Liddle Kiddles
Line of dolls by Mattel / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Liddle Kiddles were dolls originally produced by toymaker Mattel Inc. in 1965. They were introduced at the New York Toy Fair in 1966 and put on the market soon after. Initially about 3 inches tall, they were small by doll standards. The sensation surrounding the dolls may have influenced other toy companies to produce their own tiny dolls.[1]
Mattel founder Elliot Handler oversaw the project. The dolls were designed to have a close resemblance to that of the little children in neighborhoods across America. Martha Armstrong-Hand at Mattel made the first Kiddles in 1965. The first set of ten dolls in a premier series called "Liddle Kiddles" used only four different head moulds (three of which were sculpted by Martha and one sculpted by another artist) but had different hairstyles and face paint. Martha Armstrong-Hand also sculpted other Mattel dolls, such as Drowsy (1965), Baby First Step (1965) and Cheerful Tearful (1966).
In 1968, Mattel introduced the Liddle Kiddle Talking Town House as a Liddle Kiddle accessory. The Liddle Kiddle Talking Town House contained a Mattel talking voice unit. When the "chatty-ring" was pulled one of eight different phrases could be heard, such as "This is where the Liddle Kiddles live!" The voice unit was the same as the voice unit that had been introduced in 1960 inside Mattel's Chatty Cathy doll and used in all the other Mattel talking dolls and toys.[1][2]