Beloved and coveted by so many little and not so little girls—the average age of female collectors is 40—the beauteous and curvaceous Barbie was born March 9, 1959. That was the day she was first introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York.

She was conceived, so to speak, a few years earlier. Paper dolls had been popular for a long time. In the 19th century, you had your Dottie Dimple and Jessie Jingle. McCall’s magazine had Betsy McCall. In the 1950s, you cut out clothes and dressed actresses June Allyson and Jane Powell.

Ruth Handler, co-founder of the Mattel toy company, saw her daughter eschewing baby dolls in favor of the grownup paper cutouts, and that got Handler thinking. Maybe the toy world was ready for something different. Touring Europe in 1956, the eureka light bulb went on in Handler’s head when she saw Bild Lilli, a curvy, bosomy doll based on a comic-strip character.

Back in the States, she and engineer Jack Ryan designed a similar adult-looking toy, named it Barbie after Handler’s daughter, Barbara, and voilà, history was made.

1959 Barbies on exhibit in Prague

The popularity of Barbie and company—boyfriend Ken, girlfriends Midge, Stacy, Cara, Lea, the list goes on and on and includes many, many pets—is staggering. According to Mattel, more than a billion Barbies have been sold in some 150 countries at the rate of three per second.

What accounts for this success? Barbie Worthologist Melissa Musselman says, “Barbie was about being popular, about being glamorous. Girls pretended to be that doll with all the fun clothes, the cars, friends, boyfriend and roles to play.”

Early Barbie and Ken shown at a Washington state museum. Photo by Joe Mabel.

1961 Barbie and Ken fashion booklet

To get details on the fashion booklet, visit GoAntiques.

That has translated today into tens of thousands of Barbie collectors.

Shari Caudron, author of “Who Are You People?” (Barricade Books), wrote about attending a Barbie convention and being mystified by the fervor and delight the collectors took in the doll. Then she saw a vintage Barbie, the first— Teenage Fashion Model—and got excited because she remembered her sisters playing with one.

“Oddly,” Caudron related, “I find myself a little thrilled to recognize the doll. I confess this to Sandi [Holder, owner of the Doll Attic]. She laughs. ‘That’s what Barbie is all about,’ she says. ‘It’s about reliving good memories and helping people get back a bit of their childhood.’”

She's in the Army Barbie

Inside Barbie's Friend Ship

If you’re interested in learning about this Army Barbie, click here and here for Barbie’s Friend Ship.

And there are A LOT of different Barbies to collect. Over the years, this has not been a gal afraid of changing professions. Barbie surgeon, career girl, art teacher, aerobics instructor, NASCAR driver, 1976 Olympics gold medalist in gymnastics (which probably came as a surprise to Nadia Comaneci, who took three golds, and Nellie Kim, who won two), Barbie in the army. Why, there was an Astronaut Barbie four years before Neil Armstrong took that one small step for man on the moon. And she’s run for president three times—take that Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Barbie’s platform? World peace, aiding the impoverished and homeless, and caring for animals. That could have been her answers in the Miss America pageant, which she apparently won in 1974.)

All the many incarnations of Barbie over the years, of course, came with numerous accessories and outfits—all the better for collectors.

1968 party outfit

Vintage Barbie straw bag

Vintage Barbie Ballerina tutu

For more information on the party outfit, click here. On the vintage handbag, click here, and the tutu, here.

Despite all the doll’s wonderful attributes, Barbie has not been controversy free. That first swim-suited fashion model had measurements the equivalent of 39-18-33. (Two actresses who came close to those proportions were Jayne Mansfield (40-21-36) and Sophia Loren (38-24-38), though both were obviously a lot hippier.) Some people felt Barbie’s figure gave little girls an unrealistic ideal. She eventually got a little wider around the waist and not quite as big across the chest.

Then there was book that accompanied Slumber Party Barbie—“How to Lose Weight.” “Don’t eat” was the answer. Oops.

And what could Mattel have been thinking when it came out with Oreo Fun Barbie? There were Caucasian and black versions. In Mattel’s defense, this was a promotion with Nabisco. Still, it didn’t go over well in the black community because Oreo was an unflattering term used to describe someone “black on the outside and white on the inside.”

Then there was the pregnant Midge with a little removable pouch that contained newborn Nikki. Despite Midge being married, there was enough of an uproar that Wal-Mart discontinued selling it.

