Liddle Kiddles

Liddle Kiddles were dolls originally produced by toymakers Mattel Inc. in 1965. They were introduced at the 1966 New York Toy Fair and put on the market soon after. Initially about 3 inches tall, they were tiny by doll standards. The sensation they created in the toy world caused other toy companies to produce their own tiny dolls.

Mattel founder Elliot Handler oversaw the project. He told engineers and sculptors that he wanted the dolls to resemble little children in neighborhoods across America. Martha Armstrong-Hand, the famous doll sculptor at Mattel, made the first Kiddles in 1965. She explained that the first set of ten dolls used only three different head molds but had different hairstyles and face paint. Armstrong-Hand also sculpted other Mattel dolls, such as Drowsy (1965), Baby First Step (1965) and Cheerful Tearful (1966). A fun accessory introduced in 1968 was the Liddle Kiddle Talking Town House, this had one of the famous Mattel talking voice units inside. When the "chatty-ring" was pulled you would hear one of 8 different phrases, such as "This is where the Liddle Kiddles live!" The voice unit was the very same one that had been introduced in 1960 inside Mattel's Chatty Cathy doll, and used in all other Mattel talking dolls and toys.

The doll

Kiddles were made of soft vinyl with painted facial features and rooted, brushable hair. The first, second, and third series (called "bigger bodies" by collectors) ranged from 2¾ in to 3½ in, while the Skediddle Kiddles were 4 in tall and had a special mechanism inside the body which allowed them to walk, wave, and ride vehicles with the push of a child's hand. The Kola and Kologne Kiddles were 2 in, and the mini Jewelry Kiddles were  ⁷⁄₈– 1 ¹⁄₁₆ in. All the dolls were marked with "Mattel" or "MI", a date, and either "Japan", "Hong Kong" or "Taiwan" on the back of the shoulders or on the back of the head near the hairline. The smaller dolls were marked under their non-removable clothing. Most Kiddle accessories were also marked. Some were marked with the Mattel seal, and some were only marked with a number.

The bigger bodies (the first ten dolls) were designed to resemble typical neighborhood children at play. The name Liddle Kiddles was actually taken from the words "little kid". Each of the first 24 dolls had detailed clothing and accessories that perfectly matched their theme and size. Wire skeletons inside the vinyl bodies enabled the dolls to be posed and re-posed realistically. The small 2-inch dolls, however, had no wires inside for posing and, unlike the first 24, their clothes were not removable.

References

• Kettelkamp, Sean- Chatty Cathy and her Talking Friends (1998) by Schiffer Publishing.