Liddle Kiddles

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 those 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 unit introduced in 1960 inside Mattel's Chatty Cathy doll and used in all the other Mattel talking dolls and toys.[1][2]

The doll

Kiddles were made of soft vinyl with painted facial features and rooted, brushable hair. The first, second, and third series (called "bigger bodies" by collectors) ranged from 2 3/4 inches to 3 1/2 inches, while the Skediddle Kiddles were 4 inches tall and had a special mechanism inside the body which allowed them to walk, wave, and ride vehicles with the push of a child's hand.[3] The Kola and Kologne Kiddles were 2 inches, and the mini Jewelry Kiddles were – inches.[4] All the dolls were marked with "Mattel" or "MI", a date, and either "Japan", "Hong Kong" or "Taiwan" on the back of the shoulders or on the back of the head near the hairline.[3] The smaller dolls were marked under their non-removable clothing. Most Kiddle accessories were also marked. Some were marked with the Mattel seal, and some were only marked with a number.

The bigger bodies (the first ten dolls) were designed to resemble typical neighborhood children at play.[5] The name Liddle Kiddles was taken from the words "little kid". Each of the first 24 dolls had detailed clothing and accessories that perfectly matched their theme and size. Wire skeletons inside the vinyl bodies enabled the dolls to be posed and re-posed realistically.