortunate to get a set for Christmas - it was the Sears Heritage set from 1961. The basic box shapes of the 'shoebox' series of buildings could always be plussed-up through the use of plastic add-ons as is the case with this building. Through the addition of a porch, opening stable doors, and a lookout tower, this building is taken to the next level in terms of design and aesthetics. It's also fun!

The Fort Apache sets have been dubbed the 'King of Playsets' and were able to adapt and change with the times. This particular building ushered in a beautiful flat finish lithography and stood 11" (27.9cm) H to the top of the mast.  It was the same type that came with my childhood set  from 1961. Enjoy!

 

Marx Fort Dearborn Cabin

Although called by many the 'Fort Dearborn' cabin, because of its association with Marx's Fort Dearborn playset which came out in 1952, this cabin actually appeared a year earlier in Marx's first Fort Apache playset #3609. I'm okay with it being referred to as the Fort Dearborn cabin because, quite frankly, there are so many buildings labeled 'Fort Apache This' or Fort Apache That' that poor old Fort Dearborn needs something to remember it by! This is a Marx first series log cabin with cut-out windows, rolled edges, and no porch. It has interior lithography evoking a more simple frontier lifestyle devoid of frills and dressin' It's a wonderful example of early Marx playset lithography. Enjoy!

Fort Apache Downsized Cabin

Marx's Fort Apache sets were fascinating. They underwent many changes in sizes, types, and colors of figures and accessories, and it's centerpiece tin-litho building kept changing and evolving as well. For years, the centerpiece was one of the large tin-litho cabins and then in 1956 Marx offered this smaller cabin. The cabin is nice but seems so inadequate as a fort's main structure. If one were to make a 'fantasy' playset, this would certainly look great as one of the smaller peripheral buildings. It wasn't until 1961 that Marx introduced a proper Fort Apache headquarters building, see the 29 Aug 2011 Toys & Stuff post. Enjoy!

Marx Lumar Construction Camp Office

Today on Marx Monday, Toys & Stuff features the tin-litho Lumar Field Office from its Construction Camp playset. The playset first appeared in Sears Christmas Wishbooks back in 1954 and this style cabin was offered for two more years before being replaced by a down-sized building. One of these days I'd like to be able to feature more of the set pieces that came with the various tin-litho buildings shown here on Toys & Stuff. You see, up 'til now I've concentrated mostly on collecting the tin. I do have some full playsets with boxes, but mostly I just have the tin-litho centerpieces. But for now - Enjoy!

Marx Roy Rogers Rodeo Ranch Set Cabin

Okay, if there's any younger readers out there, let's say in your teens or twenties, let me ask you a rhetorical question. What do you think you will remember as your favorite types of television shows when you grow older? When you're 50 years old, sittin' back and chillin' with your pals, what will be your impressions of the shows you enjoyed growing up with? I can guess some of it. You will have never known a time without cable TV. You will have always had more channels to choose from than what is humanly reasonable. Very unreal 'Reality' shows will be one of the predominant memories. Contests. Not just game show type contests or sports, but all kinds of competition: who can sing better, dance better, cook better,design clothing better, model clothing better, ad infinitum. Favorite cartoons will be 'The Simpsons, 'Sponge Bob Square Pants', 'South Park', etc. Super Heroes will roam the airwaves both in live action and cartoon form. 

Know that all of this will end. Oh, not end entirely, there will still be re-reruns but just to put things in perspective remember that everything has its time in the sun - to everything there is a season. Roll back the years to the 1950s, my time in the sun. There were only six viewing channels. The four major networks: ABC, NBC, and CBS. The fourth major network, DuMont, ceased broadcasts in 1956. Some cities like mine (Milwaukee) would have a UHF channel - ours was Channel 18. And then there was PBS, then as now, Channel 10. Cowboys were King. No, NOT the Dallas Cowboys who didn't come along until 1960. I mean the kind that rode horses, fought Indians, and sang their way into our psyche. The cowboys I grew up with had absolutely no resemblance to real cowboys, whose work was dirty, hard, long, tedious, and dangerous. No, the cowboys I grew up with wore rhinestones, they always looked neat - spiffy - even after a knock-down, drag 'em out fight. When they shot people no blood was shed and many times it was 'just to wound' the bad guys. And many of them sang! And we loved it. It is this cultural backdrop which formed the basis for so many of the vintage toys featured here on Toys & Stuff.

The cowboy many consider to be the most popular was one of those singing cowboys - Roy Rogers. He was King of The Cowboys for a reason, he was also The King of Marketing, Roy Rogers marketed his name - his brand as it were - on everything from toys to bed blankets (I know. I had Roy Rogers bed blankets and drapes as a kid growing up!!).  Today Toys & Stuff presents a Marx 1st series cabin from one of the Roy Rogers licensed products, the 'Roy Rogers Rodeo Ranch Set' of 1953. As I've said in the past, my collection has been focused on the tin-litho centerpieces found in many playsets of the era. One day I hope to be able display and photograph the few whole playsets I have in a more desirable fashion. I do in fact have a fairly complete Roy Rogers playset and would like to display it properly. But for today, let's just enjoy this toy from a simpler time when singing cowboys were 'in' and Roy Rogers was their King! - Enjoy!