"Iconic: 65 Years of the Fashion Doll" Auction - Saturday, March 16, 2024

For over 65 years, the Mattel Barbie doll has dominated the toy industry. As the world evolved, so did Barbie, and that evolution brought six decades of incredible dolls, fashions and accessories to collect. When the doll was introduced in 1959, adult collectors were not even on the radar as potential customers, but now, Barbie has become the focus of collectors around the world including major museums. Each doll has a history and a story, even from the beginning with Ruth Handler’s original concept after watching her daughter playing with paper dolls and seeing an opportunity to create a three-dimensional product. Charlotte Johnson, Barbie’s first fashion designer, spent a year in Japan creating the original wardrobe, a miniature masterpiece. Jack Ryan, the “Father” of the Barbie doll, lent his engineering know-how to manufacture not only the first doll, but also the talking Barbie of 1968. These are the origin stories. But with every doll creation that arrived on a store shelf, the end-user took over to create their own story, their own history, their own collection. In this catalog are over 300 items that come from three major collections, and individual dolls that have their special history. This collection is full of dream dolls, so many early and rare examples of Barbie through the years. 10" x 10". Softbound. 152 pages. $59.