Liddle Kiddles Liddle Kiddles 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
Ideal Toy Company president by 1971. In 1951, Ideal partnered with competitors the American Character Doll Company and the Alexander Doll Company to establish the United States-Israeli Toy and Plastic Corporation, designed to produce material for toys in Israel and the U.S. Ideal CEO Abraham Katz was named president of the new company. In 1968, the American Character Doll Company filed for bankruptcy, and Ideal acquired the defunct company's dyes, patents, and trademarks, as well as specific products like the "Tressy" Gro-Hair doll. In late 1971, Ideal joined the New York Stock Exchange; valued at $71 million, it was one of the U.S.'s