Barbie Booklet 1958. Various pages. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections. All Barbie images ©Mattel International. All photos ©Liza Cowan.
Ebay score! I got two original Barbie booklets, the kind that came with the dolls. How well I remember these. I loved the booklets almost as much as I loved the dolls. Thumbing through them for the first time in over forty years, I am, in my minds eye, nine years old, the year the orignal Barbie came out. I got her as a holiday present, and over the next couple of years I acquired almost every outfit in this book, and I can still feel the textures, the tiny stitches, the petite buttons and hooks and tiny accessories. Barbie and Poor Pitiful Pearl were the only dolls I ever cared for.
Barbie Booklet, Cover. 1958. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections
Barbie booklet 1958. In her first bathing suit and undergarments. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections
Barbie booklet 1958, floral petticoat, detail
Barbie Booklet, Sweet Dreams. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections.
Barbie Booklet 1988. Barbie Q and Friday Night Date. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections
Barbie booklet 1958. Busy Gal and Cotton Casual. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections.
Barbie booklet. Busy Gal, detail.
Barbie booklet 1958. Sweater Girl, Suburban Shopper, Picnic Set. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections.
Barbie Booklet, 1958, Sweater Girl, detail. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections
Barbie booklet 1958. Winter Holiday, Resort Set, Apple Print Sheath, Cruise Stripe Dress. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections.
Barbie booklet 1958, Apple Print Sheath. Detail.
Barbie booklet 1958. Evening Splendor. Liza Cowan ephemera Collections.
Barbie Booklet 1958, Peachy Fleecy Coat, detail
Barbie Booklet 1958, Let's Dance, Enchanted Evening. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections
Barbie Booklet, Silken Flame, Commuter Set. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections.
Barbie Booklet, 1958, Commuter, detail. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections.
Barbie Booklet 1958 Solo In The Spotlight, Plantation Belle Dress Set, Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections
Barbie Booklet, 1958. Wedding Dress. Liza Cowan Ephemera Collections
For more about Barbie I suggest these two books:
Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll by M.G. Lord
The Good, The Bad, And The Barbie: A Doll's History And Her Impact On Us by Tanya Stone.