1988 Cool Times Midge

Cool Midge can be found on GoAntiques.

Of course, some of the criticism has bordered on just plain silly. A researcher in Finland, with nothing better to do, calculated that Barbie did not have enough body fat to menstruate. Get a grip. Barbie is a toy.

As one enthusiast said to Shari Caudron, “Anything that allows us to play is a good thing, and I don’t know why people are so critical of Barbie sometimes. I mean, I can’t believe it when people say Barbie is bad for a girl’s self-image. That’s ridiculous. It’s a doll. Kids know that. It’s adults that make Barbie a problem. In the 1960s, America was barely in space, and there was already an Astronaut Barbie. How can that be bad for kids?”

1971 Malibu Barbie

A newer version of Malibu Barbie comes with sunblock. Click here to find out more about 1971 Barbie.

Whatever your opinion of America’s perkiest and leggiest sweetheart, there’s no denying she’s brought a lot of joy to a lot of people. To celebrate her Big Five-0, from March 9 to 14, Mattel is selling a “throwback” Barbie in her original zebra-print swimsuit at the 1959 price of three bucks. And it’s throwing a Barbie bash in a 3,500-square-foot, human-size Barbie Malibu Dream House. Among other festivities will be the Barbie Beauty Pageant at the SideBAR in New York. Contestants will dress up as their favorite Barbie and prance along the bar.

An artist's depiction of a naturally aged 50-year-old Barbie

So here’s looking at you, Babs. Many happy returns.

Sandra Lee Stuart led a deprived childhood without a single Barbie doll, which may be why she can’t accessorize to this day.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Bruce Pascal poses with orange Ferrari P917 Hot Wheels and prototype Hot Wheel molds

Pascal is legendary as the chap who, in 2000, paid big bucks for a Rear Loading Beach Bomb—an RLBB in Hot Wheels vernacular—that had surfaced from a former Mattel employee’s collection. Both the find and the purchase price—undisclosed, but the asking price was $72,000—sent shock waves through the die-cast collecting community because this wasn’t just any Hot Wheels car: It was a rare prototype, never mass-produced because it was too narrow to work with a popular accessory, the Super-Charger, and had to be reconfigured in a wider design.

And not only was it a holy relic from Hot Wheels’ formative years, it was pink, which for collectors is like manna from heaven. Plus, it looked bran-span-new, with nary a ding betraying the rigors of testing it undoubtedly endured.

Pascal spoke to WorthPoint from his home in Potomac, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C., about his abiding passion for Hot Wheels.

How long have you collected Hot Wheels?
For 40 years, with a big gap in the middle. First from 1968 to about 1972, then from around 1999 till today.

Was it the intrigue over the pink Rear Loading Beach Bomb that rekindled your interest?

Yes. Every hobby has its king, and the RLBB had established itself as the ultimate Hot Wheels. And with very few trading hands, it was clearly on my list. When a pink one was for sale—and, at that time, the only one known in that color, then bingo, I felt it was the car for me to get.

The legendary pink Rear Loading Beach Bomb prototype

The obvious question: It’s just a toy car. Why pay so much for it?
Let me tell you the whole story. In late 1999, I read in article about a pink RLBB that been sold by Chris Marshall of Ohio for the record sum of $72,000. Understanding $72,000 was a lot of money, I thought to myself that if you compare that amount to other record-selling collectibles, then maybe it wasn’t such a high number after all. For example, the 1804 silver dollar, just a coin, sold for over two million. The Honus Wagner baseball card, an original penny item, sold for over one million. And look at all the paintings and sports cars selling in the millions. Hmm, maybe not so bad. But too late for me—it had been reported sold by the paper.

One month later, reading a different newspaper, I saw the same article, but with a different ending. That article said the deal should close soon. I knew something was fishy. I then tried to locate Chris Marshall, with no luck. So I tracked down the newspaper author, and he hooked me up with him. Wouldn’t you guess, the buyer had second thoughts, and after putting a deposit down, he still had not come up with the funds.

Chris and I negotiated a deal over the next few months. I was able to apply the down payment the other person had put down and negotiate a price that I was comfortable with. It was clearly a new record for a toy like this, but I had confidence the die-cast hobby for Hot Wheels would grow, and years later, I would look back to this purchase as a smart move.

Chris flew in from Ohio and gave me the car, and I gave him the check. He had a great sense of humor, too. I unwrapped the car and noticed he put a fake car in the tube. After my small heart attack, he handed me the real deal, and I have owned it since then.

