The Original 1959 Barbie Doll
The American Barbie doll is one of the most successful toys in the history of the toy industry, and if there’s one person behind Barbie’s success, it’s Ruth Handler, the woman responsible for designing and marketing the iconic Barbie Doll when she was first introduced back in 1959.
During a trip to Europe, Ruth Handler found a three dimensional German doll named Lilli that she brought back for her daughter. Although the doll was not designed to be a child’s toy, Ruth’s daughter loved it.
Handler realized that her young daughter and her friends preferred playing with dolls that had adult figures instead of dolls that represented children and babies. At that time the only adult figured dolls made for children were paper dolls which were simple two dimensional figures. Ruth became inspired to design a doll for children similar to the adult Lilli doll she discovered in Europe.
Ruth’s inspiration led to the creation of the Barbie Doll, named after her daughter Barbara. The Barbie Doll was released in 1959 at the American Toy Fair in New York City and became an instant success.
The first Barbie dolls wore a black and white swimsuit, and came with white sunglasses, black open-toe shoes, and hoop earrings.
Mattel sold more than 351,000 Barbie Dolls in the first year alone. In 1960, Ken, Barbie’s male “boyfriend,” joined Barbie in the toy stores. Today, Barbie is still an incredibly popular American toy. Since the original 1959 Barbie Doll, several variations of Barbie have been created. Barbie’s clothing, hair styles and makeup styles have changed throughout the decades to match the fashions of the time.
Barbie has also become a popular collector’s item. Vintage Barbie dolls can be very expensive — particularly the original 1959 #1 Barbie. Serious collectors keep the Barbie Dolls in their original boxes to perfectly preserve the doll’s condition.
