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
Richter (toy company) Richter (toy company) F. Ad. Richter & Cie was founded and owned by Friedrich Adolf Richter. This German manufacturer produced many products, including pharmaceuticals, music boxes, gramophones, and Anchor Stone building sets. He established his main factory in Rudolstadt, Germany. In addition the company had factories in Vienna Austria, Nuremberg Germany, New York City USA, and St. Petersburg, Russia. In addition the company had operations for internal supply in Konstein, Germany (glass bottles) and Leipzig, Germany (publishing - printing was done in Rudolstadt). Friedrich Adolf Richter was born 1847 in Herford, North Rhine-Westphalia and died 1910 in Jena. The Anker