Blythe History ^^
CHAPTER ONE.....Kenner
Blythe was manufactured in 1972 and marketed for one year only by the now-defunct U.S. toy company Kenner.
Blythe was designed at Marvin Glass & Associates, famous toy design studios, by three artists. Rouben Terzian firstly designed the eyes for use in a toy dog but was persuaded by Gordon Barlow that they would work better in a doll. The eyes were used in blythe. Alison Katzman was responsible for the face plate design which was reportedly inspired by drawings from Margaret Keane, an American painter and illustrator famous for her "Big Eye" artwork.
When blythe was first launched in 1972, the most unique and notable feature of the doll were large blinkable eyes that changed color with the pull of a string attached to the back of her head. When she was originally designed, the body was to be proportional to the head but due to packaging restrictions when she finally launched, the body size was reduced and her head was disproportionally large when compared with the body.
With hindsight, blythe's design was ahead of time but in 1972 children just found this big head, big eye doll strange. Vintage blythe fell a long way short of her sales expectations and was taken off the market by the end of year.
When the Toy Industry Hall of Fame was established in 1984, Marvin Glass was in the first group inducted, ten years after his death. Kenner was then bought out by Tonka Toys, which in turn was bought out by Hasbro in the mid-1980s. Hasbro continue to hold ultimate ownership over all blythe property but they have allowed production rights to companies such as CWC & ADG (discussed later)
On an interesting side note, for many years it was not Margaret Keane herself but her former husband who took the credit for painting these inspirational "Big Eye" arkworks. She ended up painting before a Federal Judge and jury to prove she was the original artist!!!
blythe historyme & my girls
customizers corner
patterns & tutorials
buying blythe
blythe links