Preproduction prototype Red Baron

Preproduction prototype Twin Mill (photos courtesy Bruce Pascal)

You’re never going to say how much you paid for it, are you?
Well, the seller and I signed a confidentiality agreement. He bought a Viper for cash afterwards back in 2000, though, so that gives you a clue!

The car’s had some pretty good exposure, hasn’t it?
A few years ago, I loaned it to the Petersen Automotive Museum in L.A. As one of the best automotive museums in the United States, I felt safe with it there, and it was seen by hundreds of thousands of people. The display was amazing. I have also shown it at automobile shows and Hot Wheels conventions. When not shown, it is kept in a locked vault at a hidden location. If asked and I am comfortable with security, I will take it to shows and allow people to photograph it with them holding it in a clear case.

You were lucky enough to find another rare pink RLBB, too.
Yes. A few years after I got the first RLBB, I was doing an interview with a former Mattel employee who said he thought he still had one of those models somewhere in his house. I called him four months in a row, and he never found the car. The fifth month, his wife answered, and she said she knew where it was. Bingo! And it was pink! I got it and sold it two years later for $55,000.

How many Hot Wheels total are in your collection?
Today, the collection includes about 5,000 cars. First are my favorites: about 120 Redline prototype cars. Then about 80 Japan boxed cars—the complete series, which took years to finish. Next, slightly over 1,000 additional Redlines and about 3,800 Blackwall-era cars.

Do you have any personal favorites?
My favorite cars are the design and development prototypes. Included in this category was a test car to see if a gasoline engine could be made small enough to put in a Hot Wheels car, a prototype of a car that makes noise as it rolls down a track. Or the cars with actual steering mechanisms added. Another favorite is production-testing cars with the entire chassis and base in clear plastic. They are exceedingly rare and hard to find.

Gasoline-powered Hot Wheels prototype (courtesy Bruce Pascal)

You have a lot of behind-the-scenes production items, as well.
Right. I have over 40 pieces of original early items that directly relate to the making of an actual Hot Wheels, such as the mock-up model used to show [Mattel co-founder] Elliot Handler the Custom Fleetside in 1968. Also, I have about 2,000 sheets of paper directly related to Hot Wheels production. These include original sketches from Hot Wheel designers Larry Wood, Harry Bradley, Paul Tam and others. Also the plans used for engineers to create the molds used in production.

Besides cars, what other paraphernalia is in your Hot Wheels collection?
Well, I’ve got perhaps 200-plus pieces of Hot Wheels memorabilia, from Jack in the Box restaurant cups, to watches, to Halloween costumes. Other paraphernalia includes original posters and gas-station banners promoting Hot Wheels giveaways, original proof-production labels for Hot Wheels products designed by [Mattel illustrator] Otto Kuhni from the late ’60s and early ’70s, along with original artwork by him. Also, some display stands. This category is the most fun to collect and harder to find than most Hot Wheels.

Hot Wheels Halloween costumes (courtesy Bruce Pascal)

Have you come across any rare Hot Wheels finds in 2008?

My best find included a clear interior Hot Wheels Redline Whip Creamer that had no side vents on the car. That means it was one of the earliest versions made before the mold was changed to add a new feature. I love getting a car that is different from all the others.

Your grandfather, Leo Pascal, was a legendary transportation historian at the National Archives from 1937-1962, and your parents are curators of the automobilia collection he started. How did this influence your mania for collecting?

No question, growing up in a house of automobilia collectors influenced me greatly. My father would show me toy cars made in Germany from 1918, plastic toys made in America in the 1950s and ’60s, and seeing hundreds of other car- related items made me see the value in being a collector. It is not just about having the items on your shelf. It is also the friends you make in the hobby, the places you traveled to buy an item and the history you learn about a piece. Collecting can be a great total experience.

See more of Bruce Pascal’s Hot Wheels collection at Redlineprotos.com.

Kevin Cook, a WorthPoint contributor, is still kicking himself for blowing up and setting fire to his first Hot Wheels cars.

