It all started back in 1952, in the bustling city of
The star character in Beuthien’s cartoon was named
Lilli. She was a beautiful, sexy, blonde
woman who you’d often find sitting in a fortune-tellers tent. The cartoon
showed her with her girlfriends, men, and sometimes even her boss. Despite the era, she had no problem talking
about rich men and sex. During the day
she worked in a newspaper office, and after hours enjoyed the company of rich
men. She wore tight skirts and low cut shirts. She would often ask taboo type
questions such as “Can’t you tell me the name and address of this rich and handsome man?”
or “I could do without balding old men, but my budget couldn’t”. The highly popular cartoon ran
daily from June 24, 1952 to January 5th, 1961.
In 1953 the Bild contacted Max Weissbrodt, a designer from the
O. & M. Hausser Toy Company in Germany , and asked him to design a
novelty doll based on the cartoon character. Using Reinhard Beuthien’s drawings
he designed the first prototype doll. On
August 12, 1955 the first Bild Lilli doll was available for purchase. She came in two sizes; 7 ½ and 11 ½ inch. Each doll came in a clear plastic tube, with
a tiny Bild Newspaper, and eventually a round stand captioned “Bild Lilli”. The majority of the dolls had blonde hair,
but there are a few rare brunettes out there too. The dolls are unmarked and very fragile. They
have unsealed hand painted faces that can be washed off with water.
Bild Lilli was originally
marketed as a gag gift. She could be
found in bars, cigar shops, and other male establishments. Some people even referred to her as a sex
toy. Parents did not approve of the doll, but in spite of their disapproval,
she eventually became very popular with children. Many beautiful clothes were
created for her in the styles of the 1950’s.
There were furnishings and other accessories designed specifically for
her too.
Over 130,000 dolls were produced
in the eight short years she was for sale.
In 1964 Mattel acquired the rights to the doll and production was
immediately halted. The Bild Lilli doll
was removed from the marketplace.
Today the German Bild Lilli is ext remely collectible and commands a high price on
the secondary market. The 11 ½ inch is more popular to collectors than the
shorter version. She was exported to the United States and other European
countries, but her name was changed to Lilli Marlene” or just “Lilli”. Don’t get her confused with all the clones
(such as Hong Kong versions) on the secondary
market that were produced in the 1960’s.
Once Mattel owned the rights, the Hausser Company sold her head molds to
a British Hong Kong based company (Dura-Fam Ltd.). Later they leased or sold
other head molds they still had on hand to other companies around the
world. Even though the dolls look
similar, they are much lower quality and they are not the true Gorgeous German
Bild Lilli.