Marx Lane

Table of Contents Presidents, Politicians, Royalty, and Other Government Leaders Click on the section shown to move to it.

U.S. Presidents, large - unpainted

U.S. Presidents, large - factory-painted

U.S. Presidents, small

Presidential Inauguraton Figures

Other Politicians

The White House

The U. S. Capitol

Presidential Display Stand

Statue of Liberty

The Elephant

British Royalty

Foreign Politicans

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While still a young Army officer, future president Dwight Eisenhower stopped in at Marx headquarters in New York City to see if someone could fix his broken Marx toy train.  The company was still small at the time, and Ike spoke with Louis himself.  The train was beyond repair, but Louis gave Ike a new train set, Ike invited Louis to a West Point football game, and there began a life-long friendship between the two.  Louis supported Ike in his presidential campaigns, and according to to Playset Magazine Issue 41, President Eisenhower offered the Mexican ambassadorship to Louis, who turned him down in favor of his toy kingdom.  

Undoubtedly, Marx' friendship with Ike -- which led to acquaintances with other politicans and military leaders -- played a role in the company's production of so many figures of presidents and military leaders, as well as some politicians and foreign government leaders.  Marx went so far as to create a company subsidiary in Europe to provide employment and investment income for some military leaders after World War II.  The company, Charmore, initially manufactured perfumes, but eventually was involved in toy soldier production.

U.S. Presidents

U.S. Presidents - Large, 60mm, unpainted

The 60mm, unpainted president figures were produced in an almost gleaming white or cream color with sharp lines and detail, giving them the look of small presidential statues.  More than any other Marx figures, when found in pristine condition, they seem much more like small pieces of art rather than toys.  

The president figures came with White House and Capitol Building sets, but probably most were sold in complete or partial figure sets and individually.  Complete sets were sold in red, white, and blue striped boxes (at left), but perhaps the most popular packaging was a series of five boxed figure sets that each included seven figures (at right).  Similar-sized, rectangular boxes were used for other figures shown on this page, such as the the 6-figure inaugural group and the Queen Elizabeth coronation group.

Figure Set One in the rectangular boxes included the first seven presidents, Set Two the next seven, and so on.  The final box included the final five presidents through Dwight Eisenhower, plus a second pose of Eisenhower with his hands raised (used as a handout to supporters in the 1956 presidential campaign) and a figure of his wife Mamie.  A second pose of Mamie was later produced with her right hand raised. 

The attractive boxes used for both the figures and building sets included booklets that provided information on each president (see photos at right).  

 The company later produced poses of Presidents John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon.  A second Lyndon Johnson figure was sold in a thinner, different pose, though this second pose seems to be scarcer (the one shown below is the more common pose).  Marx also made a small number of Jackie Kennedy figures (PFPC reports theses were made as "White House give-aways" and are scarce today).  Lady Bird Johnson and Pat Nixon figures were never made.

Although the figures are very impressive, Marx made no attempt to produce the presidents in scale with each other.  Measuring the figures I own, I find that the large-sized figures are 65 millimeters tall give or take a millimeter (or 70mm including the base).  The only exception that I have found is President Grant, who is only 60 millimeters tall.

Most of the presidents are standing in a rather stoic, arms-at-sides pose.  However, a few are gesturing or have assumed a Napoleonic pose with one hand inserted into their jacket or vest.  A few also hold props, such as a hat, papers, or a book.  I have not investigated whether there are reasons that presidents have been posed in specific stances or hold certain props.  Any comments along this line are welcome!

Note that there are three different poses for Franklin D. Roosevelt.  One is a standard pose with him looking very serious; another with him smiling broadly.  Due to the thicker neck in the smiling pose, I would say the serious pose came first.  In the third pose, he is wearing a cape!  The bodies on the three are identical, with only the head changed.