Other stories by Kevin Cook:
Monster Mash discs: Graveyard Smash

The Truth Is Out There: X-Files Collectibles

Hot Wheels—Still Blazing at 40

Collecting Calendars: Fun New Year After New Year

WorthPoint—Get the Most from Your Antiques & Collectibles

According to Mattel’s Web site, more than 15 million boys in the 5-15 demographic are die-hard Hot Wheels collectors, and the average enthusiast owns at least 41 cars. Originally priced at around 59 cents in 1968, Hot Wheels are still among the most allowance-friendly collectibles, selling for about a buck apiece.

The brand began developing by fits and starts in 1966 when Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler decided to go bumper to bumper with Britain’s Lesney Products and Co. Ltd., whose Matchbox cars had long dominated the die-cast toy-car market. Handler lured Harry Bentley Bradley away from his job building real cars at General Motors to head his design team, and a collectibles legend was off and running.

With Mattel research-and-development whiz Jack Ryan heading up a creative team of 80 artists, designers and engineers, the brainstorming began.

At Handler’s urging, head designer Bradley drew on his own customized El Camino for inspiration, imbuing his early sketches with muscle-car features—red-striped slicks with mag wheels, exposed engines, pipes, power bulges and other nuances that reflected California car culture and styling—that would become the brand’s hallmarks. The Spectraflame finish—a custom paint blend that gave the little hot rods their candy-colored panache—was also a by-product of Bradley’s Detroit background.

Early production sketch of Custom Fleetside by Harry Bradley (Image courtesy of Bruce Pascal)

Next, the team addressed the all-important playability factor, employing a bent-axle, torsion-bar suspension that let the 1/64-scale cars bounce like their full-size counterparts and wheels that turned independently on their axles, thanks to inner-wheel bearings. The nylon wheels themselves were slightly conical, with a thin ridge on the inner edge designed to reduce friction. As a finishing touch, red stripes emblazoned on the tires signified some, well, really hot wheels that would zoom 200 miles per hour—scale, of course—on the orange plastic track designed to showcase the cars’ speed and acrobatic prowess.

Numerous anecdotal accounts cloud the origin of the name Hot Wheels, but there is nothing muddy about the nascent brand’s classic flame logo, designed by Mattel graphic artist Rick Irons in 1967, and the pulse-quickening packaging, illustrated by freelancer Otto Kuhni.

Otto Kuhni’s original art for Hot Wheels Super Charger accessory (Image courtesy of Bruce Pascal)

Ira Gilford, another Detroit refugee who would become the brand’s genius bellwether, arrived in 1968 to replace the departed Bradley (who was reportedly skeptical over Hot Wheels’ chances for success) and oversee the remaining inaugural 16 car designs in time for their retail debut. With Kmart and Sears placing advance orders for millions of Hot Wheels, production in the U.S. was stepped up with factories in Hong Kong taking up the slack.

Hot Wheels store display, 1968 (Image courtesy of Bruce Pascal)

When the cars hit the shelves in the summer of 1968, it was clear that Hot Wheels definitely weren’t your daddy’s die-cast cars. Tucked inside plastic bubbles that allowed the cars to be viewed in all their souped-up, candy-colored glory, the “California custom miniatures” screamed “Play with me!” from their colorful blister cards, which also contained a matching collector’s button in the shape of, what else, a tire. Smitten boys plunked their money down for millions of what collectors would come to call the Sweet 16. The fabled Redlines era (1968-1977) of Hot Wheels had begun, and the toy world would never be the same.

Hot Wheels Sweet 16 - 1968

To commemorate the brand’s 40th anniversary and the production of the four billionth Hot Wheels car, Mattel commissioned a one-of-a-kind car—based on the so-called lost Hot Wheels car designed by Otto Kuhni for use on early packaging but never actually produced—laden with 2,703 multicolored diamonds and rubies. Housed in a custom-made case complete with mirrored bottom and rotating base—not to mention 40 more commemorative diamonds—the car, valued at $140,000, sold at auction in October for $60,000, with the proceeds going to charity.

Hot Wheels 40th anniversary jewel-studded car

“Hot Wheels: 40 Years,” a lavish coffee-table book with text by Hot Wheels collector Angelo Van Bogart and mouth-watering photography by automotive historian Doug Mitchel, also celebrates the anniversary. And of course, there are the cars. The Hot Wheels 40th Anniversary 40 Car Set gathers one iconic car from 1968-2008. The anniversary cars are also being sold separately.

