1931 Marx, Snappy The Miracle Dog in Original Box
Snappy, The Miracle Dog was, and still is, a curiously odd toy. It's one of those toys that is so simple, it's nearly impossible to figure out how its supposed to work without having the instructions which are printed on the box. Snappy has just two parts; 1) Snappy and 2) his doghouse. Snappy is a terrier and he doesn't look too friendly. He's steel, not tin litho, and has a face growl that you wouldn't expect to see on a childs plaything. Snappy's doghouse is also steel litho. The sides are made to look like wooden slats. A couple more dogs, a cat, a pail, and a small tree are lithoed around the sides. Two caution signs are posted out front. The roof is orange, yellow, and green shingles. Here's how it works. Fixed to the inside rear wall of the doghouse is a gum rubber suction cup. The cup is fixed through a slot in the rear wall so it doesn't come loose. Push Snappy, rear first, into the doghouse. Push him hard against the suction cup so he sticks. The harder you push the longer he'll stick. When the moisture dries, the cup is released and Snappy springs through the entrance. The instructions say that you're supposed to play with it enough times to get an idea of how long it'll take before Snappy shoots through the entrance. Call him, "here Snappy". Wait a couple seconds. Yell at him again. Whatever you want to do in order to time your command with Snappy's release. He must come out after your command, not before. That's it! That's the whole toy. Whoever has the most number of "timed releases" wins. Not a real mind-bender and it probably wasn't too much fun. The box is just as important to have as Snappy, or his house. Two illustrated panels show a mean looking Snappy shooting out his dog house just as an apple stealing bare foot kid makes it over the fence. Instructions were printed on the other two panels. The endflaps have only the Marx slogan, "Have you all of them". It's a scarce enough toy, but the box is just about nonexistent. (This is only the second example I've seen). Size: Snappy 2½" long, Doghouse 4" long x 3½" wide x 3½" tall. Sold: Mar. 2009
Price Sold: $ 103
