Fleer Lemon Bits Gum: And A Very Sour Sax Player

While I might collect a number of things (flamingos, rubber ducks, art glass, and yes, even saxophones  ), one thing I can categorically state that I don’t collect, is vintage boxes and other paper products—regardless if they have saxophones on them or not. That’s why I can’t get my head around this particular item I saw on eBay this morning: a chewing gum box that once held Fleer Lemon Bits Gum.

Source: squishee

Don’t get me wrong, I do love 1950s and 60s items. Hell, for most of the past 20 years I had my house decorated in furniture and wall décor from the mid-century. I could see this box being part of an interesting piece of art, likely in a shadow box, together with other bits and pieces from the era.

That said, this is Fleer Lemon Bits Gum box is just an old piece of cardboard. How much would you spend on a 40+ year-old piece of heavy paper? Well this seller is hoping you’re going to spend a lot. Bids are to start at $75.00. The Buy It Now price is $100.00! 

Despite the seller’s best efforts to describe this nostalgic piece, it still doesn’t justify—in my mind anyway—the crazy-ass price:

Here’s a delightful vintage candy box from Fleer. It is Fleer Lemon Bits gum. There’s a really incredible, unusual lemon mascot on the box playing a saxophone. Marvelous illustration on this obscure advertising character. This small candy box was originally priced at 5 cents, as you can see. I would guess then that this dates to the mid to late 1960s. It has some stains on the inside, but very little problems with the exterior. This is a very rare piece.

Source: squishee

A quick bit of research this morning netted me some helpful information about the Fleer company. (See below) Apparently it was the first company to successfully manufacturer and market bubblegum. Most of us grew up chewing it; it was called Double Bubble.

Besides being a giant in the gum and candy industry, Fleer also was a leader in the field of sports trading cards. This can be traced back to their 1923 baseball cards that were released in their Bobs and Fruit Hearts candy.

While all of the reading I did about the company this morning was interesting, I could find nothing that would explain why an empty box from the 1960s, that once contained Fleer Lemon Bits Gum, should fetch $100.00. Perhaps I just didn’t look hard enough, but I don’t think so. Even the seller of the wooden, Rico Reed box only asked $65.00 for his much rarer piece of nostalgia.

My criticism aside, perhaps someone who stumbles across my article will think this vintage, Fleer Lemon Bits Gum box will be just the thing for his/her collection. Well if they do, they only have until March 2 to get their bids in, because that’s when the auction ends. Although, there’s a good chance it won’t sell, and this vintage bit of cardboard will appear again. This is already its second time on eBay (at least). So if you miss it this time, follow the auction link to see if it has been re-listed again.. or again… or perhaps even again…

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Sources used in writing this article:

Wikipedia page on Fleer

A Brief History of Chewing Gum.

Fleer Corporation History