40th Annivesary 40 Car Set

The world of Hot Wheels collecting has few rivals in terms of intensity and enthusiasm. One of the most joyously outspoken devotees is Bruce Pascal, a Washington, DC-area ubër-collector renowned in collectors’ circles for his cherry-picked collection of rare production and prototype cars, including a pink, ultrarare Rear Loading Beach Bomb prototype that inspires buffs to drop to their knees and chant hosannas on those infrequent occasions when he shows it off. He paid a hush-rush price for it in 2000 that is believed to be a record.

“In 1968, I had just turned seven when Hot Wheels came out, and I still remember the cars and the orange track like it was yesterday,” says Pascal, 46, a commercial real-estate agent who owns about 5,000 cars. “I think Hot Wheels are so enduring because they represent the automobile culture of our youth. What little boy did not like looking at cool cars growing up? For us youngsters then, Hot Wheels were like having the cars our dads or maybe our big brothers drove.”

Wife-friendly collectibles

As for the reason why grown men of a certain age still buy Hot Wheels, old and new, Pascal has a theory. “Buying one today reconnects us with our youth. And they are still small enough to have many in your house without taking up too much room—I call that wife friendly—they’re still affordable, and they’re remembered fondly by almost everyone.”

Pascal advises collectors to look for four important factors: condition, color, interior color and variations. “Always buy the best condition car you can find is the most important advice,” he says. “A perfect common car can be more valuable than a beat-up rare car. Always research the rarity, too. A pink Camaro is certainly 100 times more rare than a blue Camaro. And educate yourself on subtle variations. For instance, a dark interior Red Baron is far less valuable than a white interior Red Baron.”

Hot Wheels 67 Camaro

Pascal also warns collectors to bone up on their ability to spot fakes. “Fakes are getting better and better, and sometimes even the most educated collectors need advice from others.”

From the slew of Hot Wheels price guides available, Pascal recommends two. “Jack Clark’s ‘The Ultimate Redline Guide’ is considered by many collectors to be the best guide overall. For later years, Mike Strauss’ ‘Tomart’s Price Guide to Hot Wheels’ is the best.”

Not surprisingly, early Camaros—which Pascal confirms were the first mass-produced Hot Wheels— are very desirable. “A common blue car with a black top in mint condition can be found for $150 loose, a little over $400 in a nice package,” says Pascal. “But the same car in pink would be over $1,000 loose and in the thousands of dollars, easily, in a package.”

Pascal is also partial to Beach Bombs—blue-mint examples go for around $100 loose and $225 or more in the package. Rear Loading Beach Bombs are another excellent investment.

Rear Loading Beach Bomb

“But with less than 40 known, they rarely trade hands,” says Pascal, who ought to know. In addition to the fabled pink RLBB that he mostly keeps under wraps, he was lucky enough to find a second pink RLBB, which he sold several years ago for—are you sitting down?—$55,000. That same vehicle changed hands last November for—don’t get up yet—$70,000.

Kevin Cook is a popular-culture junkie and writer living in McDonough, Ga.

Other stories by Kevin Cook:
Monster Mash discs: Graveyard Smash
The Truth Is Out There: X-Files Collectibles

WorthPoint—Get the Most from Your Antiques and Collectibles

From the ancient times right up to the Victorian Age, toys were handmade, either at home or in craft-shops. Craftsmen created toys using various materials like clay, porcelain, wood, leather, paper, cardboard, fabric, lead, tin and even silver, and then sold these to toy merchants and peddlers who in turn sold them to the general public. Toys were usually stocked with other merchandise in stalls and shops; it was only in the late 18th century that the notion of separate toy shops began to gain prominence.

Mass production of toys didn’t come about until the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, when tin and cast iron toys became popular. Toy makers like Julius Chien, Strauss and Louis Marx in the USA made some rather creative and intriguing wind-up and spring-driven toys. Modern day parents will probably look upon many of these with askance, sharp edges and corners abounded and there were plenty of parts that an enterprising child could detach and swallow. Toy production was affected but not undermined by the Great Depression and the World Wars, and many types of tin and cast iron toys continued to be made until the toy manufacturers discovered the possibilities of plastic in the 1950s.

The toy industry in modern times is very big business, with brand names (Mattel, Lego, Fisher Price) and movie syndication deals (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter) adding enormously to the kitty. It helped too when smart advertising executives discovered that the appeal of toys wasn’t restricted to children and their parents, that there were other grown-up customers who liked to buy toys too – for aesthetic, sentimental or other reasons – and so began the business of creating toy collectibles with this segment in mind.

