1959 Vintage Barbie with Original Box

Did you know? Barbie was born on March 9, 1959. She was named after the creator, Ruth Handler’s daughter, Barbara. The idea for Barbie came as a result of Handler’s encounter, while traveling, with a doll in a popular German comic entitled Bild Lilli. Ruth created a doll similar to Bild Lilli and dubbed it Barbie. Inventor Jack Ryan, an employee of Mattel, using Handler’s drawings, designed the doll for production. He is the same designer who created the mechanics for Hot Wheels cars. Sixty years ago, most toy dolls were fashioned to look like infants. Barbie, instead looking like the model of the ‘perfect’ grown woman, was quite a shocking departure from the norm! More than 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold in her first year on the market! The doll was first introduced at the American International Toy Fair in 1959. Since then, billions of Barbies have been sold. In fact, Mattel claims that three Barbie dolls are sold every second!