George Washington	John Adams	Thomas Jefferson	James Madison
James Monroe	John Quincy Adams	Andrew Jackson	Martin Van Buren
William Henry Harrison	John Tyler	James Polk	Zachary Taylor
Millard Fillmore	Franklin Pierce	James Buchanan	Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson	Ulysses S. Grant	Rutherford B. Hayes	James Garfield
Chester Arthur	Grover Cleveland	Benjamin Harrison	William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt	William Howard Taft	Woodrow Wilson	Warren Harding
Calvin Coolidge	Herbert Hoover	Franklin D. Roosevelt (serious pose)	Franklin D. Roosevelt (smiling pose)
Franklin D. Roosevelt (with cape) Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman	Harry Truman	Dwight D. Eisenhower (arms down)	Dwight D. Eisenhower (arms up)
Mamie Eisenhower (arms down)	Mamie Eisenhower (right arm up)	John Kennedy	Jackie Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson Photo courtesy of Denis Rylev	Richard Nixon Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman

U.S. Presidents - Large, 60mm, factory-painted

For the most part, I believe the 60mm painted presidents are a disappointment when compared to the beatiful, statue-like unpainted versions.  Except for the paint, the figures themselves are identical.  The only Franklin D. Roosevelt painted figure is the pose with a cape.

When Marx decided to sell its president figures already painted, the company unfortunately shipped its figures to contractors in Hong Kong and Taiwan to be painted.  Undoubtedly, this was due to cheaper overseas labor costs.  According to Marx marketing materials, these figures were "hand painted by artists."  Anyone who has seen the figures will realize that Marx used the term "artist" very loosely.  The paint jobs vary from half-decent to butt-ugly.  Most of the figures I have seen have no eyes painted onto their face!

You can see by the photos below that some were done better than others.  I suppose there must be some out there that were painted with the touch of a true artist, but I do not recall seeing any!

George Washington	John Adams	Thomas Jefferson	James Madison
James Monroe	John Quincy Adams Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman	Andrew Jackson	Martin Van Buren
William Henry Harrison	John Tyler	James Polk	Zachary Taylor
Millard Fillmore	Franklin Pierce Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman	James Buchanan	Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson	Ulysses S. Grant	Rutherford B. Hayes	James Garfield
Chester Arthur	Grover Cleveland	Benjamin Harrison	William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt	William Howard Taft	Woodrow Wilson Though hard to tell in the photo, President Wilson is the only figure in a brown suit.	Warren Harding
Calvin Coolidge	Herbert Hoover Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Harry Truman I believe President Truman is describing the size of the fish that got away from him.
Dwight D. Eisenhower	John Kennedy Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman	Lyndon Johnson Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman

U.S. Presidents - Small Scale

The poses of the smaller scale figures are the same as the larger figures; the FDR pose is "with cape."  Although generally referred to as 35mm scale (i.e.,  an average figure height of 35mm), the smaller scale president figures are about 41 or 42 millimeters tall, including the base.  Bases are about three millimeters high.

These smaller figures were also sold painted, but are much harder to find today.  Mark Hegeman reports that they were manufactured as painted sets in both Hong Kong and Holland.

George Washington	John Adams	Thomas Jefferson	James Madison
James Monroe	John Quincy Adams	Andrew Jackson	Martin Van Buren
William Henry Harrison	John Tyler Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman	James Polk	Zachary Taylor
Millard Fillmore	Franklin Pierce	James Buchanan Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman	Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman	Ulysses S. Grant	Rutherford B. Hayes	James Garfield
Chester Arthur	Grover Cleveland	Benjamin Harrison	William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt	William Howard Taft	Woodrow Wilson	Warren Harding
Calvin Coolidge	Herbert Hoover	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Harry Truman
Dwight Eisenhower (arms down)	Dwight Eisenhower (arms up) Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman	Mrs. Eisenhower (arms down) Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman	Mrs. Eisenhower (right arm up) Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman
John Kennedy	Jacqueline Kennedy	Lyndon Johnson

Set of factory-painted 35mm presidents in original box Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman

U. S. Presidents - Inauguration Figures

Soon after the introduction of presidential figures in 1954, Marx issued a set of three presidents and their wives wearing formal attire.  These were labeled "Inauguration Figures" and were sold as a figure set in a rectangular box similar to those in which the original sets of white plastic presidents were sold.  The inauguration couples were Washington, Lincoln, and Eisenhower -- Marx was clearly paying homage to his friend Ike -- and were 60mm figures on square pedastals.  All six poses were unique to this group of figures and can be found both factory-painted and unpainted.

The boxed set at right was made in Marx' German facilities, with figures stamped as such on the bottom of their bases.  The photo was provided by Mark Hegeman.  Mark states that the Washingtons and the Lincolns were also sold on 2-figure cards (see similar packaging of Ike and Mamie near top of this page).  

