I recently picked up three 1962 Barbie in-pack booklets. These beautifully illustrated catalogues show the fashion range available back when Barbie was just 3 years old – amazing to think she’s still going strong today at 60! Alongside dozens of fashion items for Barbie, Midge and Ken, other gems found inside the catalogues are the Barbie board game, the Dream House and Fashion Shop, knitting patterns, Trousseau Set and the Barbie fan club and magazine.
Below are scans from the first booklet – Barbie and Ken – the others to follow another time soon. Click images to go bigger and enjoy 🙂
As always, thanks for looking 🙂
The Vintage Toy Advertiser 
Such a vexing mystery! There was a Whitman-published color-by-number coloring book that came out in 1962; the illustrations are credited to Al Andersen and Adam Szwejkowski. Not in the same style as the catalogs of course for obvious reasons.
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Good info. And good that the colouring book came with artist credits.
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I am also looking to find out who the artist is I have a Bobbie Brooks illustration it looks like the same artist who illustrated the catalogs it is signed Suzy but I can find no information!!!
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Great you have something signed ‘Suzy’, at least that’s a clue hopefully. Such a pity that many of these old adverts and catalogues were never signed by the artists or credited by the company.
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Ah, lovely fashions of the day. Gorgeous….arlene
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Thanks, Arlene. I adore these little catalogues.
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Who was the artist who did these fashion illustrations? I have two classic Barbie dolls and this catalog is wonderful- I still have mine, and clothing, from this era, but can’t locate the artist who did the wonderful illustrations. I also have the Barbie Queen if the Prom board game – more great art by what appears to be the same artist. Any info you may have would be welcome! Thank you.
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Hi Julie, thanks for stopping by. I never tire of showing Barbie off here at TVTA, and it’s good to hear you still have some childhood Barbie dolls, plus the board game!
Alas, all the Barbie catalogues and ads I own are uncredited re artists, but my best bet would be Mattel’s fashion designer Charlotte Johnson who was involved in the original creation of Barbie’s wardrobe. If not Charlotte Johnson then it may have been Carol Spencer who was an early Barbie wardrobe designer. There are refs to both online, so with a bit of digging you might be able to pin down if they did the art as well as the actual clothes. My other guess would be it was an in-house Mattel artist, or it was outsourced to a private artist.
Hope that helps a bit.
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Many thanks!! I’m willing to bet it was Charlotte Johnson’s Art in the catalogs-wondering about the board game… all the best, love that “Mad Men” style!
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You’re most welcome. The art is just outstanding in those catalogues. Let me know if you find any info as it would be good to put a name to it 🙂
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i missed my barbies😢
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She’s great. I never had any Barbie toys as a kid, so I went and bought myself one as an adult 🙂
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Ahh, I love Barbie! This is really great. I was definitely influenced by Barbie. Look at all the Art Gowns I do on my Judy. They are my adult dolls, in a way. Also, every Art Gown has a name, just as each Barbie outfit has a name. I wonder if I sub-consciously drew on that?
Anyway, at some point I’ll do, with your permission, a Barbie Section … in one of my Art Gowns Updates posts, and use some of your pics. Of course you will get full credits and cheers from me.
If you don’t like this idea, no problem. I’m easy!
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Glad you like. She’s one of my favourite toy lines. The 1960s catalogues I recently picked up are just packed with gorgeous Barbie fashion art! And… of course dear Resa, please go ahead and use any pics you want for a post – I’d be honoured to be a small part of your art gowns series 🙂 X
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Yay!! I really love the gowns!!! XO
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Wonderful – have bookmarked this page! Such great colours and illustrations – what a find!
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Thanks Wibi 🙂 They’re brilliant aren’t they. There are another 2 Barbie catalogues to be posted up soon, same style as this one. It was a lucky find I spotted, along with some other early 60s toy paperwork.
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I had to return to check it out again. Great find. A real little work of art. RE-posted on twitter @trefology
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Thanks for the Tweet Tref 🙂 Superb artwork in this Barbie catalogue and more to come from the other 2 I picked up.
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These are exceptional. I love that whole 60’s aesthetic and this is exactly what I love about it. Incredible find.
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Thanks J 🙂 I love the artwork from that period of advertising, the 70s too.
It was a lucky find as all three catalogues are visually stunning and in very good condition for early 60s.
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Definitely a good find.
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