1936 Marx, Reversible Coupe (The Marvel Car) in Original Box
Extraordinary example of Marx' scarce art deco streamlined "Reversible Coupe, The Marvel Car". By far it's the most pristine condition toy of this type that I've seen, attaining the lofty grade of near mint. Comes complete with the highest grade box I've seen; excellent+ to near mint (I've seen only a few examples of the box). Also includes original key and original key envelope. Coupe is steel litho, not tin, and weighs nearly two pounds. Crimson body characterized by it's sleek, low design. It features an uncommonly elongated front hood flanked by raised, sloping tear-drop fenders with matching polished tin centers. Although several inches shorter, the rear fenders duplicate this design. Topping it off is the v-shaped plated grille assembly with diagonal embossing. All of these things combined give the car an appearance of speed even when standing still. The design was so successful that it was reused with Marx' Drive-Ur-Self-Car the Charlie McCarthy and Motimer Snerd car, and Blondie's Jalopy. The protruding front and rear bumpers are connected by a metal support traversing the entire length of the car. Each has its original rubber protector. Contact of either bumper with a stationary object automatically reverses its direction. This continues no matter how many objects its strikes as long as the clockwork motor continues running. It's powered by a large clockwork motor which works beautifully. The front axle can be adjusted right or left allowing the vehicle to travel in three directions. In addition it includes pressed disk metal wheels, chrome plated body flanges (on either side of the hood), plated hood and trunk dividers, split front windshield, black striping, and a rear stop/start switch. The chassis is a single embossed steel plate painted black. Two more versions of the Reversible Coupe were produced by Marx. In both cases this involved changes to the flanges on the sides of the hood. One has painted flanges, while the other has no flanges at all. This version, with plated flanges, was the first version produced and had the shortest production run. The large box was illustrated with an unusually large drawing of a mansion sized room. A young lad in knickers is shown playing with the vehicle. Dotted lines were used to represent the movement of the car. Sister, mother, and father look on. The side panels include schematic illustrations of the car and wordy directions for its operation. The endflaps were printed with the infamous Marx motto. The toy also comes with its original die cast Marx metal key with original envelope. I last found an example of this car which graded at least excellent in 2004. That toy was beautiful, however this virtually unplayed example grades far higher. Size: 16". Sold: Aug. 2008
Price Sold: $ 2403
