Silken Flame

Vintage Barbie illustrations, built environment, clones and more

More crafts and hobbies (1963-1971)

Page from a 1971 Barbie sticker activity book depicts Barbie and Francie sitting over a paper pattern laid out on fabrid. Barbie holds instructions and a pair of scissors. Most of the page is a line drawing in purple and green, but the characters' heads are fully colored, most of the pattern pieces are yellow, Francie's skirt is yellow with blue stripes and white flowers, and one of Barbie's pant legs is orange with blue and purple flowers. The pattern envelope, partly under Francie's hand, is also in color showing two figures in red and green minidresses on a blue background,
Crafts and hobbies via oniq_146 on eBay.

In past entries we’ve seen how Whitman broadened the early Barbie illustration space through their paper doll sets and coloring books, but those are just the tip of the iceberg; here are some other Whitman products that helped define Barbie visually during the first dozen-ish years.

“Barbie and Ken” jigsaw puzzles were produced starting in 1963. One featured a storybook scene of Ken and Barbie before a wishing well, a castle looming in the distance; a second depicted a much more contemporary romantic setting:

100-piece jigsaw puzzle, completed, bearing an illustration of blonde bubble cut Barbie in a pink dress sitting on a sporty yellow convertible. She is touching up her makeup. Behind her, Ken stands in a red sweater holding aloft two ice cream cones. The space behind him is filled with a hamburger stand with signs in the window like "Malts 19 c," "Burgers 20c." Chili dogs are also 19 cents. Barbie head looks too big for her body and is drawn with thicker lines.
Barbie and Ken jigsaw puzzle via toy88 on eBay.

The characters were drawn in the style of early Whitman Barbie paper dolls and look like multiple artists may have contributed to them; Barbie’s head and body particularly don’t quite match.

The next round of puzzle offerings, which tied in the recent Little Theater and Fashion Shop playsets, adopted a more thoughtful artistic technique. (Is it weird that the figures in the catalog listing atop that Fashion Shop link are all dressed identically to those in the puzzle illustration below?)

Another assembled 100-piece puzzle, this one shows Barbie's Fashion Shop. On the left side is a window with a mannequin wearing a blue jacket and slacks. Next to that are some shelves holding bags, a stuffed dog, and other accessories; a glass case holding hats with two pairs of white sunglesses on top; and a clothing rack filled with colorful dresses and maybe a red flare coat. Midge stands in the foreground with red hair, wearing a black fit-and-flare dress with wide white collar, a wide-brimmed white hat with black ribbon, and black open-toed shoes. Barbie, another blonde bubble, stands on a low stage before a white curtain, wearing a full-skirted ballgown in blue and green and holding a powder blue clutch. The scene is completed by a circular table and red armchair. There is a pleasant softness to the drawing style, while overall it's a highly accurate depiction of the real Fashion Shop.
The best Whitman Barbie jigsaw puzzle, via emily1398 on eBay.

This refined art style would be also be used for handful of Skipper-centric puzzles through the mid-Sixties.

The fun does not stop at puzzles. There were color-by-number books and paint-with-water sets (called “Magic Window” in 1964). The lines are very faint on the color-by number pages, but I tried to dial up the definition on a couple sample images for us:

Two grainy-looking black line drawings on offwhite paper. At left, bubble cut Barbie in a fit-and-flare dress with wide v-neck collar and frilly hat walks with Ken, in suit and tie, down a sidewalk. At right, Barbie in a bathrobe, towell, and wedge shoes stands in a tiled room in front of a drawing, mosaic, or stained glass of a flamingo standing in shallow water.
Doctored pages from a Whitman Barbie color-by-number book. Originals via sara3883 on eBay.

The lefthand image marks the second appearance in this post of the ever-popular and oft-illustrated After Five ensemble.

Though far rarer, the 1964 Magic Window set is pretty cool, surveying assorted modes of transit.

