Marx Tin Toys

Louis Marx & Co. was founded in 1919 by Louis and David Marx in Erie, Pennsylvania. Marx specialized in and became the dominant American manufacturer of tin toys that reflected the quality and design inspiration of their European counterparts. Marx achieved a dominant position in the U. S. market during the 1950s and 1960s. Friction-based trains, fire engines, and cars were introduced in 1948. The Marx plant in Girard, PA first produced the famous Marx trains while automobiles and other vehicles were first produced at a new factory in Glendale, West Virginia. In 1955, electric trains and automobiles were introduced. Marx established factories in 10 countries by 1964 and licensed others for export. Nevertheless, the Japanese were flooding the market with low cost, mass produced tin toys, and by the 1970s tin was being replaced by plastic and newer metal alloys. Marx's first plastic toys were very disappointing for their lack of durability, and they soon switched to a stronger variation of polyethylene. Quaker Oats bought the company in 1972 upon Louis Marx' retirement, and under corporate ownership the culture of the company suffered and the new product introductions began to fail after a near perfect string of successes. In 1978, the original Louis Marx & Co. ceased production.