1950 Marx Mechanical Tractor with Earth Grader in Original Box
Fantastic two piece litho set containing a clockwork tractor with driver pulling an adjustable four-wheel road grader. It's important to note that both pieces are steel litho, not tin. For some reason Marx reverted to using an early style tractor with narrow treads at a time when plastic was being introduced into the toy industry. The set comes complete with its original illustrated box. Both the toy and box are the only set of its type that I've seen. The tractor is powered by a strong clockwork motor with attached key. Key was chrome plated which I haven't seen before. Typically it was left as bare cast metal. Beautifully lithographed in orange, yellow, red, and black. Embossed details include side pipes, rounded front grille, and hood divider. The bogey wheels are steel and use their original thin black rubber treads. It has a start/stop lever located in front of the driver's seat on the right side. The removable driver is original to the toy. It has a curved rear trailer hitch to haul the grader. The front is slotted just below the radiator to accommodate an add-on scraper or plow. The rear is also slotted just above the hitch. This feature I've never seen before. The complex earth grader is all steel although the metal wheels may be tinplate. It has four wheels, with the front pair capable of swiveling 360º (a complete circle). The plow is adjustable, right or left. Using the manual lever it can also be lowered or raised. The lever has it's original wooden bead handle. This set was available for only one year. It may have also been a special order item. This would explain its scarcity and steel litho composition. It originally sold for a whopping $2.29. The box was illustrated an accurate depiction of the tractor and grader in use. A small industrial building can be seen in the background. An architect looking type man stands in the foreground holding a set of unrolled plans. The back of the plans were cleverly printed with the Marx motto. The name of the toy and logo were also printed on this panel. The narrower main panels show the tractor and grader from the perspective of the right rear corner with the driver turned around. Again the toy name was included as well as the Marx address and logo. The endflaps have a simple outlined drawing along with the previously mentioned text. The box was beautifully printed in contrasting colors of yellow, black, and red. Size: 18½" overall (tractor 8½", grader 10"). Sold: Sep. 2008
Price Sold: $ 380
