For this week’s Erie YouTube of the week, we turn on the time machine and go back to the 1960′s for a Marx Toy commercial for their Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.

Marx Toys, founded in 1919, had factories in Erie and Girard. The Marx family sold the company to Quaker Oats in 1972. When Marx didn’t make the transition to electronic toys in the early 70′s, Quaker closed the Erie and Girard plants in 1975. In 1976, the brand was sold to a British company. It languished and the name and was sold and resold numerous times. Here’s a quick snippet from Wikipedia:

The rights to some of Marx’s toys are now owned by other companies, and some of its former products are still in production. Marx Toys, Inc., was sold and transformed into ‘Marx Toys & Entertainment, Inc.’ Marx Trains, Inc. produces lithographed tin trains, both of original design and based on former Louis Marx designs. K-Line produces plastic O scale train cars and scenery using former Marx molds, which it markets under its own brand name. Model Power produces HO scale trains from old Marx molds. Rights to the original Marx Big Wheel are owned by KidsWheels, Inc., and Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots is claimed by Mattel. Marx’s toy soldiers and other plastic figures are in production today in China for the North American market and are mostly targeted at collectors, although they sometimes appear on the general consumer market, particularly at dollar stores.

If you haven’t been to the Marx Museum in Erie, you should check it out. They’re open from 1-5 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Did you or someone you know work at Marx? If so, post a comment and tell us about what it was like.