“MARX Sears 1962 #4073
Colonial MANSION with Breezeway and BOMB SHELTER Doll House
NO RUST COLD WAR SPECIAL”
Here’s something you don’t see every day — a 1962 Marx tin dollhouse with a built in bomb shelter — spotted by Eartha Kitsch and featured on her fab blog, Ranch Dressing with Eartha Kitsch. There’s just something about miniature houses that appeals to most people — and this one also appeals to historians because of its rare bomb shelter. A few years ago, even the owner of the Marx Toy Museum had said he had seen only one of these rare doll house designs in his life — and that that the Museum didn’t even have one.
I emailed the seller, who kindly allowed us to show her photos here and also gave us a peek into how coveted this retro dollhouse seems to be is among vintage doll house collectors:
Hi Kate,
Thanks for contacting me on this. I’m more that happy to let you use the listing and link it. I have been selling on ebay for a while and I have never seen a response to a listing like this one. It is incredible the hits I get daily on it and the amount of people watching it. I’ve had several emails from people who have been looking for this dollhouse for 10+ years and others who want to link it to their dollhouse website. People who have these are so excited about their collection and sharing their stories with me and it has surprised many who never knew there was even a dollhouse out there made by Marx with a bomb shelter. It is truly a piece of history and I hope the right person gets this because if cared for it will last forever with the great shape it is in. I currently have over 40 people watching the auction and over 600 have pulled it up so it will be interesting to see what happens.
Sandy
– sandy3950
From the Ebay listing:
The Holy Grail of Tin Litho Dollhouses.
MARX Sears 1962 #4073
Two Story Colonial MANSION with Breezeway and BOMB SHELTER Doll House
NO RUST COLD WAR SPECIALOne of the rarest of all MARX houses is this one with the fall out shelter. The house was inspired by John F. Kennedy’s appeal to our nation to be prepared for the worst outcome in our Cold War with Russia. Many Americans built bomb shelters that year as a result. The craze was short lived and the house was a low seller, a real Bomb. The house was only produced for one year (1962) in a VERY LIMITED quantity. Since it was not a big seller it is extremely difficult to find. The house also came with the rare Dutch door in white plastic. The inside of the house was exactly the same as most colonials, with the exception of the garage being replaced by the bombshelter.
And here it is….. the one room that makes this item a collectors must have. This is Priceless so don’t let it get away. It will only go up in value.Super Rare features include.
1. Bomb Shelter/ fall-out shelter (has first aid items and things not normally in a garage)
2. Recroom/ gameroom
3. Breezeway
4. COVERED patio-I have not found anywhere. 5. Bay window front with the plastic pieces for the bay window
6. Dutch entry door -It is missing the actual door but has the plastic entry piece.The graphic on the walls and floors are incredible too many detail to list (see photos)
Appears to have been used very little if at all. No Rust. All tabs seem to be fine and all pieces attach together. Very colorfull and detailed pieces. There is one small scratch on roof and someone drew with a marker so I cleaned it off best I could. You can hardly see it now and it does not affect the overall look. Especially since it’s on the back side. There are a couple other tiny scratches in places but compared to others I have seen from the same era this one is a gem! It is missing the dutch door itself and the piece that goes on top of the breezeway side. It’s not a chimney but not sure what it is. The plastic green patio top does have a small crack in it but it is solid and hard to even see.
Seller Sandy also points to a 2008 story in the Charlotte Observer (link now gone) about the Official Marx Toy Museum. In her listing, Sandy says this was also in the story — although I cannot see it in the source document:
“Prominently missing in his collection is the grand Marx dollhouse that also came with a fallout shelter. ‘They just put that out for a little while, around the time of the Cuban missile crisis, and I’ve only seen one in my whole life,” [Museum owner] Turner apologizes.
There’s currently a take-no-prisoners opening bid of $999. This sold for $6.44 at Sears in 1962! Pretty darn good house appreciation!
Wow — this is truly an awesome little house. Special thanks to Ebay seller Sandy3950 for allowing us to feature this gem of a find. UPDATE: Dollhouse sold for more than $1,000.
Just one question: Wouldn’t a real bomb shelter always be below ground?
Let’s hear your home bomb shelter stories, readers!
Robin, NV says
Holy Moly. This might be the only doll house my husband would ever let me own. He really wants to buy a house (a real one) with a bomb shelter.
I love the details. The calendar on the wall so you can tick off the days. The radio, blankets, supplies, etc. Too awesome for words.
Lynne says
Gee, this house brings back memories! I had several of these metal dollhouses growing up. ( Not this model, of course) but ones just like it.
My mom would get them for me using the Top Value Stamps we got at the grocery store. After we got the groceries all put away, we would stick those stamps in the the paper books. How many stamps you got, depended on the amount you had spent. They had a redemption catalog and you could see how many full books it took to “buy” an item. Or even better was to go to the redemption store and shop and see everything in person.
Suzanne says
Oh Lynn…now you brought back a vivid memory. My mom got me a tin dollhouse from her S&H green stamps. I have a picture of me standing in front of it on Christmas day.
TappanTrailerTami says
That is something else! I like how there is a calendar on the wall, so if you had to take shelter, you could count off the days and not lose track of how long you had been there. Of course, in this tin litho version, you could only have your dollies trapped in there for 31 days.
I too, hope someone buys it and passes it on to the museum for all to enjoy.
Robin, NV says
Nice comment, I actually laughed out loud! Dollies trapped for 31 days, hehe. Wouldn’t it be a great detail if they’d put a Marx dollhouse on the shelf so the doll kids could play with their dolls while waiting for the fallout to dissipate?
George says
That opening bid is actually reasonable if you consider the rarity. Won’t be at all surprised it the bidding goes to $5,000 or better.
pam kueber says
This will be a fun one to watch!
