Posted 12 years ago
stepback_a…
(363 items)
You may recall these Marx president figures from the 1960's. There are 35 figures in all, up until President Johnson. Each figure is 2 2/4" tall and is hand painted. On the front of the base is the presidents name, and on the rear of the base is the years in office as well as his number as president, for example, Abraham Lincoln # 16. In addition to buying the presidents as a set, I remember these being given out as a premium at Jewel Food stores in the Chicago area, in which a different figure would be given out every week. If anyone remembers this please let me know. The base and columns are made of styrofoam.
I wish Marx would update their Presidential figures through the present. I have two of these sets and they are marvelous --not only for collection but as a learning tool. Does anyone know why they don't update them or if they will?
Sorry, but the Louis Marx toy company is no longer in bisiness.
Thanks for the info------Didn't realize that--wonder if another toy company perhaps obtained their patents, etc. ?
I had one of these as a child but never got the whole collection. Disappeared over the years. Wish I still had them. Very Cool!
Mr. Aynor, mine are the colored ones...
Thanks Faithope
Where I grew up in Mt. Pleasant, MI, it was the Kroger store that offered these in the early 1970s. I think you could get the "president of the week" by purchasing at least a certain amount in groceries, buying the figurine directly, or you could purchase the entire set (maybe that was toward the end of the promotion?). My mom purchased just a few of these (though I begged for more). My grandma had the full set with the styrofoam stand, minus one or two that came up missing.
Earlier, starting during the Eisenhower term, white unpainted versions of these were offered directly by Marx in boxes, I believe 7 to a box. I've also seen / purchased them in gold, blue, and yellow (may be another color or two I'm forgetting), and I have a miniature set of these. There are also much larger versions, though some seem to be the same pose, while others are different poses - not sure whether these are Marx also. And Marx made a few of the First Ladies, Vice Presidents, and Presidential candidates as well.
The very latest I saw of these was around 1974 (expired late summer when I was 9), when a full set of the unpainted white figurines were offered in the Sears catalog for about $5.99 - couldn't talk my mom into buying them, even with me paying her back as I earned the money. I've run across a picture of what I think was that listing on the Internet.
Marx went out of business many years ago, and sometime after 2000, someone who inherited much (all?) of their inventory was auctioning the original molds from these figurines on eBay! I was able to pick up 2 or 3 of them (Jefferson is one), but as they were auctioned, each auction seemed to go higher than the previous one. I think I paid somewhere around $100 for each one I got - they're packed away somewhere here.
Patric Verrone (who works in television) has continued the series, along with many of the Supreme Court justices (he's trying to do all of them), and other famous Americans, as well as collector cards (think something like baseball cards) to go along with each of these. You can look him up on wikipedia and google and read more. Also use the term "Marx presidential figurines," which seems to be the most commonly used term for these figures. Googling "marx presidential figurines verrone" will yield pictures of a very wide variety of these by both Marx and Verrone. If you are patient, you can find partial or full sets of these on eBay for pretty reasonable prices, though the styrofoam stand adds much to the cost if you desire that.
I recently got married and have a 4-year-old step-son. He will have a full set of these before he is much older. What a great learning tool!
I'm 62 years old and collected the entire set from Washington to Nixon when I was 13. The Acme Supermarkets offered them. I have always loved them and recently replaced the original styrofoam display with a wooden one I made.
I have the ENTIRE set Washington through Biden, along with the newer 5-tier stand! All in perfect shape and none missing. If anyone needs the 4-tier stand, I have one available. Good for those who have all figurines through Johnson, but are missing the stand.