This Buck Rogers Venus Duo-Destroyer toy spaceship dates to 1937. Rogers first appeared in the pulp magazine Amazing Stories in August 1928 as Anthony Rogers in Philip Francis Nowlan’s story “Armageddon 2419 A.D.” Knocked unconscious, the blond hero awakened in the 25th century to find America under attack from “Mongol” hordes, a reflection of contemporary anxiety about Asian immigration.
National Newspaper Service president John F. Dille saw a potential comic strip—with one small change. Renamed “Buck Rogers,” Nowlan’s strip (illustrated by Dick Calkins) debuted in 1929, followed by a color Sunday strip in 1930 and a radio program in 1932. Licensed toys came on the market in the 1930s and remained popular for years.
Collector Michael O'Harro donated this toy to the Museum in 1993.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.