While the box is exceptionaly ordinary it is very uncommon. This is the original shipping box used by the Ferdinand Strauss Toy company.  LouisMarx purchased the dies and then had Strauss manufacture the toy, the the toy was then boxed up and shpped to arx to possible be reboxed. This toy is rare enough that I have not seen another boxed example. 

Marx 1920’s Horse Cart: 8” long.

The toy was made as early as 1920 when Louis Marx acquired the dies for the most popular toys Ferdinand Strauss produced. When the Strauss company sold off their available stock and tooling dies many toys were re-boxed or redesigned and sold under the Marx label. This horse cart probably has a different name but it is so extremely rare that it is unknown. Strauss produced this toy and called it “Hooligans Hack”. The Marx version is almost identical to the Strauss version with the exceptions being the rear panel that shows the Marx logo and a scene of a horse balking and kicking the cart and the lack of wheel covers or fenders. The two horse were also lithographed in a different color, the Strauss horses were brown with red saddles and the Marx version are grey with black saddles. It is possible that there are Marx examples of this toy that have both the fenders, and brown horse but as far as I know there are no examples.  

The driver for this toy was also used in early examples of the Marx Mack trucks. The “Police Patrol” paddy wagon used the same driver. 

The toy is constructed of lithographed tin and has a wind-up mechanism on the side of the toy. When wound the toy rolls forward, it does not “balk” the cart as the other late 1920’s and early 1930’s Balky Mule cart does. One of the horses has a small wheel on its foot that swivels and allows the toy to change directions. 

This example comes with the original packing box. It is unremarkable with the exception of some stamped numbers on its side. The un-lithographed box supports the idea that this toy was a very early piece in the Marx history. I speculate that it was done prior to Marx having the ability to print lithographed boxes and was produced to be sold without a box.