Ken
Doll
1962-1965 (manufactured)
1962-1965 (manufactured)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Fashion doll representing a man with light skin tone, brown painted hair and blue eyes, made from soft and hard PVC. The figure is dressed in a short-sleeved shirt/jacket of red and white striped cotton with a white terry towelling backing which extends to form the turn down collar. On the lower body is a pair of shorts, red cotton with elasticated waist.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
|
| Title | Ken (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | PVC, moulded and painted, cotton |
| Brief description | Teenage doll, 'Ken', Mattel, Inc. 1962-65 |
| Physical description | Fashion doll representing a man with light skin tone, brown painted hair and blue eyes, made from soft and hard PVC. The figure is dressed in a short-sleeved shirt/jacket of red and white striped cotton with a white terry towelling backing which extends to form the turn down collar. On the lower body is a pair of shorts, red cotton with elasticated waist. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions | '© 1960 / by / MATTEL INC / HAWTHORNE / CALIF. U S A' |
| Gallery label | AKA Barbara Millicent Roberts
Barbie is a doll with lots of interests, friends and clothes. She’s even had over two hundred jobs. Ruth Handler designed her when she saw her young daughter Barbara give grown-up personalities to her dolls.
For a long time, most Barbies looked similar, but now they have different skin tones, hair types and body shapes to represent more people in the world.
[Young V&A, Imagine Gallery group object label](2023) |
| Credit line | Given by Kathleen Timbs |
| Object history | The doll was bought by the the donor's mother, Geraldine Ann Timbs, nee Casey who was born in 1956 in Cape Town, South Africa. Geraldine Ann saved her pocket money to buy the doll. |
| Production | Ken was introduced as Barbie's boyfriend in 1961, the original version featured flocked hair that was prone to falling out when wet. This is the second version of Ken, with moulded and painted hair, manufactured 1962-1965. There are minor differences between dolls from different production years, for example the 1963 Ken was around 5mm shorter than others in the run. The museum's example most likely dates from 1964-65. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.8:1 to 3-1996 |
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| Record created | April 18, 2000 |
| Record URL |
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