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
Clover (toy company) Clover (toy company) Clover was a Japanese toy company founded in 1973. It closed in 1983. Today it is mainly known as the sponsor of the original Gundam TV-series in 1979. As such, it was responsible for canceling the show early because it didn't sell enough toys. The show was mainly popular among older kids and young adults who didn't buy toys, and sales suffered as a result. Also Clovers designs were not based on the finished version of the show and thus were not very accurate. Gundam ended up being very popular after it was re-edited into a movie-trilogy