Dejah Burroughs, great grand daughter of Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs, often gives away more than she sells at the Rose Bowl. She’s just a big softy and when a child comes up enamored with one of her toys, she usually just gives it to them. At the recent Rose Bowl, she had a travel case full of slightly tattered, but perfectly loveable Barbie dolls marked “Free.” ”Well I’m not going to use them,” she laughed. Dejah and her sister Jane are still coping with the loss of their father, who died the same evening as a fire ravaged one of the rooms in their Tarzana estate. Although his death was deemed as being from “natural causes,” they believe it might be a combination of his Parkinson’s, an experimental medication he was taking, and smoke inhalation. His widow, Linda, is still overwhelmed by the incident that happened only a couple of months ago.
Category Archives: Dolls
Barbie for President
Sarah Palin is not the only woman in the Presidential campaign this year. Barbie is back with her red pants suit and is throwing her hat into the ring. She unveiled her platform last month at the Toys “R” Us store in Times Square, according to USA Today. She has pledged a campaign that will concentrate on creating world peace, helping the homeless and poor, and taking care of animals. Her platform was chosen by a focus group through the Barbie.com website. Barbie has been a role model for generations of women. Despite controversy over her unattainable figure, Barbie has been the inspiration for women anywhere who have diverse career goals. Barbie has been an astronaut, a surgeon, a business executive, a doctor, a U.S. Airforce captain, a U.S. Navy officer, a dentist, a police officer, and a paratrooper. Despite her beautiful and seductive appearance, she has always maintained lady-like conduct and has never needed an abortion. When she served in the military, she always avoided capture and never spent any time in the prison camp. She might also make a great lawyer. Barbie’s parent company, Mattel, is claiming victory in their industrial espionage lawsuit because they recently won $100 million against MGA Entertainment Inc. and its chief executive officer Isaac Larian. Bratz is claiming victory because Mattel was suing for $1.8 billion. Now, Barbie may be the next President. She proves that not only can women do anything, but they can look good doing it.
1972 Kenner Blythe Doll
“We just sold a rare 1972 Kenner Blythe Doll in our monthly August 12 Doll Auction for $2200.00. This came from a collection we took on consignment from a 96 year old lady who collected but never opened any of her dolls. We have been selling here dolls for almost a year now and have plenty left,” says Craig Robinett of Ready Auction. Call at 714-871-2100Blythe was created in 1972 by designer Allison Katzman and marketed for one year in the USA by toy company Kenner. The doll would only become popular some 30 years later. In 1997, New York TV and video producer Gina Garan was given a 1972 Kenner Blythe by a friend and began using it to practice her photographic skills. She began taking her Blythe everywhere with her and took hundreds of photos. In 1999, she was introduced to CWC’s Junko Wong by artist and illustrator, Jeffrey Fulvimari which brought Blythe to the attention of Parco and toy executives. In 2002, Gina published her first book of Blythe photography with Chronicle Books, This is Blythe. Later that year, Hasbro (the Trademark and License owner) gave Takara of Japan a license to produce the New Edition of Blythe (NEO Blythe). Blythe was used in a television advertising campaign by the Parco department store in Japan and was an instant hit. Success in Japan led Hasbro to issue a license to Ashton Drake Galleries (ADG)to produce Blythe exclusively in the U.S., where the doll become a niche product in a marginal market, selling largely to adults.
