This one looks like the one I had. Nurse in open toe high heeled shoes?
(Photo from Krista's Doll Restoration ~ http://www.dollrestoration.com/ponytails.htm)Is it possible? I remember getting my first Barbie, which was also THE first (# 1) brunette Barbie. In mint condition this doll goes for thousands of dollars. In fact by today's standards for getting these dolls, I was pretty old then. Hmmmmm. In spite of feminist talk and unrealistic figures (There's no such thing as a totally realistic doll and I don't believe Barbie can be blamed for anorexia - the media in general is probably a contributor however), I loved my first Barbie and preferred the simpler days when one Barbie could "do it all" and we didn't have to have a different, specialized Barbie for every whim. Of course mine was well loved and used but I still wish I had kept her for sentimental reasons. Ours was a hand-me-down family so....
Some facts:
Barbie dolls are the most famous doll ever made. Here are some facts about her near fifty year career.
1. Barbie will be half a century old in the year 2009. She was introduced in 1959 at the New York toy fair. Barbie #1 wore a zebra striped one piece swimsuit, high heeled,open toe shoes and had either blonde or brunette hair.
2. Barbie was named after Barbara Handler,the daughter of Ruth handler. The Matell company,which makes Barbie dolls,was founded in 1945 by Elliot and Ruth Handler in partnership with Harold Matson. The name Matell is a combination of the names Matson and Elliot.
3. Barbie has had over 80 careers. The first was as a teenage fashion model. She has had military careers in the Marine corps,airforce and navy. She has been an astronaut,a lawyer a doctor and a rock star. She was a candidate for the presidency of the USA in 1992 and again a candidate in the year 2000.
4. Barbie is a global phenomenon and is sold in over 100 different nations. Total sales are about $1.5 billion dollars per year. Mattel estimates two Barbie dolls sold somewhere every second of every day.
5. Mattel is a major clothing manufacturer based on the quantity of clothing the company makes for Barbie and her friends and associates. Over 105 million yards of material have been used over the years just to make clothes for these dolls.
6. The first Barbie dolls were made in Japan. On the bottom of the right foot they are marked Made In Japan. Later editions were made in Korea. These carry the copyright marks on the back of the doll.
7. Matell estimates that there are over 100,000 adult Barbie doll collectors. The majority of these are women averaging 40 years of age. They each purchase at least 20 Barbies per annum. More than half of them spend over $1000 per year on their collection.
8. Matell has made nearly one billion different fashion outfits for Barbie and her associates. They have also made more than one billion pairs of shoes.
9. Barbie has had high fashion clothes designed for her by famous designers, including Versace,Gucci and Givenchy. Her military uniforms were approved by the Pentagon before going into production.
10. The first Barbie doll made in 1959 sold for $3 and about 350,000 were sold. To jump to modern times,now the market for Barbie is $1.5 billion dollars per anum.
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