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A Short History


It all started when Ruth Handler noticed her daughter Barbara playing with paper dolls and imagining them in grown-up roles. Realizing that dolls on the market at the time were all baby dolls, Ruth saw a need for a doll that would inspire little girls to think about what they wanted to be when they grew up. Thus the idea for Barbie doll, the teenage fashion model, was born. Ruth named the doll Barbie, after her daughter--read more below!

 

The first Barbie was introduced in 1959 by Mattel. Over the next four years, 6 different models were manufactured and marketed. The dolls were all given numbers and today the collector keeps a sharp eye out for that #1 Barbie. It is usually considered the most valuable since it is the oldest. All of the early models sport a ponytail and the hair color is either blonde or brunette. All have soft and curly bangs. The brunette Barbie is more rare than the blonde and, hence, commands a higher price.

This is a picture of the #1 to #5 Barbies.  You can see the differences in their incarnations!  The eyebrows changed, the earrings changed and the makeup changed.  The swimsuits remained the same!

#1 to #5 Barbies

BACKGROUND:

The Creators:

This story takes place in the 1930’s. It’s a story that starts out sounding like one we’ve all heard before.

Girl meets Boy. Girl falls in love with Boy. Girl graduates from high school. Girl has visions of great career success in the real world. Girl wants to go to college. Parents are not overly enthusiastic about college since it is more traditional to get married and raise a family. Girl goes to college anyway and marries boy too. This married girl and boy are Ruth and Elliot Handler. They raise two children, Barbie and Ken.

In the mid 1940’s, the young ambitious duo Ruth and Elliot Handler, owned a company that made wooden picture frames. Elliot and his partner Harold Mattson built the samples and Ruth was in charge of marketing them. Elliot began to use the scraps of wood from picture frames to make doll furniture. This was the beginning of their toy business. It was in 1945 that Ruth and Elliot Handler joined with their close friend Harold Mattson to form a company that would be known for the most famous and successful doll ever created. This company would be named Mattel, MATT for Mattson, and EL for Elliot. Mattel continued to grow from a very profitable business into a corporate giant.

In the mid 1950’s, while visiting Switzerland, Ruth Handler purchased a German Lilli doll. Lilli was a shapely, pretty fashion doll first made in 1955. She was originally fashioned after a famous cartoon character in the West German Newsletter, Bild. Lilli was made of hard plastic with molded on shoes and earrings. She was available in 11 ½" or 7" in heights. Her hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail. There was a large wardrobe available for this doll. Lilli is the doll that would inspire Ruth Handler to design the Barbie doll.

Ruth knew what she wanted Barbie to look like. With the help of her technicians and engineers at Mattel, Barbie was born. Ruth then hired Charlotte Johnson, a fashion designer, to create Barbies wardrobe.

It was in 1958 that the patent for Barbie was obtained. This would be a fashion doll unlike any of her time. She would be long limbed, shapely and beautiful, all of this and only 11 ½" tall.

Paper fashion dolls of the times would give way to a three dimensional beauty with a wardrobe of unsurpassed quality. Ruth and Elliot would name their new fashion doll after their own daughter, Barbie. Barbie dolls’ soon to be boyfriend Ken, would be named after their son Ken.

In 1959, Barbie doll would make her way to the New York Toy Show and receive a cool reception from the toy buyers. She would be viewed as risky to buyers since she was not the typical style selling baby doll of the times. Upon seeing Barbie on store shelves, the public decided differently. By 1960, the mood would change and the orders started pouring in to Mattel. It took several years for Mattel to catch up with the demand for Barbie. Within ten years, the public purchased $500 million worth of Barbie products.

Barbie has undergone a lot of changes over the years and has managed to keep up with current trends in hairstyles, makeup and clothing. She is a reflection of the history of fashion since her introduction to the toy market. Barbie has a universal appeal and collectors both young and old enjoy time spent and memories made with their dolls.