Now toy collecting is one of the most popular of all collectible activities around the world, with many collectible societies, groups, magazines, books and websites devoted to the subject.

To find the value of toys that are for sale or have sold recently at auction, check out the Worthopedia: it contains a database of prices, photos and descriptions compiled from hundreds of auction houses. Click on the word ‘Prices’ in the menu bar at the top of the page. That takes you to the Worthopedia. Use the search field in the right column to find specific items.

Click here for a direct link to the Worthopedia.

Click on any of the links below to find some noteworthy toy collectible societies.
The Mechanical Bank Collectors of America
The Association of Game Puzzle Collectors
The Train Collectors Association
The Toy Car Collectors Association
The Canadian Toy Collectors Society

You can also read about the toy-maker Louis Marx here –
Wikipedia – Louis Marx and Company
Marx Toy Museum

I had many of the dolls in the collection including Ken, Midge, Marge, Tammy and one other whose name escapes me now. I had a lot clothes for each of them with little hangers to store them in the big blue box the dolls came in. In my life I’ve moved house over 40 times to six countries on three continents. Don’t ask me why I saved what I thought was a collection of 1958 Barbie dolls. For most of the vestiges from my very early childhood are stored in my memory bank. I found out from Melissa, the Barbie Worthologist that no such Barbie’s ever existed from 1958.

I found the year with a copyright symbol on the backsides of the dolls and thought sure, that’s when they were made. In fact the blue box has on it’s front a copyright symbol for 1963. That sounds about right since I would’ve been six years old then. At the time my dad worked in the toy industry and brought me and my brother home every brand on the market. That’s how my Barbie collection began.

I still have plastic slipper shoes in their original packaging. The winter coat with three big gold buttons is pure Jackie Onassis. Barbie’s summer red and white striped ¾ inch arm jacket is soooo Chanel. It’s only now that I can trace back the fashion designer to the miniature clothes made for the dolls. Although there’s no Balenciaga I’m afraid.

What I really miss is the automobile that Barbie and Ken rode in, hair flying in the virtual wind down a lonesome Highway 66. Or the dollhouse where Midge lived. What about the jock-like tennis rackets and sports equipment for preppie Ken? Gone. What I have left are the dolls, several outfits and random ready-to-wear pieces, the blue carrying case and my fond memories.

I don’t know why I’m still holding on to this last remnant of my youth. My son probably won’t be interested in this collection when he grows up. He is more interested in scientific instruments and building toys than dolls right now at six years old. Then again, time will tell. Florian (my son) informed me recently that he likes collecting things and wants to learn about antiques. Let’s see, in another 55 years it WILL be an antique!

1964 was a good year for Barbie™. There were many exciting changes and there were a few new faces added. Among these was a set called “Dog ‘n Duds” (stock #1613)

“Dog ‘n Duds” features a cute, gray poodle made out of wool type material. The poodle is about 4” long and 3” high. Like Barbie™ with her many outfits and accessories, her poodle has “Duds” as well. The set comes with 2 leashes with collars, a bowl of plastic dog food, a box of dog food and a doggie-bone. All the essentials, right? Yes, but what about the accessories?
I once thought my little poodle had it all, ha! “Dog ‘n Duds” was put together with the idea of matching some of Barbie’s ™ and Skipper’s™ outfits.
Additional items in the set included:
A pink and black plaid coat with shinny black vinyl trimming and belt
A red, velvety coat with gold trimming and belt
A ballet tutu of pink tulle and glitter
A yellow and black, felt party hat with a black masquerade mask
A white collar with a black ribbon tie
A pair of red and white ear muffs

I truly enjoy this set and all the many details Mattel included. The red collar even features gold studs and the attached leash is a delicate gold chain. The whole concept reminds me of some of our modern day celebrities and their accessorized pooches. Adorable!

Barbie™ gives a new meaning to the saying’ “You’ve come a long way baby.” 2008 marks 49 years since her first public showing at the New York Toy Fair. The Barbie™ doll has delighted children and collectors for many years. There are young and old Barbie™ fans not just in our country, but all over the world. So who is responsible for such an infamous doll?

Let’s take a little Journey back to the year 1945!

Out of a small, garage, work shop in California, a business called Mattel was born. It was co-owned by Harold Matson, Elliott Handler and Elliot’s wife Ruth and they were in the business of making wood frames. Later on they started making doll furniture, using the leftover sources from the frames. Unfortunately, a year later Matson became ill. He was forced to sell out his part of the business to Elliot and Ruth, but the name still remained Mattel.

