Whitman Coloring Books (1962-1965)

4 coloring book covers from the 60s. Left: Barbie and Ken floating heads on a yellow background; next, Barbie, Ken and Midge sitting at a soda shop counter, eating ice cream or shakes. Barbie has a couple books in front of her, and Ken has a large "U" on his sweater. Next, Barbie, Ken, and Midge floating heads on a blue background. Midge here has yellow blond hair. Right: Barbie and her little sister Skipper book; Barbie and Skipper are illustrated in matching cheerleading outfits on an orange-ish background. — Whitman coloring book covers from 1962 to 1965. Sources (all eBay): peppermint-bargains; PicknThrift; jjwlet211; space_eighteen.

Whitman’s coloring books are the Midge to their own paper dolls’ Barbie: a little less popular, a little less pretty, but still they hold a special place in our hearts. You can recognize the cover art, above, from paper dolls, fashion booklets and other media; the interior pages, however, are almost totally unique.

One thing we love about the vintage books is how they’ve been customized by their owners; for example, the three bubble cut beauties below, from 1962-1964 (L-R), say they were colored by Cynthia, Heidi B., and Lilliauna, respectively:

Left: Barbie sits at a vanity styling her bubble cut hairdo in a large mirror. She is wearing Silken Flame or Party Date. A framed portrait of Ken sits in front of her, along with a vase and possible perfume bottle. A second picture of Ken is taped to the mirror. Text at the bottom read, "Last-Minute Touches." The frame and background of Ken's portrait have been colored blue, the flowers in the vase are orange or red with green stems, the seat beneath Barbie and Barbie's comb are brown, Barbie's hair is black and her hair is colored peach. Middle: Bubble cut barbie bends over to give something to a Capuchin monkey dressed in a little uniform and holding out a cup. Her blouse and full skirt have been colored red, while her hair is colored black. Text at the bottom reads, "Isn't He Darling?" Right: Barbie reads a book. She wears a sweater and stylish scarf, colored purple and blue, respectively. The book is brown and red, Barbie's skin is peach or tan, and her hair is brown or reddish. Text at the bottom reads, "An Interesting Passage." — Coloring book pages with some color. Sources (all eBay): alhamiltonsfamousfactorythrowouts, pudgeman, McIntoshMishMash.

We’ll note that while the illustrations are all vintage, the colorizations may or may not be: Lilliauna’s work, at right, appears to be dated 2018.

As can be seen in the depiction of Barbie befriending a monkey above, some of the coloring book pages contain interesting context about Barbie’s life and times; I’m too polite to show you how badly Midge struggled with feelings of inadequacy in the same story.

Like Barbie illustrators in general, many (most?) of the amateur colorists transforming these mass-produced pages into one-of-a-kind treasures have remained nameless; our favorite piece from a casual eBay browse is unattributed:

Bubblecut Barbie stands with her hand on a telephone. Text reads, "I'll bet it's Ken." She wears a tight sweater and equally bodycon pencil skirt. Her hair has been colored bright orange red and she wears blue eyeshadow up to her eyebrows. It looks like her eyelashes have been enhanced with black crayon. Her lips are red, as is her sweater, with some bolder lines suggesting checks. The skirt is similarly checked yellow. Her telephone is brown, and curtains framing a window behind her are green. — Coloring page with color by an anonymous artist. Source: flatwatertrader on eBay.

Of course, the young folks of yore did spare a few choice pages for us to color in ourselves:

Uncolored two-page coloring book spread. On the left sheet, Ponytail Barbie in Commuter set walks toward a bus parked at a sign reading, "BUS STOP." Text at the bottom says, "Catching the Bus." At right, ponytail Barbie still wears Commuter Set, and stands facing a plate glass window behind which bubblecut Barbie in Solo in the Spotlight poses. Text reads, "Window Shopping." — 1962 Whitman Barbie coloring book pages waiting to be completed. Source: peppermint-bargains on eBay.

Are we having a “That Girl” moment on the righthand side of this spread?

Some of the books, including the 1965 Barbie and Skipper one shown at the top of the post, even provide fashions you can color yourself to dress included paper dolls; these are VERY familiar from the proper paper doll sets.

We spent most of our time today on books from 1965 and earlier, but coloring books returned in the mod era and have continued up to the present. Here’s just a couple shots from a 1967 Francie book, with colors attributed to Julie T. and Sara Marie L., to awaken your thirst:

Two colored pages from a Francie coloring book. Left panel has no characters but shows a chair, window with curtains, and tall chest of drawers with two bottles displayed on top before a framed rectangle. The curtains are reddish, the chair and one bottle yellow, the chest brown, and the rectangle and remaining bottle are pink. Right, Francie sits crosslegged in a fringed outfit and pours something from a thermos into a thermos lid. Text reads, "Want Some Lemonade?" Francie has a knowing look in her eye. Colors are reds and browns. — Pages from a Whitman Francie coloring book with colors by Julie and Sara. Source: Momma’s Hobby Vintage on eBay.

Love to see that little splash of home decor, too.

Gentle reader, the choice is yours: are you keen to color, or do you prefer your Barbie illustrations pre-inked? Want Some Lemonade?

Before we say “bye,” here’s one more tasteful shading attributed to Heidi B. Note Barbie’s ensemble, familiar except for that little box purse and, given the year, her closed-toe shoes.

A two page spread. At left a photographer stands with a floodlight and a camera on a tripod. At right, Barbie and Ken post before a backdrop of balloons and confetti. Only the righthand side is colored. Barbie has been given a yellow ponytail, and her ensemble, which looks like Golden Elegance with closed-toed shoes, is all in green, except the hat, fur cuffs, short gloves, and coat lining are black. She has a little box handbag. Ken's hair is also yellow and he wears a blue suit with brown shoes. Left side text says, "The Photographer," while right side text says, "A Party Outfit.: — 1963 Whitman Barbie coloring book personalized by Heidi B. Source: pudgeman on eBay.

Where to next? This post is about vintage Barbieillustrations. Our most popular post in the category is on Mattel fashion booklets. The most recent post in the category is on the World of Fashion board game. Other popular posts on this site include the Many Abodes of Barbie series (currently covering 1962-1970) and our Chronicle of Barbie shoes, 1959-67. Or just head up to the Table of Contents to see more options.

Silken Flame

Whitman Coloring Books (1962-1965)

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Whitman Coloring Books (1962-1965)

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