1929 Marx, Service Gas Station in Original Box
This tin litho Service Gas Station by Marx represents the classic early 20th century filling station. It's one of the earliest gas stations produced by Marx and also one of the smallest. It comes complete with its original "Aero Gas" manual pump plus its original box. The red sedan partially shown in the first photo is not part of this auction. The toy was originally available in several versions and colors. It was produced with as many as three gas pumps and zero, one, or two pressed steel vehicles. These included Racer #61 and the Liberty Bus. The same base was used in every variation. You can see slots for two more pumps cut into the base on either side of the existing pump. The single pump has a manual crank on the front. The station itself consists of rectangular black and orange building with circular cut front and side windows. "Tires, Tubes, Accessories, Repairs" is lithoed on both sides. The roof consists of yellow, circular adobe-style shingles outlined in green. It slopes down gently resting on two corner pillars. At the edge of the roof is an embossed sign with the Marx logo in the center and "Service Gas Station" spelled out in large capital letters. The base is embossed and lithoed gray. A photo of this particular configuration appears page 60 of Greenberg's Guide to Marx Toys, Vol. II. The eye-catching box was attractively printed in orange, blue, and dark brown. It shows an illustration of the Service Station with two pumps. An attendant stands between them manually cranking gas into a waiting coupe. The lower right corner shows a sedan just entering the service island. The side panels contain text (name of the toy, manufacturer, manufacturer's address). Size: 5¼" x 6" x 3¼". Sold: Dec. 2005
Price Sold: $ 666
