Barbie play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors. During a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli. The adult-figured doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she
Ganz (toy company) Ganz (toy company) Ganz is a Canadian company best known for distributing plush animals and collectibles. They are the manufacturer of Webkinz, the toy with an interactive virtual-reality Internet site for children. Founded in 1950 by Holocaust survivors Samuel Ganz and sons Jack and Sam Ganz, it was originally called Ganz Bros.Toys. and sold products for the Canadian home market. They were also carnival suppliers and manufactured many products in their own factory. A private company with headquarters just north of Toronto in Woodbridge, Ontario, Ganz is known as a user of Ty's copyrighted TyTips fabric, which is used for