PFPC Issue 21 states that the figures were distributed by Marx' subsidiary Charmore.  The subsidiary did not have as wide a distribution network as Marx itself, so fewer boxes were sold and fewer are available on the market today.  As noted earlier on this page, Marx established Charmore after World War II with many of his military and political friends as stockholders.  

All photos are courtesy of Mark Hegeman.
The Washingtons - George and Martha
The Lincolns - Abraham and Mary Todd
The Eisenhowers - Dwight and Mamie Note that the painter has given the President hair!
All photos are courtesy of Mark Hegeman.

Other U. S. Politicians

Recognizing the need for timliness in marketing figures of newly elected presidents, Marx created 60mm molds for presidential candidates well before elections took place.  This was true of Adlai Stevenson when he faced Eisenhower in the 1956 elections (photo at left courtesy of Russian collector Denis Rylev), Nixon and Kennedy in 1960, and Barry Goldwater in 1964 (Lyndon Johnson already had his figure, having become president upon Kennedy's death in 1963).  PFPC Issue 21 states that the Stevenson and Goldwater figures were never released for sale and the few figures around today were found in a Marx warehouse after the company went bankrupt.

During the 1968 presidential campaign, however, Marx sold figures of several presidential candidates to the public.  According to PFPC, figures of these politicans had the candidate's birth year printed on the back of the base.  However, I also have a figure of Humphrey with the back of his base erroneously showing that he was our 37th president (see photo at right), although it appears to be the same as his "candidate" pose shown below.

Both PFPC and Playset Magazine point out that two different figures of Goldwater exist.  One resembles Goldwater with his horn-rimmed glasses, but the other is without glasses and reportedly has little resemblance to him (see figure below).  No one knows who this apparently mis-labeled figure was intended to represent.

All photos below are courtesy of Mark Hegeman.
Barry Goldwater with glasses	Hubert Humphrey	Robert Kennedy
Richard Nixon	Charles Percy	Ronald  Reagan
Nelson Rockefeller	George Romney	Barry Goldwater no glasses, does not appear to be Goldwater
60mm Painted Presidential Candidates (shown smaller in relation to other figures)
All photos above are courtesy of Mark Hegeman.

Recent Price Lines I have noticed
Reagan, Rockefeller, Humphrey, and Kennedy	$55	October 2012	Ebay	painted

The White House

Marx' White House, made of  "gleaming white plastic" according to its marketing materials, was released in 1954 and last sold in the company's 1972 series of Heritage playsets.  The building came in more than 50 snap-together pieces and once assembled was 18 inches wide.  It was well undersized for the president figures that came with it.  It is an attractive and well-made model and came with either large or small scale presidents.

Front of White House Photo is of item in the Marx Museum, Moundsville, West Virginia

      

Front and back sides of the White House Photos courtesy of Ebay ID bunniesarethebest

The U.S. Capitol

The company's U. S. Capitol Building is even larger than its White House and just as impressive.  It too came in a playset that included president figures and was sold in both the 1950s and 1960s.

All photos below courtesy of  Ebay ID hunter-gatherer
Front side of the Capitol Building -	Back side of the Capitol Building -
Close-up of steps at left side of photo above -	Close-up of center stairway of Capitol Building -
Close-up of Capitol Building cupola -	Instructions for assembling the Capitol Building -

Presidential Display Stand

Marx also produced a styrofoam display stand, sold in a bag with 60mm president figures through Lyndon Johnson.  

The stand occasionally comes up on Ebay for auction, but I would imagine that in most cases, styrofoam has deteriorated rather badly over the past 50 years, much more so than vinyl or plastic figures.

Semi-circular, styrofoam display stand Photo courtesy of Ebay ID rpnc

Statue of Liberty

Issue 41 of Playset Magazine has a photo of  a 12-inch-tall Statue of Liberty made by Marx and sold on a blister card.  The magazine states that it was made about 1960.  As shown below, it was also sold in a box as a 12-piece kit.  Having never seen it myself, I have to assume that it is hard to find.

Statue of Liberty	Box cover of statue kit
Photos courtesy of Mark Hegeman

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