1938 Marx, Police Siren Motorcycle in Original Box
Outstanding clockwork tin litho Police Siren Motorcycle (a.k.a. Police Mechanical Motorcycle) in excellent++ to near mint condition. Appears to have never been played with. Comes with wonderful illustrated box; also in excellent condition. In addition it includes the original (and correct) Marx die cast metal key, the envelope which contained the key, plus the original paper packing material. The Police Siren Motorcycle features a large combination motorcycle/rider wearing a blue uniform and cap, brown sidearms and boots, and riding a red frame motorcycle with blue wire wheels and treads. The front tire revolves, while the rear tire is lithographed. It's angled towards the left to make continuous circles. The two large, black "training wheels" are made of different materials. The left is wooden, the right rubber. This provides stability and friction to compensate for the left turned wheel. As the toy moves forward the large friction generated siren on the left side of the bike makes a loud screeching sound. Best of all the toy works beautifully; both movement and sound. As with many Marx toys small changes were made to the original design to produce different toys. Specifically the Tipover Motorcycle and Motorcycle with sidecar. They differ slightly only in accessories and color. One interesting similarity is the placement of the "dashboard" gauges. They were mistakenly placed in front of the headlight, rather than over the gas tank. With this configuration there's no way for the cop to see the gauges because 1) they're upside down, and 2) the headlight blocks their view. The box was illustrated with a detailed drawing of the cop chasing two vehicles through the farm countryside. It's shown that as he rounds the curve the bike emits a loud "whee-e-e" sound. The two endflaps for this box were designed so that one end would remain closed. The hinged flap has printed on it "open this end", white the locked tab side indicates to "open other end". The side panels are text. The bike came packed inside paper which is slightly heavier than tissue paper. The original key envelope is blank, brown kraft paper, rather than a bag. It originally sold for 57¢. Size: 8½" long x 5¾" tall. Sold: Mar. 2007
Price Sold: $ 1281