As the doll furniture became more and more lucrative, the Handlers decided to concentrate their efforts on making children’s toys. They would even study their own children’s likes and dislikes for new toy ideas. One day, Ruth took notice that her daughter Barbara no longer seemed interested in playing the ‘mommy” role to her baby dolls. Instead, Barbara was preoccupied with playing with her much more glamorous paper dolls. Pretending to be a fun and exciting young adult and playing dress up was very enjoyable to her. Ruth knew she had something to work on here, but what?

In 1956 while on visit to Switzerland, Ruth came across the Lilli Bild doll. Sold in cigar shops as a sort of joke toy for adults, this 11-inch doll seemed to be the answer to what she had been trying to put together for her daughter. Realizing the possibilities, she brought some Lilli dolls to her product developers and engineer Jack Ryan in California to see what they could come up with. By 1958, the teenage fashion doll Barbie™ was patented.

Barbie™ was introduced to the public March 9, 1959 and she was named after Ruth’s daughter. In the beginning, the public response was not very good. Many thought the Barbie™ doll was too risqué-looking for little girls to play with. By the following year, that had all changed. Barbie’s™ popularity was growing at such a rapid rate, that it took Mattel a couple of years to catch up to the high demand.

Since then, Barbie™ has become a household name. Mattel works hard to keep Barbie™ fun by keeping her current with all the new fashion trends and lifestyles. Mattel is in competition daily with other doll competitors, but we all know that there will only be one Barbie™ Doll.

From September 1961 through July 1972 Mattel published a Barbie magazine. At its peak, the Barbie Fan Club was the second largest girls’ organization, next to the Girl Scouts, in the nation.

Barbie sales are approaching the 100-million mark. Annual sales exceed five million units. Barbie is one of the most successful dolls in history.

References: Joe Blitman, “Barbie Doll and Her Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod World of Fashion,” Hobby House Press, 1996; Joe Blitman, “Francie and Her Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod World of Fashion,” Hobby House Press, 1996; Sarah Sink Eames, “Barbie Doll Fashion, Vol. I: 1959–1967 (1990, 1998 value update), Vol II:” 1968–1974 (1997), Collector Books; Rebecca Ann Rupp, “Treasury of Barbie Doll Accessories: 1961–1995,” Hobby House Press, 1996. General: Scott Arend, Karla Holzerland and Trina Kent, “Skipper: Barbie’s Little Sister,” Collector Books, 1998; J. Michael Augustyniak, “The Barbie Doll Boom,” Collector Books, 1996; J. Michael Augustyniak, “Collector’s Encyclopedia of Barbie Doll Exclusives and More,” Collector Books, 1997; Sibyl DeWein and Joan Ashabraner, “The Collectors Encyclopedia of Barbie Dolls and Collectibles,” Collector Books, 1977, 1996 value update; Robert Gardner, “Fashion Dolls Exclusively International: ID and Price Guide to World-Wide Fashion Dolls,” Hobby House Press, 1997; A. Glenn Mandeville, “Doll Fashion Anthology and Price Guide, 5th Revised Edition,” Hobby House Press, 1996; Marcie Melillo, “The Ultimate Barbie Doll Book,” Krause Publications, 1996; Lorraine Mieszala, “Collector’s Guide to Barbie Doll Paper Dolls,” Collector Books, 1997. Patrick C. Olds and Myrazona R. Olds, “The Barbie Doll Years: 1959–1996, Third Edition,” Collector Books, 1999; Margo Rana, “Barbie Doll Exclusively for Timeless Creations: 1986–1996, Book III,” Hobby House Press, 1997; Margo Rana, “Barbie Exclusives, Book II,” Collector Books, 1996; Margo Rana, “Collector’s Guide to Barbie Exclusives: Identification and Values,” Collector Books, 1995; Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, “Contemporary Barbie: Barbie Dolls 1980 and Beyond,” 1998 Edition, Antique Trader Books, 1997; Beth Summers, “A Decade of Barbie Dolls and Collectibles, 1981–1991,” Collector Books, 1996; Kitturah B. Westenhouser, “The Story of Barbie, Second Edition,” Collector Books, 1999.

– Harry L. Rinker

“Official Price Guide to Collectibles”