Today in History
March 9, 1959
First Barbie Doll goes on display
On March 9, 1959 the first barbie doll went on display at the American Toy Fair in New York City. This date is also used as Barbie’s official birthday. She wore a black and white striped one piece bathing suit, earings sunglasses and opened toed shoes, and was available as either a blonde or brunette. Eleven inches tall Barbie was the first mass-produced toy doll in the United States with adult features.
First edition Barbie Doll 1959
American businesswoman Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel Inc. with her husband in 1945, is credited with the creation of the doll. After seeing her young daughter ignore her baby dolls to play make-believe with paper dolls of adult women, Handler realized there was an important niche in the market for a toy that allowed little girls to imagine the future. During a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli. The adult-figured doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. The Lilli doll was based on a popular character appearing in a comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper Die Bild-Zeitung. The Lilli doll was first sold in Germany in 1955, and although it was initially sold to adults, it became popular with children who enjoyed dressing her up in outfits that were available separately. Upon her return to the United States, Handler reworked the design of the doll with help from engineer Jack Ryan and the doll was given a new name, Barbie, after Handler’s daughter Barbara. Around 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold during the first year of production. By 1961, the enormous consumer demand for the doll led Mattel to release a boyfriend for Barbie. Handler named him Ken, after her son. Barbie’s best friend, Midge, came out in 1963 and her little sister, Skipper, debuted the following year. Mattel acquired the rights to the Bild Lilli doll in 1964 and production of Lilli was stopped.
The first Barbie doll was introduced in both
blonde and brunette in March 1959
First Edition Barbie Dolls (1959)
Ken (Ken Carson) was first introduced by Mattel in 1961 as the fictional boyfriend of Barbie. Ken also had a fantastic line of clothing and accessories. In the Barbie mythos, Ken and Barbie met on the set of a TV commercial in 1961. Mattel has never specified the precise nature of their relationship. Since his debut, Ken has held at least forty occupations.
1961 Ken with 1959 Barbie (Ken was introduced by Mattel in 1961 as the fictional
boyfriend of Barbie)
Skipper was a doll created by Mattel in 1964 to be Barbie’s younger sister. Since Skipper was introduced, she has changed greatly. When she first came out, Skipper was 9.25 inches in height (compared to Barbie’s 11.5 inches), and then as newer versions were released she gradually became taller with an older appearance, eventually turning out to be almost as tall as Barbie. At first, Skipper was available with three different hair colors, but is currently only available with her hair colored black and purple. Usually, Skipper dolls had blue eyes.
1964 Vintage Skipper (Skipper was a doll created by Mattel in 1964 to be Barbie’s younger sister)
Since 1959, more than 800 million dolls in the Barbie family have been sold around the world and Barbie is now a bona fide global icon. Today there is a huge range of dolls with their clothes and accessories, along with a large range of Barbie branded goods such as books, apparel, cosmetics and video games. Barbie has appeared in a series of animated films and is a supporting character in Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3.
2014 Birthday Wishes Barbie Doll
