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Barbie Dolls - Where Did They Come From?

Posted on August 27, 2022 by Gregg Aristizabal

The story started with the birth of Ruth Mosko in Denver Colarado in 1916. Ruth married Elliot Handler in 1938. Elliot Handler and his business partner Harold 'Matt" Matson formed the business Mattel. The name was made by a mix of their names 'Matt-Ell". Mattel originally manufactured picture frames, but after making dolls furniture from scraps made a decision to concentrate on toy manufacturing that Mattel is currently famous.

Ruth Handler pointed out that her young daughter Barbara was interested in using adult dolls, compared to the baby dolls which were available at that point. Whilst travelling in Europe she saw a German doll called 'Lilli' which she bought on her behalf daughter. The initial 'Lilli' doll had not been a children's toy, but a tale style gift for men.

Mattel bought the marketing rights for 'Lilli'. They changed the doll's name to Barbie, named after Ruth's daughter Barbara. Barbie was initially released accessible in america in 1959 and became a hot seller. Barbie's boyfriend 'Ken' was introduced in 1960. Ken was named after Ruth's son Kenneth.

The Barbie doll was initially displayed at the brand new York International American Toy Fair on March 9, 1959. This date became Barbie's official birthday. There's now a fictional biography of the life span of 'Barbie' with additional friends and family created and sold as separate dolls.