On June 15th-17th, several members of the NoVA Joe Club (Scott, Curtis, and Brian) attended the 9th Annual Marx Toy & Train Collectors National Convention at the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum. The curators, Alan and Alan (father and son) where incredible hosts - and you could tell they were dedicated and cared a great deal about the museum!
In addition, the CircleXRanch (Noah and Terri Coop) hosted the West Virginia 2007 JohnnyCon. Along with the incredible displays at the toy museum (some of which appear below) and the fantastic Marx Toys sale and convention, there was a custom figure contest Scott Stewart of Stewart's Attic hosted.
Friday afternoon, most of us headed over to the Official Marx Toy Museum of Glen Dale, WV. This was an incredible museum and we have some pictures to show you too!
In addition, Friday night we had the chance to attend a Marx figure and playset sale. We got some truly incredible items and got to see the old Marx factory. For example, Brian got a complete Stony Smith soldier in box - a toy he had as a child - in great shape and a great Sam Cobra to build a custom James West, Scott and Curtis picked up some Johnny West store display figures and horse, and a whole lot more!
The car you see in the picture above is an operating 1:1 scale version of one of Marx's most famous toys cars. The The Virtual Marx Museum provided the 1:1 scale car. In the car was a handout that read (and I have paraphrased):
The Amos & Andy Fresh Air Taxi parade car is a size version of the
toy that was made by the Louis Marx Company in Erie, PA.
The toy was produced in 1930 at the 18th & Raspberry plant which was
The parade car was made from a 1930 Ford Sedan that George Gauthier |
|
|
What can we say - that toy museum was incredible. Certainly something for everyone! From old tin toys to modern toys, old trains to modern trains, old dolls to new dolls, this museum was a joy. Take a look at our page for 8th Annual Marx Toy & Train Collectors National Convention and JohnnyCon 2006 for pictures of the museum itself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Up on the main entrance floor - some more dealers. |
|
Jim Wolfe and his table. |
|
|
|
|
Check our 8th Annual Marx Toy & Train Collectors National Convention and JohnnyCon 2006 site for pictures of what the sale looked like.
The sale was held in the old Marx Union Hall, which was right next to the
old Marx factory. After the sale, some of us took a walk down to the
factory to check it out for ourselves!
|
|
The Official Marx Toy Museum of Glen Dale, WV is an incredible museum. This museum had some of the Marx playsets, laid out in all of their glory, many of the action figures (Johnny West, Johnny Apollo, Stony Smith, and the 8" figures), many of the tin toys, and more! The museum also has several movies they play that show the history of the Marx toy company.
|
|
|
In addition to the incredible playsets and other Marx toys, there were several Johnny West store displays.
|
|
|
|
|
|