Who was the prototype Barbie doll – you didn’t know about this toy

In the 1950s, the American Ruth Handler noticed that her daughter, as well as her friends, mainly played with paper dolls, because among the usual toys there were none that could reproduce scenes from adult life. . The girls mostly had dolls. And Ruth decided to fix it.

Mattel, where Handler came up with his invention, was initially skeptical of the idea, but decided to release a few dolls on an experimental basis nonetheless. By the way, the doll got the name Barbie in honor of Ruth’s daughter Barbara. And the doll’s full name sounds like Barbara Millicent Roberts. She even came with a biography!

Barbie was released in 1959 and immediately became a hit with buyers. When creating the doll, Ruth was inspired not only by the paper versions her daughter played with, but also by German comics. In Europe at that time there was a popular cartoon heroine – the frivolous blonde Bild Lilly. She was also produced in doll form, but was more geared towards an adult audience.

The success of Barbie, of course, haunted the creators of Lilly, and they went to court. As a result, Mattel simply bought the rights to the “German”, and she was immediately discontinued.

Later, Ken was handed over to Barbie. The plastic guy got his name in honor of the Handlers’ son. Thus, Barbie and Ken form the most famous couple in the world, which is inspired at the same time by his siblings.

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