Silken Flame

Vintage Barbie illustrations, built environment, clones and more

Barbie’s ’70s Travelogue, Part I: The Mountains are Calling

Two color photographs. Left is an illustration on the exterior of a vinyl case, showing Barbie in a floor-length red dress, white hat, and red scarf with white stripes, standing in a cabin. Its details are mainly described in the text, but to one side is a fireplace with wooden clock on the mantel, and to the other is a set of bunkbeds with a short ladder, a large window looking out on a snowscape, and a table that extends from the beds, set with teacups, teapot, and case of flowers. Right is a photograph of a blonde doll with Steffie face and two ponytails, wearing red pants and a red and white top, seated before two sides of a small room, with a balcony surrounding her, and a snow scene in the background, Ken stands outside in a blue coat, holding a yellow plastic toboggan.
Alpine adventures, via sigourneyrose and High Tech Crafts on eBay.

At the conclusion of our Many Abodes of Barbie series, we noted that the Seventies would bring a new focus to Barbie’s built environment, this time outside the domicile. Today we reveal that that focus is travel, and during this decade Barbie exhibited a strong preference for mountain getaways.

Photo of interior of the Mountain Ski Cabin, essentially as described. On the mantel alongside the clock (these are all illustrations on the vinyl wall) are a vase of flowers, a bowl of fruit, and a couple little pictures of fruit. Along the top are little cabinet doors in the vinyl that really open and close. To the left of the fireplace, spanning from floor to ceiling, is an inset closet with skis, skates and mittens illustrated. On the wall to our right, to either side of the window are a little wooden organizer of something, and a couple posters, one saying ASPEN with a rainbow and one showing a sailboat in the sunset. The rest of the room folds down from this wall, consisting of the bunked with small ladder, the table that extends from them, and a wood-look floor with a pink and yellow throw rug.
Exhibit A, interior. Via thriftmama on eBay.

Consider Exhibit A: Barbie’s 1972 Mountain Ski Cabin. The exterior of this case house, shown at the top of this post, features an illustration of Barbie, bundled up against the cold, posing in a wood-forward room with bunk beds, folksy woven textiles, a table with tea set, a view of snowy slopes, and a crackling fire; and that’s pretty much what you’ll find inside the case, too. There is storage along the wall with the fireplace, with skis and other articles depicted in the closet. The set is made from durable vinyl and many examples can be found in good condition today, although plastic accessories, which varied across catalog descriptions (tea set? camp chairs?), are more often than not missing.

Color catalog image that matches the Mountain Ski Cabin in most respects, except the interior is a very light wood color where the produced version is medium to dark brown. A different angle into the closet is show, with a sled and snow boots depicted on the third wall. Also visible in this shot are two plastic stools that look like the would fold up, with x-shaped legs and cloth seats suspended across. I think the real version did not fold, but as the text mentions, these are rare. Two Barbies with long blonde hair sit at the table, using the stools. Text reads: "Barbie's Mountain Ski Cabin, $7.49, dolls not included, Open up this super carry case and . . PRESTO . . it's a cozy mountain cabin. There are bunk beds, a pretend fireplace, sleeping bads, table, chairs, bar-b-que and utensils. Sturdy vinyl case is 27x16x13 in. high, folds up for storage or travel. Stores 1 doll (not included). For ages 5 to 12. So easy to buy when you just use the phone. 49 N 31239--Shipping weight 1 pound 8 ounces... $7.49.
Barbie and… Barbie, I think, test out a prototype of the Mountain Ski Cabin. Source: wishbookweb.com.

Sears’ 1972 catalog shows this set looking airier, with a lighter wood finish. The image was corrected in subsequent catalogs.

By the middle of the decade, Barbie had decided to camp and nothing was going to prevent her from camping. Check out this spread of play sets from a single 1973 World of Barbie booklet:

Spread of three playsets from the little Mattel pamphlet. These are: "Barbie;s Country Camper. Features a slide-out door, steering wheel, front window that opens, too. Includes camping gear. Dolls not included." The item looks like a yellow van with removable orange roof. One of the side panels slides to the side. A blonde doll is seated outside on a camp chair similar to the ski cabin one with two sleeping bags at her feet. "Barbie's Camp-out tent. Barbie and friends camp in style. Includes camping gear. Dolls not included." A blue and white tent is shown with Ken, maybe skipper, the camp stools, a sleeping bag, a table that looks like it might fold, and a cooking set. "Barbie's Goin' Camping Set. Barbie & friends are ready for a weekend in the mountains, desert or at the beach! Breezy Buggy really rolls! Tent-Trailer closes up for towing! Complete camping gear included. Dolls sold separately." The same table, one chair, and cookware as the previous, with a wider, pink-and-yellow tent and a little two-seat vehicle with a tall flag on the back.

