Fire Chief Firction Version

Fire Chief Car: 1949. 6-1/2” long  Windup & Friction versions

The following description was taken from the Greenberg’s Guide to Marx Toys Vol #2. 

            “The fire Chief Car is the usual red and has a rather cartoon-like appearance. The lithographed headlights and grille help give this effect. On the hood is a somewhat triangular black and yellow shield with “Chief” inside in yellow above “F.D” and “ Official Fire Chief” on the door. Although this Fire Chief Car is a windup, it is very similar to a Marx friction-driven Dick Tracy Car and probably also came in a friction version. It is known that a Marx friction-driven fire chief car with a slightly different lithographed design was manufactured around the same time. Although the size is not known for certain, it was probably 6-1/2” long as in the windup version. “

            The friction version of the Marx Fire Chief car is pictured here with the wind up version. The only significant difference besides how it is propelled is the lithographed “Friction Drive” that is along the hood and ‘Friction Drive” that is in cursive on the fenders under the word “Chief”.

            The windup toy originally sold for $.49 cents in 1949. This one was sold by the S.S. Kresge Co, which was a dime store around the Midwest. 

These examples are from the Don A. Daniels Collection