""Lilli" was initially a female comic character created by the illustrator and caricaturist Reinhard Beuthin in the Bild newspaper on June 24, 1951.
From 1955, a plastic doll named Lilli (based on the Bild newspaper comic character) was produced by the Hausser company in Coburg based on designs by Max Weißbroth.
A total of three different designs or patents were registered for this doll: a utility model for the neck construction, a utility model for attaching the hair, and a patent for the new leg position. The Bild-Lilli 1955 was sold between 1955 and 1959 exclusively through the BL sales company Frank.
Mattel toy manufacturer Ruth Handler discovered this doll in Europe and then created an American fashion doll, which she named after her own daughter, Barbie. In March 1959, Barbie made her debut at the toy fair in New York.
At the beginning of 1964, Mattel officially acquired the copyright and rights to Lilli from Greiner & Hauser GmbH. This now entitled Mattel to sell Barbie in Europe. The logical consequence was the final and irrevocable cessation of Lilli production".
[Above Image and Extract from the Nuernberg Toy Museum site.]
For comparison here's the first Mattel Barbie from 1959.
image: BBC
Twin sisters ?
ReplyDeleteYep, Barbie can be seen as Lilli's twin Paul. Lilli came first tho.
DeleteNeither Barbie 1.0 or lilli look very happy. Positively snooty in fact!
ReplyDeleteThey're of their time Anon. That post-war look.
Delete