Designed by Allison Katzman of Marvin Glass Associates and distributed by Kenner (which was later sold to Hasbro), the original Blythe doll was released in the United States in 1972 and pulled from toy-store shelves the same year due to a lack of interest. By all accounts, little girls were generally creeped out by the big-headed doll, whose eyes changed color when you pulled a string at the back of her head.
The original Blythe doll came in four hair colors, although another four wig-and sunglasses sets could also be purchased. The doll's 12 outfits were the fashion equivalent of a late-'60s "Feelin' Groovy" hangover—how else to account for getups like the Pow-Wow Poncho, Pretty Paisley, and Love 'N Lace. In short, the doll tried way too hard to be cool.
Blythe would have remained a footnote to doll history had it not been for the publication in 2000 of “This is Blythe” by Gina Garan, which helped revive the doll’s popularity. Be...
One of the most interesting things contemporary Blythe-doll collectors like to do with their dolls is to dress them up in custom outfits, some purchased but many created by hand. A few adventurous collectors even paint or carve their dolls, giving her a little grin, for example.
Interviews & Articles
Eyes on the Blythes

I collect dolls. I’ve got 2,000 dolls crammed into a studio in New York City. Someone said, “There’s a doll named Blythe that look… [more]
Antique Dolls, from Wood and Wax to Kewpie

We have a very small team here at the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood, so we all have to do lots of different things. I do… [more]
Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)
Dollreference.com

This densely packed index of antique and vintage dolls claims to offer over 10,000 images of dolls from the 1800s … [read review or visit site]
Vintage Dolls of the 50s

Rhonda Wilson's collection of 1950s dolls, organized by name (Ginny and friends, Littlest Angel and friends, etc.) … [read review or visit site]
Kaylees Korner of Collectible Dolls

Kaylee's extensive collection of vintage dolls from the 1930s to 90s. Click the balloons to browse. Though Kaylee s… [read review or visit site]
Museum of Childhood

Embrace your inner child on this website from the Victoria and Albert Museum, filled with high-quality images and i… [read review or visit site]
The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
If These Shirts Could Talk: The Tantalizing Tales Behind Used Clothes
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
In the Hot Seat: Is Your Antique Windsor a Fake?
Bizarro Beauty Products, from 1889 to Now
Love at First Kite: How Pizza and Pente Led to One Oklahoman's High-Flying Obsession
Pin-Up Queens: Three Female Artists Who Shaped the American Dream Girl
Say Ahhh: An Oral Surgeon's Quest to Reimagine the Garage-Band Guitar
Tokens for Sweethearts, in Times of War
American Picker Dream, Part I: Mike Wolfe On His Love Affair With Bikes

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