ChrisH says
On the back wall of the bomb shelter there is a red shelf. On the shelf there is a green machine of some sort with a handle that turns. What is this?
We had a bomb shelter in our house when I was growing up. I don’t think we’d have survived a nuclear attack, but it made a good tornado shelter. The home’s prior owners had built the shelter.
Jay says
I think it’s a hand cranked siren for mom to mobilze fall-out and bring the kids back in from playing.
Harbinger says
It’s not a ditto machine or a siren but rather a hand-cranked air filter (what good would a copy machine be after the apocalypse?). I know this because I recently viewed the film Ladybug Ladybug (1963), an interesting relic about what happens to a school full of children when the air raid sirens go off. It’s available on Netflix streaming and stars the guy who played KITT in Knight Rider – well worth a look.
JKaye says
That thing looks like a Ditto Machine to me. Maybe Mom and Dad were putting out a newsletter, or Mom was prepared to keep giving the kids their math tests even during a disaster by cranking the tests out on the Ditto Machine!
Jay says
Oh My! We are all showing our ages – ditto machines, trading stamps and fall-out shelters.
Patty says
Someone should make a ditto machine perfume. Bring back the ditto machine.
TappanTrailerTami says
Of course, I just had to go research……the Ditto, Inc. company went out of business years ago and the ditto machines have gone the way of dinosaurs, but there is still one company in the US that still makes ditto ink, or spirit duplicating fluid.
You can order your own perfume for $96 for 4 gallons! What a high that would be!
http://www.repeatotype.com/spirit.html
JKaye says
I loved trading stamps. My mom would let my sister and me put them in the booklets. She used trading stamps to get accessories for the house, such as some vinyl-covered ottomans for the basement family room. One was harvest gold, the other an emerald green.
tammyCA says
I’m laughing at these comments…the Ditto machine for math tests, don’t stick your fork in an outlet…lol. I still remember watching lots of film strips/movies in school about safety and to never take your toast out of the toaster with a fork or you’d get shocked.
Duck & cover was before my time, but the freshly printed Dittos I can still remember the smell of the purplish wet papers. And, my friend had a cool litho Marx dollhouse back then that I wish I had but never got.
ChrisH says
JKaye,
That was my first thought too, a ditto machine. I can still smell the ditto fluid and see the hazy purple print.
Sandra says
“Mimeograph” is the name, I think.
I never curse my modern printers and copy machines, because I know, no matter what paper jams may happen, they are miracles of paper-handling compared to anything before them.
Did you know that you might be able to read the 8th copy using carbon paper, but if you want more copies than that, you’d have to type it over again?
Sandra says
P.S. – Of course that’s not what it is. I wonder if it relates to the white bucket beneath it? Flour grinder?
Mary says
The device in question is to run a fan for air circulation – a necessity in underground and/or sealed shelters. Larger public shelters had devices with bicycles attached instead of hand cranks. There are people who collect these items, believe it or not! Civildefensemuseum.com has a ton of pictures and information on this aspect of the 50s and 60s.
Diane in CO says
There is what looks to be a trash can under that crank handled device — is it some sort of a grinder for trash and food scraps?
JKaye says
Maybe it’s a diaper pail. No Pampers in those days. Can you imagine having to deal with a child in diapers during a disaster?
JKaye says
I had the non-bombshelter version of this doll house. I remember the fallout shelter sign with the three triangles taped in the stairwell of my elementary school, but I really didn’t understand what it meant. The stairwell led to the basement cafeteria, and I thought the sign was warning us not to stick a fork or a knife in an outlet, or we would get shocked.
Jay says
What a great foot note to history. This really does belong in a museum. What was the Marx Co. thinking. I can’t imagine a parent wanting to give their child a dollhouse with shelter to pretend they were under enemy attack. When i got into elementary school some of the hysteria had passed – no more drills but the fallout shelter signs were still prominantely posted on buildings.
Janet in CT says
Jay, we were on the same wavelength here! I was typing my reply and hadn’t even seen your comment yet. I wonder if the person who came up with the idea got fired? But it is a wonderful piece of memorabilia from that era.
Jay says
Oh and the lithography is superb! the decor strikes me as more late 40s /50s, I noticed how realistic the exterior materials are – stone, redwood boards and shingles.
linda h says
Back in the ’60s my Dad sold bomb shelters as a second job. I think he only sold one and didn’t stay with that job very long.
When we were looking for our current home, the Realtor showed us a couple with bomb shelters.
And, boy, do I remember those bombing drills at school!
Janet in CT says
OHMYGOSH, Linda! This is truly a blast from the past for us baby boomers! I too remember those bomb drills, crouching in the dark hallway with your head on your knees and your hands over your head, as if that would save you! The wailing siren on the top of the school made me cringe! I have never ever seen or heard of this dollhouse and I just can’t imagine selling a doll house with a bomb shelter in it! Whose warped idea was that?! No wonder it didn’t sell! I collect dolls and occasionally a doll house but this one is not only rare, it is in beautiful condition!
Marc says
Someone please buy and donate to the museum. Would be nice for this to be displayed where many can enjoy.
Morag says
Even If you couldn’t afford to build a full-fledged underground bomb shelter, it was common to set aside an area to keep food and other supplies like those shown. Ours was in the basement and looked very similar to the dollhouse garage, although without the refinements of calendar, clock etc. We lived in a rural area where power went out frequently and we got snowed in for a couple days once or twice a year, so we kept flashlights, batteries, candles and extra blankets there. We used it as a kind of pantry and just rotated the canned goods so there were always some extras but they were kept up to date. Not a bad idea, even now, with extreme weather events becoming more frequent.