“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 SPECIAL
One 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!
Diane in CO says
I worked on a landscape renovation back in the 1990’s at a historic home with a large walled yard, mostly taken up with some sort of collapsed-in structure that had become overgrown with volunteer shrubs and weeds. It appeared to have once had a quonset-style roof but was mostly subterranean. It was sizable but too creepy for any of us to crawl down in it; we referred to it as the root cellar but didn’t really know what it had been for.
The new owners wanted to salvage the garden space and during construction the “root cellar” was cleaned up and filled in. It wasn’t until later that it occurred to me that it was a fall-out shelter! Discovering whoever built it would be fun to research, as it is a well-known home in the University of Denver neighborhood. I wonder if one had to obtain a building permit or variance and if there were companies who specialized in constructing fall-out shelters.
Great dollhouse – will be fun to follow the auction!
Beth says
I own one and I have part of the door (it was a French door- I have the lower part)-I got mine off Ebay about 8 years ago- no one else bit and got it for $450.00
I have none of the “bomb shelter” furniture- actually that is FAR more valuable than the house- I have only seen it in the Doll House book and one time a cot was on Ebay and that went for several hundred (can’t remember if it was 2 or 300.00 at the time-FOR ONE cot!).
There are more out there- google and you can see what the door looked like and the “furniture” that went in that room.
Beth says
ment to day Dutch, not French door! sorry wrong country
Deaun says
Hi Beth,
I collect and restore ’20s–’50s dollhomes, primarily Keystone of Boston, but I was in a flea market (can you believe this?) about three weeks ago and there it was: the bomb shelter house. I knew what it was only because I pulled a bag of furniture out of the bomb shelter to see if the furniture was worth buying the house for. Otherwise, I would have walked on by and missed out completely.
Long story short: my Mom found the rec room as a buy-it-now, she had an extra door frame, and I bought a window. I made a temporary door, but am wondering if you would take a post a picture of yours so I can make a better reproduction?
Almost there!
Jared Snapp says
Hello Deaun!
Lucky you! Did the bag of furniture have the two folding cots? And did it have the Green Plastic Porch Awning? I bought the House mentioned in this article for my Wife, and she now has it complete, including all the Shelter furniture, except for the two folding cots…they are rarer than the actual Bomb Shelter House itself…she has the Cupola w/Weather Vane on the Gameroom and the Dutch Entry Door…if you like, we can send you pix of it to help you out…just let us know. By the by, you said your Mom got the Gameroom addition on a “Buy-it-Now”…is it the one for the Bomb Shelter House? Those had different plants on the exterior walls than the normal Marx Breezeway/Gameroom Houses…We can send pix of both types…hope this helps, and please contact me w/any other questions…
Thanks,
Snapp
Deaun says
Hi Jared,
Sorry it took so long to respond: it took me a while to figure out which site I had commented on. YES, it is the rec room for the bomb shelter house. It isn’t only the outside (white shutters), but the blue roof that makes it a definite. Several Marx houses had the blue roof, but only one had a rec room with the blue-roofed version. As if that isn’t enough, the seller is including a single bomb shelter wall. It will be here tomorrow. You had asked about the cots; yes, the furniture bag included one cot, one arm chair (looks like the small patio chair, not the rec room chair shown on Barbiegirl’s website), and the sink for the shelter, as well as many other pieces original to this house. I do have the cupola and the front door surround, but not the door itself. I have a temporary made; as you might imagine, it is going to be a bit of a search–and may never turn up at all.
Jared Snapp says
Good for you! Lucky break having at least one cot…glad you have the right Rec Room also…I was going to mention the same thing about the shutters and the Blue roof. Keep your eyes peeled tho and check ALL Marx houses up for auction…apparently, the Bomb Shelter House wasn’t the only one with the fabled Dutch Door…I found one quite by accident…I checked out a “Rambler” House that was up for auction, and lo and behold, it came from Sears with the Dutch Door…I snagged it up (the house was in sad shape so I got it for cheap!) and my Wife used the Door to complete her Bomb Shelter House…I know there’s more out there…maybe Sears had different types of houses w/the same Door…we learn more and more as she builds her Collection…the cots are the real Holy Grail when it comes to parts for this House, tho…let me know if you find any and I’ll do the same for you on the Door…good luck and good hunting!
Donna says
It came with a “Dutch door”.
Tricia says
How cool! I just showed my husband and 11 year old daughter. It was a nice opportunity to engage her in a little history lesson.
tammyCA says
Weird. I was just thinking about the “Happy Days” episode where the Cunninghams get a bomb shelter and it just came on the t.v.!
Eartha Kitsch says
I did a lot of reading when I wrote about this house – and let me tell you, it’s some fascinating stuff! Kate, a lot of people did build shelters inside of their homes with major, major reinforcing and air blocking. Most people put them underground if they could afford to though.
The thing on the wall with the crank is a blower. Apparently, some blowers were used only to keep fresh air in and ward off mildew in the bunkers when not in use – though some were advertised as able to bring fresh air in while filtering out radioactive particles after a fallout. Not sure I’d trust them for that latter but I guess…what choice would one have but TO trust them? : )
Kelly Wittenauer says
Marc has a great idea – that it be donated to the museum where many could enjoy it.
I still have my childhood Marx dollhouse. A Christmas gift in the mid 60s. Packed away & hasn’t been setup in years. Very similar to this one – it has a laundry room where this has the bomb shelter. And came with neither the plastic door & bay window, nor the breezeway & gameroom wing. All other rooms look identical to this one. The detail in the lithography is wonderful.
Jan says
Lucky you, Kelly! My house was a T. Cohn (the pink one – here’s one on ebay right now – http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Tin-Litho-Dollhouse-/200880008940?ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123). Unfortunately, no one knows where mine went!
Shannon H. says
That house having a bomb shelter is wild! I had a later version of that house. No gameroom and where the bomb shelter is on that one, there was a laundry room in mine.
Kyle says
Here’s a video of the bomb shelter with a parascoped window in the basement of my old house in Bloomington, Indiana. Concrete block on all sides and the ceiling with awesome wood paneling. The house also had a dumb waiter and a Nutone record player built into the wall.
http://kylehaskins.com/post/4340937212/bomb-shelter-office
Shannon H. says
What a unique room, Kyle!
Jan says
How cool! I lived in Bloomington through much of my formative school air raid drill days! What memories! Although we didn’t have the Nutone, until 1968 when we moved from Maryland (there in 1965) to California, and we never did have a home bomb shelter.
irishrovr says
That a designer of children’s toys would come up with a doll house with a bomb shelter just shows you how super conscious we were of a nuclear war during the time of the Bay of Pigs. Most of us, especially children, just didn’t know how imminent an actual attack was at the time. The adults were tense and serious about the whole thing, I remember that tense atmosphere well. We lived near an underground missile silo outside of Chicago with its large radar apparatus sticking out like a sore thumb in the community – a daily reminder that Chicago would have been a prime target and we would have been toast.
Jay says
Thanks for jogging the memory, I recall Phila. was ringed with these same Nike misile sites that were actively manned, it was very common to see military convoys on the roads around the sites. They were rendered obsolete and decommisioned years ago.
Jan says
There’s one of these houses shown on page 45 of Mary Brett’s book, “Tomart’s Price Guide to Tin Litho Doll Houses and Plastic Doll House Furniture” – available on amazon.
I, too, remember having the fallout shelter signs all over school. And I remember having regular air raid drills at school (like crouching under your desk would really protect you from the effects of a nuclear blast!).