Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Barbie of the Month: Miss Barbie

Fall is in the air; Halloween is just around the corner; and what better month to feature the scariest vintage Barbie doll Mattel ever released:  Miss Barbie from 1964.

#1060 Miss Barbie (1964)
 
Miss Barbie (Stock #1060) was the very first and last doll to have blue “sleep” eyes that open when she’s standing up or close when she is lying down.  Her head was made of hard plastic with brown molded hair like that of the Fashion Queen Barbie.  She wore an orange vinyl headband rather than blue.  She came with her own set of wigs (brunette flip, blonde pageboy and red bubble cut) and a white wig stand. 
 
She wore a pink one piece swim suit with a pink fringe swim cap that had gold glitter dots on it, and she completed the outfit with matching pink open toe heels.   Her swim suit came in three variations; pink with printed dots on the fabric, a pink suit with raised gold glitter dots, and a solid pink version without any dots. 
 
 


 
When you find this doll on the secondary market, she usually has some sort of melt marks due to a chemical reaction resulting from her wigs being left on her head too long.

Along with the doll and wigs came a lawn swing with canvas cover, palm plant, two magazines, a transistor radio, purple princess phone, tray and two drinking glasses, her (new) gold colored wire stand,  and a Barbie booklet. 
 
 
 
The swing was also sold separately in a set called “Go Together Lawn Swing & Planter” (#4011).  In the set was the swing with cover, planter, radio, and two magazines to read.  There was also a "Barbie Go-together Gift Set" (#4005) that included the swing as well as living room furniture.

 

 

1964 was the first year Mattel released Barbie with bendable legs.  She has the same body as the first issue “American Girl” dolls (1965), but with a slightly smaller neck knob, which was needed to fit her newly constructed head. There were weights in her eyes that needed additional room.  Her head is attached with a black rubber O-ring which is usually lost if her head is found without the body.  The rubber in the O-ring is often found deteriorated due to age.  Both bodies are marked with the engraved intaglio markings on their bottoms which read: ©1958/Mattel,Inc./U.S. Patented U.S. Pat. Pend Made In Japan. 

An extremely rare Miss Barbie head that can be found from time to time are unpainted and were never sold to the public.

Unfortunately Miss Barbie didn’t sell very well, even though she came in such a great set.  Kids seemed to think she had a scary face and were afraid of her!  They also didn’t like how hard the face felt.  She was only on the market for one short year, which makes her harder to acquire.

Happy Hunting!

11 comments:

  1. I love this, but I think you should do Barbie of the week. A month is a long time to wait. I have this doll, I bought it with a case and extra clothes at an auction sale a couple years ago. I bought the swim cap at a garage sale this summer. Now I just have to find her swimsuit and shoes! Thanks for the in depth info.

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    1. Shelly, that made me smile when you said you wish I would do one every week! Thanks, and I hope you find the rest soon!

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  2. Poor Barbie!!! I think she´s funny, not very beautiful, but not ugly at all. Kisses from Spain.

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  3. Hi you have a wonderful blog, I love every one of your posts. I subscribe to not miss anything. I invite you to mine, kissing. mimundoconbarbie.blogspot.com.es

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  4. Just found this site. I loved Barbie when I was young and asked for her at every holiday. Who wants chocolate eggs at Easter, or any other toys for my birthday or Christmas? My mother finally put her foot down and said enough! At eleven I was sent to a private
    school where I went home occasionally.
    Dolls were replaced by books. Today I am an
    older, unmarried lady who travels and buys
    collectable dolls from all around the world.
    But after reading the monthly blog, my Barbie itch is back..... Perhaps I should scratch it!!

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  5. Will other vintage Barbie heads, such as Color Magic and American Girl, fit, stay,and turn, on the Miss Barbie body? TY:)

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  6. Yes. The Miss Barbie head is the only one that needs the o ring.

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  7. I got a miss barbie head a while back, so I wanted a body to go with. Got one on Ebay the other day. Did not realize that the head needed to be attached via an O-ring. I will be sending my husband to hardware store to look for such. Thanks for the info. I would have been lost without it. If you have any additional info about how to reattach, I would love to know. Thanks again.

    bb

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    1. Your welcome! I've never attached one, so I can't help you with that. Good luck!

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  8. Just bought one of these heads. Is there any danger that the head could ignite if I keep a wig on it. Sometimes chemical reactions can be that way.

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    1. Hi Rachel, I have never heard of a head igniting.

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