Mr. Bones, He's so real!

Mr. Bones (Fleer Chewing Gum) 1977

For the technically minded, concept art  was usual drawn at my desk on a white tablet  8 1/2 X 11 , a 45 degree drafting triangle and a pencil

Children that frequent movies seemed to be enchanted by the Dracula demons and death-like stories. Even today It seems to be a recurring theme in movies.  Because of this attraction, I thought this was a good basis for a new container.  It was almost a no-brainer choice of a container, a Coffin.  In addition, tableting dextrose candy into bone shapes should not be difficult. 

You can see from my notes below, designing products isn't just having an idea.  There is actual math and geometry involved.

Thomas A. Tegan was the executive vice president of new business development at Fleers.  (Or the guy responsible for increasing sales).

I like to think I made his job a bit more easier

 Mr. Tegan became quite excited by the Coffin container idea.  He carried the idea a little further with the concept of a human skeleton puzzle.  He discovered and purchased costly machinery and made appropriate dies to form the dextrose tablets.  He then added interlocking ends so that a 

human form could be assembled similar to a Jig-Saw puzzle.  They named the product, Mr. Bones.  It was a challenge to get enough parts to make a full Skeleton.  If you had most of the parts, chances were, you ate some before you got your next Mr. Bones.


 Mr. Bones enjoyed great volume of sales and is now a prime collector item.  Check Ebay for the latest prices.

We would like to thank Todd Franklin for his generosity in sharing his Mr. Bones photos be sure to visit his blog at 
http://neatocoolville.blogspot.com/search/label/2006%20Halloween%20Countdown