While Charles and Ray Eames were delighting designers, tastemakers, and our parents, another titan of the mid-century modern period was Louis Marx.
As the designers of the era filled homes and offices with fabulous product, Marx was equally busy influencing the look of the bedroom floors of our nations children.
Marx was dubbed "the toy king", and he may be best known for his wonderful, and affordable, playsets that his company turned out by the tens of thousands from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s
This stunning building is from his Cape Canaveral set of 1958. It wonderfully captures the zietgeist of the post-war race to the stars.
All hail the king...Louis Marx - my childhood hero.
Soldier on (to the moon)!
Mannie
Thank you for posting. This brought back my memories of my own Blue - Gray set from Sears which I received for Christmas 1963 in Richmond, Virginia. I believe these were made for Sears by Louis Marx. This too was part of launching my lifelong interest in the American Civil War and American history and history beyond the US, and subsequent career with the U.S. Department of State. Growing up in Richmond surrounded by so much history also had a major effect on my lifelong interests. I still have most of the original set and still collect 54mm, mostly Union and Confederate. I too dragged my two young sons to historic sites (mostly Civil War) all over the mid-Atlantic when they were growing up. Whether this has any long-lasting positive effect remains to be seen. I enjoy all of your posts.
ReplyDelete