Two black line drawings on off-white paper show bubble cut Barbie in a Chanel-style suit with wide collar and '60s-style toque hat, with Midge in a fit-and-flare dress with 3/4 sleeves, square neckline, and pillbox hat. Both wear open-toed shoes. In the first image They sit next to the window on a train, looking out at clock tower and bridge that is rising and folding back to allow a ship through. In the second they walk next to a chain link fence as an airplane flies low in the background, A sign hanging from the fence is arrow-shaped and says, "Claim luggage at customs shed." The first picture, on a train, is inset in the product box, which is yellow and says "Barbie Magic Window" along with a color illustration of ponytail Barbie with reddish brown hair, a pearl necklace, and pearl earrings. (She is just a head and neck with no body.)
In the Magic Window, Barbie and Midge enjoy railway views before toting their toolboxes (?) outside the airport. Source: angel-ashes1 on eBay.

Versions of these activities would recur in later decades, as well.

The sticker book was yet another enduring activity. One from 1971 spins the tale of Barbie and friends as they enter a fashion design and modeling competition. Once again, the characters are a match for the same year’s paper dolls:

Cover of World of Barbie Sticker Book shows six characters walking arm in arm. They are: a blonde with flip hairstyle wearing a red and blue sailor-style dress; a blonde with short flip and sideswept bangs wearing purple button-up shirt and orange/purple/blue floral flared slacks; a blonde with two low ponytails wearing a red turtleneck and yellow skirl with red trim; a brunette with short flip wearing a sleeveless dress with yellow bodice and green/pink/blue layered skirt; a Black woman with short, curly hair wearing a sleeveless purple shift and purple tights; and a blonde with short hair and sideswept bangs wearing a green shift with blue and white stripes, a blue scarf at the neck, and green hoop earrings. All wear closed-toed shoes that mach the colors of their outfit.

In this style, a lot of the girls looked similar. If you’re curious, the characters are, from left to right: Barbie, Stacey, P.J., Francie, Christie, and Casey.

Before stickers are incorporated, the narrative is populated by ghostly forms:

Three offwhite pages with line drawings in green, blue, and red. In the first, five characters are lined up next to a sign announcing a "Fashion Fair Style Show. All girls will design and model their own clot[the rest of this word is blocked by a figure]. Enter now." In the middle, a character holding scissors cutous out pattern pieces on a table while another looks at a fashion on a dressform. In the third, four characters stand around three dressforms displaying garments. All of the characters' heads are blank, just surrounded by a dotted outline, as are various other elements in the images such as skirts and some tops and accessories. These are waiting to be filled with included stickers (not shown).
This and previous: MVLVR2007 on eBay.

Spooky, right? But I kinda think they’re perfect as they are.

It turns out adding the detailed sticker heads to the composition can make them more creepy, instead of less, as Barbie’s mom so ably demonstrates in this played-with sticker book from 1963:

Two page spread of line drawings like in the previous image, but different scenes with some stickers applied. On the lefthand page, bubblecut Barbie, whose hair and head are a line drawing that is not blank/awaiting a sticker, has a sticker blue top, line-drawn full skirt, and sticker lergs in blue pumps. She leans over her mother, who sits peeling potatoes in her lap. Mother's body is a line-drawn apron, bowl of potatoes, knife, etc. Liek Barbie, her legs are fleshtoned with fully illustrated (white) shoes, and her head and neck are also fully illustrated in color. The fleshed-out head and neck above the line-drawn body looks disconcerting. It almost just looks like a hovering head, and to add to that she has a sort of sinister, knowing smile. On the right side, bubble cut Barbie's head and neck are now a fleshed-out sticker on a line-drawn figure holding up a dress on a hanger. the dress has a green sticker top and line drawn full skirt. Behind her hang two more dresses, one a yellow sheath with brown belt and button accents that the shoulders, and one a line drawn full skirt with buttons on the bodice. This is colored pink with crayon.
via jacquabb_75 on eBay.

The used 1971 sticker page that kicked off this post looks slightly less eerie.

This wraps up our investigation into early Whitman Barbie illustrations. There were other miscellaneous offerings both Whitman and non-, but from an artwork perspective we feel we’ve covered the major styles and themes.

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.

sheathsensation

, , , , , ,

Leave a comment