Marx's toys included tinplate buildings, toy soldiers, toy dinosaurs, mechanical toys, toy guns, action figures, dolls, toy cars, and O scale toy trains. Although the company is now largely forgotten except by toy collectors, its last hurrah was the Big Wheel ride-on pedal toy, which was introduced in 1969 and became one of the most popular toys of the 1970s.

Founded in 1919 in New York City by Louis Marx and his brother David Marx, the company's basic policies were "Give the customer more toy for less money," and "Quality is not negotiable," which made the company highly successful. Unlike most companies, Marx's revenues grew during the Great Depression, and Marx was the largest toy manufacturer in the world by the 1950s. In a 1955 article, Time Magazine proclaimed Louis Marx "the Toy King." Marx was the initial inductee in the Toy Hall of Fame, and his plaque proclaimed him "The Henry Ford of the toy industry."

At its peak, Louis Marx and Company operated three manufacturing plants in the United States: Erie, Pennsylvania, Girard, Pennsylvania, and Glen Dale, West Virginia. The Erie plant was the oldest and largest, while the Girard plant, acquired in 1934 with the purchase of Girard Model Works, produced toy trains, and the Glen Dale plant produced toy cars.

In 1972, Marx sold his company to the Quaker Oats Company for $52 million and retired at the age of 76. Quaker owned the Fisher-Price brand, but struggled with Marx, selling the company just three years later to the British conglomerate Dunbee-Combex. The combined company, known as Dunbee-Combex-Marx, struggled as well, and in 1978 the Marx brand disappeared. Dunbee-Combex-Marx filed for bankruptcy in 1980.

The rights to some of Marx's toys are now owned by other companies, and some of its former products are still in production. Marx Toys, Inc., owns the rights to many Marx action figures. Marx Trains, Inc. produces lithographed tin trains, both of original design and based on former Louis Marx designs. K-Line produces plastic O scale train cars and scenery using former Marx molds, which it markets under its own brand name. Rights to the original Marx Big Wheel are owned by KidsWheels, Inc. However, despite the similar names, neither of the Marx-branded companies of today have any connection to the original Louis Marx and Company.

The original Marx toys are highly regarded by collectors.

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