Beautiful Boxes

These box photos were found here with an article on collecting.

COLLECTING Marx

An article on collecting Marx written by Alex Bergman, a staff writer at Manion's Auction House.

Excerpt: "Since many rare playsets can sell for thousands of dollars, collecting seems to be a hard hobby to get into - but there are ways to make it easier. First, look at garage sales and flea markets. Common sets can often be found, like Fort Apache (a cowboys and indians set), for only a few dollars.

Second, start looking for unboxed sets, as they might be made up of parts from other sets. A box in good condition can add 20% to a set’s value, and even more if it is unopened."

RIN TIN TIN Fort Apache - 3 versions!

From Let’s play Fort Apache! : Collecting the Fort Apache playsets from Marx
by Stu Shiffman on the collectingchannel.com:

At least three different models were produced of the Marx Rin Tin Tin Fort Apache playset, as a licensed tie-in to the television series. These were numbers 3627 (60mm figures), 3658 (54mm figures), and 3957 (mixed scale). If mint in box, these can sell for about $450 for 3627, and $250 for the others. A box lid circa 1956 shows a large "Rin Tin Tin Fort Apache" logo and illustrations of a horseback war-bonneted Plains Indian riding down on the fort, with a portrait of Rin Tin Tin and the boy Rusty in the upper left-hand corner. The text reads "Rinty - Rusty - Cavalrymen - Indians - Fort - Cabin - Horses - Blockhouses - and Accessories". These licensed versions included figures of Rin Tin Tin, Rusty, and Lt. Rip Masters.

COLLECTING Marx (history of as well as auction prices)

Great article from the July 2007 Toy Collector Magazine website called "Everything You See is Here". Also has an interview with Rusty Kern, the editor of Playset Magazine, the magazine that's a MUST have for playset lovers & collectors.

Excerpt: "Few toys reflect the influences of 20th-century culture and technology more than playsets manufactured by Louis Marx & Co. Inc. Contained in a single box were all the pieces needed to settle the American frontier, stage the D-Day invasion of Normandy, launch rockets into space or create hundreds of other real-life scenarios."

Excerpt: "Marx aggressively acquired licensing rights to produce sets based on popular television series and movies of the era. When The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin became a hit series on Saturday mornings in 1954, Marx quickly came out with Rin Tin Tin Fort Apache sets, featuring the famous German shepherd and his young master, Rusty. The 1950s revival of Westerns on TV led Marx to produce Wyatt Earp Dodge City, The Rifleman Ranch and Johnny Ringo Western Frontier, all in 1959; Wagon Train from 1958 to 1961, and Gunsmoke in 1960, among others."