In 1960, to commemorate the Centennial of the beginning of the American Civil War, Marx released its first Civil War playset, "The Blue and The Gray". The 180 piece set featured the two opposing armies, a downscaled "Burnside Bridge", cannons, and a host of accessories. The centerpiece of this beautiful set was the tin-litho mansion which Sears ads billed as the Confederate Headquarters. Measuring 11" (27.9cm) L x 7 1/8" (18.1cm) D x 5 1/8" (13cm) H it had two tin-litho chimneys and a separate hard plastic portico. It features gorgeous Antebellum styling and lithography and is probably one of Marx's most popular pieces of tin-litho. Although offered in a set with 54mm figures, the mansion is actually quite small comparatively and would look more at home on an S-Scale train layout. The portico you see in the photos here is not an original. I do have an original which has discolored over the years from white to a dingy cream. I chose to photograph the building with the reproduction portico because it comes as close as possible to showing you what a brand new, out-of-the-box mansion would have looked like. Enjoy!
