1935 Marx, Nickel Plated G-Man Sparkling Pop Pistol in Original Box
Fantastic mirror finish plated nickel on pressed steel version of Marx' classic G-Man Sparkling Pop Pistol. Grades an incredible near mint to near mint+. Comes complete with rare high grade original box in excellent+ to NM condition. Also comes with original flint replacement directions. Purchased from the estate of a former Marx employee and is the only example of the toy and directions I've seen. The Marx "G-Man" line of cap pistols, rifles, machine guns, and target toys were very popular, but for some unknown reason available for only a short time. The Sparkling Pop Pistol was the largest one-handed cap gun from the series. A black enamel finish is more well known by collectors, but it's still difficult to find in high grade condition. It's all pressed steel and weighs nearly half a pound. It features a large colorful detail of the ethereal "G-Man" on the left frame. The entire piece is nickel plated except for the trigger which is polished steel. The grips are cross hatched on both sides. Approximately ½" from the barrel tip is a movable circular steel band. This keeps the flint in place and centered, and is often missing on the black version. A squeeze of the trigger produces a loud POP sound. Incredibly enough it also produces a sparkling flash at the barrel tip using the original flint. Replacement of the flint requires moving the steel band which would scratch the chrome finish.....and there are no scratches to be seen. It's important to point out that the Marx logo does not appear anywhere on the toy. This is very unusual and seldom seen on a Marx toy, but when it does it usually means either a manufacturing difficulty or some legal problem. It's interesting that the black enameled version was imprinted with the logo. The original box features a full panel art deco illustration of two young sprites firing their pistols at each other. The boy on the left wears a white shirt with red tie. The one on the right is dressed in the a childrens sailor outfit which was a very popular boy style. The box was printed in red, white, and blue. Between the boys the red and white design symbolized the great American Shield of Honor. The manufacturer name, address, and logo were also included. The shorter side panels were printed with a three step set of directions for replacing the flint on one side, while the other includes only the toy name. Endflaps have only the toy name as well. Similar to the box, the small 4" x 6" sheet of instructions were also outlined in three steps. However, their text is more concise and instruct the person to use a knife blade to change the flint. More than likely this sheet was used for a very short time, if at all. Size: 8" x 4" x 1".
Price Sold: $ 244
