Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage conditions may apply Usage conditions may apply Usage conditions may apply

This Rocket Police Patrol Ship toy from 1934 was merchandise for Buck Rogers, the popular space-based adventure series. Rogers first appeared in Philip Francis Nowlan's story "Armageddon 2419 A.D." published in the pulp magazine Amazing Stories in August 1928. When he bought the character for a comic strip, National Newspaper Service president John F. Dille suggested renaming him "Buck" to capitalize on the popularity of Westerns. The Buck Rogers comic strip (written by Nowlan and illustrated by Dick Calkins) debuted in 1929, followed by a color Sunday strip in 1930 and a radio program in 1932.

In advertisements published in December 1934, this toy was advertised by Louis Marx & Co. as a "flashing roaring speeding sky police patrol rocket ship" that "shoots out harmless sparks as it darts across the floor."

Collector Michael O'Harro donated the toy to the Museum in 1993.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type MEMORABILIA-Popular Culture Manufacturer Louis Marx & Co.
 Dimensions 3-D: 31.8 x 10.2 x 12.7cm (12 1/2 x 4 x 5 in.)
 Materials Overall, tin
 Inventory Number A19970684000 Credit Line Gift of Michael O'Harro Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.