Mr Potato Head Toys

George Lerner, a toy inventor from Brooklyn, created the concept of using pronged body and face parts to be inserted into fruits and vegetables to make a funny face man. At first, his toy idea wasn't accepted well by the toy companies. The general consensus was that using fruits and vegetables to make toys was wasteful and irresponsible. Lerner persevered with promoting his idea and in 1951 he convinced a food company to put the plastic parts into breakfast cereal boxes as a premium. After showing his idea to Hasbro in 1951, the rights were bought from the cereal company and production began and continues to this day.

The picture on the right is of an original Mr. Potato Head kit from 1952 and is used under the Fair Use Rationale.

Mr. Potato Head was the first toy advertised on TV on April 30, 1952.

The original package included hands, feet, ears, two mouths, two pair of eyes, four noses, three hats, eyeglasses, a pipe, and eight pieces of felt to resemble facial hair. The toy was such an instant success that shortly after its release, an order form to purchase 50 additional pieces was included in every kit.

Hasbro Kit #2000 is shown on the right was introduced on April 30, 1952 and is presented under the Fair Use copyright law as I am not trying to sell the product but am giving an example of the original product.

The plastic potato body was introduced in 1964

The year 1953 brought the addition of Mrs. Potato Head to the line. Brother Spud and Sister Yam were also added to complete the potato family. Accessories for the family included a car, boat trailer, kitchen set, stroller, and even some pets. The pets were called Spud-ettes.

To the right is an ad promoting the Top 10 Toys and features Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head in the center.

Collectors today, find it difficult but not impossible, to find some of these old sets from the 1950's to add to their collection. It is desirable to find all of the pieces included in an original box. Of course, if the box is found, part of the fun of collecting would be to try to find individual pieces to fill it.

• 1952 - First toy advertised on TV
  
• 1975 - Pieces were made larger for safety
  
• 1986 - Mr Potato head becomes spokesman for Great American Smokeout and gives up his pipe
  
• 1995 - Mr. P debuts in the Disney film Toy Story
  
• 2000 - Inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame
  
• 2006 - Themed sets are introduced

The fans of Elvis can now have a Mr. Potato Head toy as a part of their collection. This one just cracks me up!

Copyright: April 19, 2009 by BevsPaper (Beverly Owens)