You didn’t have much luck in the 1950s if you wanted to buy lots of  “non-playset” Mr. Potato Head items. The world of cross promotion and licensed products hadn’t taken a hold on the toy industry yet, so there just weren’t that many items on the market. Here are a few we know about.

    The “Erase a Picture” book is one of the earliest known  Mr. Potato Head books. It’s has laminated cardboard pages that could be written on with a set of included crayons, wiped off, and used again.

Item 69x50-Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head Eras-a-book-Hassenfeld Bros., ca. 1950s

    Most Potato Head toys focus on the head. The Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head Puppets set made the bodies the main plaything. The normal plastic bodies were replaced with cloth puppet bodies, with an internal stick to support the potato. All other face pieces are identical to previous sets. The center section of the box could be punched out & the box converted to a "TV" stage.

Item 2058-Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head Puppets -Hassenfeld Bros., ca 1950s

    Another non-playset item from the early days is this cardboard Mr. Potato Head Family pencil box. What kid wouldn’t want the famous spuds looking up at him every time he opened his desk? Plus, I’m sure you could keep some Mr. Potato Head parts in there for some lunch time fun! There were three sizes of this box, each with slots and drawers to keep your stuff organized. Very few of these are know to have survived until today!

Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head pencil box-Hassenfeld Bros., ca. 1950s

 

    OK, now for something really strange. Other than the name, the bizarre Mr. Potato Head Ice Pops set has nothing in common with any other Mr. Potato Head toy. It contains face molds to make ice cream treats, and packets of sprinkles to decorate your creations. Also included are packets of Lik-M-Aid suger candy, a spoon and popsicle sticks. Although not dated, most collectors believe this set to be from the late 1950s.

Item #5150-Mr. Potato Head Ice Pops-Hasbro, ca. 1950s

    One of my favorite 1950s Potato Head related items is the Mrs. Potato Head Halloween costume. The suit, made by Halco, includes a mask, hood, blouse and skirt. The costume has a picture of Mr. Potato Head sitting on a fence smoking a pipe with Mrs. Potato Head standing next to him. She seems to be "making eyes" at Mr. Potato Head!

Item # 628-Mrs. Potato Head Halloween costumes-Halco, ca. 1950s

Mask from the Halco Mr. Potato Head Halloween costume

1950's Corn Crackos with Mr. Potato Head Premium Offer,ca. 1950s
 
 

Actual 1952 Post Office cancellation from Rhode Island showing Mr. Potato Head!

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