mechanical toy: Mechanical Honeymoon Express

In the middle years of the 20th century, Louis Marx & Company produced about one of every five toys made in the United States. The company produced a wide range of dolls, dollhouses, trains, cars and vehicles, toy soldiers and guns, action figures, and a wide variety of mechanical tin toys. Between 1928 and 1966, the company manufactured various Mechanical Honeymoon Express toys. In 1955, “Time” magazine deemed Louis Marx, once described as a “roly-poly, melon bald, little man with berry bright eyes and beneficent smile of St. Nic,” the “Toy King.” He earned a reputation for cutting the price of his toys while also making small improvements. Marx donated a million toys each year to children of cops, waitstaff, orphanages, and other institutions.