This Artifact Detective post was contributed by Sarah Dieter, Collections Management Intern.
What we know:
Two of the figurines are holding pistols and two are holding Tommy guns.
All four figurines are in excellent condition and were purchased together.
Toys, lead figurines of police officers holding pistol and Tommy gun, man in beige holding pistol, man in gray holding Tommy gun, unknown date. 2006.423.1-4. Collection of the NLEM, Washington, DC.
What we want to know:
When were these toys produced and by whom?
Were the figurines originally sold all together or separately?
Were more figurines originally part of this set?
Are these characters from a movie or television show? If so, which one?
What kinds of lessons do you think someone might learn from playing with these figurines?
If you have any information about this object or own an object similar to this, leave us a comment!
From what I can tell, these toys are from a playset from "Marx Untouchables". The one being shot is named "Gangster Being Shot". They were created in apx. 1959 or 1960. The ones you have displayed appear to have all been hand painted. The originals are all plastic and come in solid colors. (grey, blue, brown, yellow, green, and orange). You can find them on e-bay auctions.
ReplyDeleteWow! this is great!.. really a great help in identifying true history!
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