This trio would continue to be offered at least through ’77.

Of course, camping is not mountain-exclusive, and some of those scenes are downright beachy. But by 1975 Barbie had unambiguously ascended the peaks again, this time to the Olympic Ski Village.

The box front from the Olympic Ski Village is a color photo of the set in front of a mountain scene. A detail of the box showing (probably) PJ in the house and Ken nearby was included at the top of the post. The rest of the scene is a skiing incline that starts on the roof of the living structure and is over 6 feet long, according ot an inset. Barbie herself is shown on a pair of plastic skis with supports running between them, wearing red with a number 9 on her chest. Text said "Barbie's Olympic Ski Village. A winning run down the ski slope... Then relax with friends by the "fire"!"
Olympic Ski Village box art, via Prime Time Auction.

The Ski Village consists of a long ski run with equipment to ski or toboggan down, plus a modestly-sized domestic scene with cozy fireplace, glimpsed bed, and satisfyingly Seventies green table/stool with swivel chair, all tucked into a wraparound patio. On the lower level firewood is stacked.

Two color photographs. One shows two walls of a "room." One wall has an illustrated fireplace with cat and mouse figures and vase of flowers atop, plus a poster with Barbie in profile that says Barbie's Olympic Ski Village. Second wall shows a double bed with pink and yellow pillows, wood foot and headboard with little blue flower decorations, a spherical pendulum light, and potted plant hanging from the ceiling. Both have wooden beams along the top, and the ski slope can be seen starting to one side. In front of the walls is an angular green chair with armrests and matching stool or footrest. All are on a wood-planked-style floor that extends past the structure as a patio and has low yellow railing along the edges. Second picture shows what's below the living area: more wood beamwork illustrated on the walls, plus fieldstone on the fireplace side. A stack of firewood is illustrated on one panel and a plain bench or seat is molded in plastic to the other side. The floor and supports are of blue plastic.
Perspectives on the living space, upstairs and down. Via metaltree and noni0616 on eBay.

We found one extra wall in an eBay listing, this one showing a television camera upstairs, pointed out a window toward skiers on a snow-covered slope, and a weight room below. It’s not clear if this piece originated with the Olympic Ski Village: there seems to be no place for it, it’s neither listed in the instructions nor depicted on the box or advertisements, and its proportions aren’t quite right, but it’s certainly on theme. Maybe there was a later version, or something.

Two two walls described in the previous image are shown here removed form the structure. The living area and below deck area are made of two continuous pieces. A third, similar piece shows a TV camera pointed toward a skier on a slope outside a window. There's a set of headphones hanging from the camera, plus a monitor, implying a production booth. Downstairs is a clock and some weights on a yellow wall. One problem with this wall as part of the described structure is that the proportions of the upper and lower rooms are reversed: the living area of the actual play set has higher ceilings than the below stairs area, but in the third mysterious piece the production booth is shorter than the weight room below.
Two walls we understand and one we don’t. Via thethriftkeeper and ctinetoys_1 on eBay.

An aside: department store catalog years are used herein wherever possible as these represent when offerings became available to the public, rather than the copyright date. The Olympic Ski Village is a perfect example: everywhere, you’ll see this set dated 1974. But the ’70s Winter Olympics took place in 1972 and 1976; In ’74 this set was irrelevant. In truth, the Ski Village first appeared in the ’75 Christmas catalogs for kids looking forward to the ’76 Olympics, which kicked off just six weeks after that Christmas.

Now… where will Barbie’s Seventies wanderlust take her next?

Stacy doll in the United Airlines stewardess uniform (the pieces with striped sleeves and slacks) stands surrounded by luggage in front of the open Friend Ship, which shows an illustration of suitcases stacked below handing coats. Next to these is a physical closet containing more doll luggage and some doll skis. The specifics of the luggage items will be elaborated in a future post.

sheathsensation

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