Toy, Space Ship, Buck Rogers, Rocket Police Patrol Ship

This Rocket Police Patrol Ship toy from 1934 was merchandise for Buck Rogers, the popular space-based adventure series. Rogers first appeared in Philip Francis Nowlan's story "Armageddon 2419 A.D." published in the pulp magazine Amazing Stories in August 1928. When he bought the character for a comic strip, National Newspaper Service president John F. Dille suggested renaming him "Buck" to capitalize on the popularity of Westerns. The Buck Rogers comic strip (written by Nowlan and illustrated by Dick Calkins) debuted in 1929, followed by a color Sunday strip in 1930 and a radio program in 1932.In advertisements published in December 1934, this toy was advertised by Louis Marx & Co. as a "flashing roaring speeding sky police patrol rocket ship" that "shoots out harmless sparks as it darts across the floor."Collector Michael O'Harro donated the toy to the Museum in 1993.