 

Timeline

1959 The Barbie™ doll was introduced at the New York Toy Fair in March. Buyers were not enthusiastic about her appearance. Undaunted, Ruth Handler, Barbie™'s creator, decided to advertise on television. By December, department stores were sold out. Although the Barbie™ doll went into production in 1959, she changed four times in her first two years. The first Barbie™ had metal cylinders in her legs and feet, with openings in her feet that fit onto prongs in her posing stand. She had pale skin, a solid torso, white irises, pointed eyebrows, and bright red lips and nails. By 1961, a new Barbie™ with a hollow torso was widely distributed. This doll, actually the fifth Barbie™, is often mistakenly referred to as the original Barbie™.
1961 "Ken, He's a Doll" was introduced after a survey of young girls indicated that Barbie™ needed a boyfriend.
1962 The "Bubble Cut" Barbie™, with a hair style influenced by Jacqueline Kennedy, was in high demand. "Bubble Cut" Barbie continued to be marketed until 1967.
1964 Miss Barbie™, with open and close eyes was introduced. She was the only Barbie™ ever to be manufactured with this feature. Also new in 1964 were Skipper, Barbie™'s little sister and red-haired Allan, Ken's buddy and Midge's boyfriend.
1965 The influence of the Beatles, Twiggy and other aspects of the British Invasion led to the introduction of the MOD'ern cousin, Francie. She was the first doll to have rooted eyelashes and a more youthful figure that appealed to some parents who thought Barbie™'s figure was too full.
1966 The last of Barbie™'s immediate family was introduced. Tutti and Todd were Barbie and Skipper's tiny twin brother and sister.
1968 Mattel, the makers of Barbie™, kept Ken off the market. They did not want to explain what Ken was doing during the Vietnam War.
1976 Barbie™ was redesigned for the "Now" generation complete with a new logo.
1988 The "Canadian Barbie™" was introduced complete with an authentic uniform of the Canadian Mounted Police.
1992 Mattel created "My Size" Barbie™ - a 3 foot mannequin little girls could actually share clothes with. "Totally Hair" Barbie™ becomes the most successful Barbie™ with over 10 million dolls sold worldwide.
1993 Mattel had sold more than 900 million fashions and 1 billion pairs of shoes. The average American girl views 2452 Barbie™ commercials per year.
1999 Barbie™ celebrates her 40th Birthday!
2000 Fashion Model or Silkstone Barbies are introduced and reinvigorate the collectible Barbie.
2004 Barbie™ celebrates her 45th Birthday!

BARBIE TIDBITS...

  • Barbie™'s parents, George and Margaret Roberts, were married in San Francisco. Barbie™ grew up in Willows, Wisconsin.
  • According to Mattel, a little girl gets her first Barbie™ at age three and is given six more until age 12.
  • Dreamtime Barbie™ came packaged with a pink stuffed teddy bear named B.B. - the first teddy bear ever included with a Barbie™ doll.
  • In 1992, the 700 million Barbie™ dolls and family members sold, placed head to toe, would circle the earth at least 3.5 times.
  • By 1993, Mattel had sold more than 900 million fashions and 1 billion pair of shoes.
  • Barbie™ has a menagerie of pets, including 16 dogs, 12 horses, 4 cats, a parrot, a chimpanzee, a panda bear, a lion cub, a seahorse, a giraffe and a zebra.
  • Totally Hair Barbie™ was the most successful Barbie with over 10 million dolls sold worldwide in 1992.
  • Designers of Barbie™ fashions include: Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Bob Mackie, Nicole Miller, Christian Dior, Escada, Anne Klein, Ralph Lauren and Bill Blass.
  • Barbie™ dolls have been sponsored by: AVON, Chuck E. Cheese, Disney, The GAP, Hallmark, Harley Davidson, Kraft Foods, Planet Hollywood, Sears, Toys R Us, Wal Mart and Costco.
  • In Sweden, more Barbie™ dolls have been sold than there are Swedes.
  • Mattel estimates that there are well over 100,000 avid Barbie™ collectors. 90% are women, at an average age of 40, purchasing more than 20 Barbie™ dolls each year. 45% of them spend upwards of $1000 a year.
  • Barbie™ has her very own "Hall of Fame" in Palo Alto, California.
  • In 2004 Barbie and Ken split up after 43 years together as a couple!