THE US-MADE KENS
‘Shorty’ Kens now also came with the new-style box inserts. The ‘shorty’ Ken was originally marked on the rear with his own unique patent stamp, but after the introduction of Allan during 1964 all male dolls, including the ‘shorties’, were given the same basic stamp (see the THE ORIGINAL KEN® BOOK) which then remained standard up to 1967.
KEN #0750 (blonde and brunette)
The brunette is still wearing the original (unlabelled) ‘shorty’ beach jacket with the wider white stripes, but the blonde has the later jacket – which is labelled, and more closely resembles the Japan version.
The ‘shorty’ box lid front has the additional slogan “You can tell it’s Mattel …it’s swell!” at bottom. The box base is natural card i.e. not white like the Japan-made box.
Not all ‘shorties’ are short. Most are, but my MIB Ken (at top of page and below middle) is exactly the same size as any regular painted hair Ken. Compare him in the photo to the 1963 Japan-made Ken (left) and a typical ‘shorty’ Ken (right).
THE JAPAN-MADE KENS
The Japan-made Kens came with green eyes (see section 1963 Painted hair Kens) or blue eyes. Mostly those with blue eyes were used for the 1964 Dressed Dolls (see further below) and the three Mattel gift sets this year (see also section 1964 The Outfits), though the 1964 Wedding Party Gift Set #1017 can be found with a green eyed brunette. The earlier versions have the same patent stamp on the rear as the Kens from 1963. Kens produced after the introduction of Allan were given the new markings as mentioned above. Earlier versions came with the 1963 white booklet, later versions with the Exclusive Fashions Book 1 for 1964. The box design remained the same (as 1963).
KEN #750 (blonde and brunette)
READING THE EXTRA STICKERS
Many original Ken boxes have extra stamps or stickers on them. They often provide some interesting information. The one below left for example, has a department store/mail order catalogue code number. This one (886-176) is not only specific to the JOHN PLAIN BOOK, but was only used exactly like this in their 1964-65 issue (shown further below). The box below right was sold in Great Britain, hence the simple stamp FOREIGN and the pre-decimal price of 24 shillings. This is an exceptionally rare find, as Ken was not readily available in the UK at this time.
KEN’S BUDDY ALLAN
Allan was introduced in the Barbie Fan Club March/April magazine, but his first appearance in the store catalogues (that I’ve discovered so far) is in the Aldens catalogue for Fall Winter (and of course Mattel’s own Barbie For Fall ’64 trade catalogue). His first TV commercial can be seen on Youtube. He came with his own unique beach outfit with blue sandals, black wire stand and booklet. He was marketed as Ken’s Buddy and (to a lesser extent) the boyfriend of Midge. His body is identical to Ken’s, so they could share clothes. No other clothing was designed specifically for him, but the 1966 outfit Best Man #1425 is traditionally his by association, despite the fact that he was discontinued in the USA during 1966. All Allans were made in Japan. His jacket has an Allan label, and he was given an Allan wrist tag, both of which can be seen in detail in the THE ORIGINAL KEN® BOOK.
ALLAN #1000
Some 1965-66 references (like the two directly below) show the regular Allan wearing the red jacket from the bendable leg version. I’ve yet to find any definite proof however that versions of him really were sold like this.
Some Allans come with lighter lips (or just have darker ‘tanned’ faces, making the lips look lighter), and some have thicker ‘eyelashes’, but otherwise there don’t seem to be any major variations of this doll. There is a rarer version of Allan’s jacket with vertical stripes, which can be seen in THE ORIGINAL KEN® BOOK.
THE OTHER BOYFRIENDS
In 1961 Mattel released The Barbie Game – Queen of the Prom. It featured four prospective boyfriends: college jock Bob, studious Tom, nerdy Poindexter, and of course Ken, the perfect gentleman. None of these other boyfriends were chosen as Ken’s ‘real’ best buddy, so when Mattel re-released the game in 1964, Bob was replaced by Allan. Poindexter kept the nerdy name, but was given a new look.
BOOKLETS & CATALOGUES
It is in 1964 that the ‘shorty’ Kens clearly appear in print. Images of them abound: the 1964 Barbie Magazine Annual, the Mattel Barbie for Fall ’64 catalogue, and most 1964 store catalogues, as illustrated below.
The Kens shown in the John Plain Book and Singer catalogue below (which incidentally use the exact same layout) look remarkably like ‘shorties’, but these are presumably just US stock photos to show what the sets consisted of – I’m yet to find a ‘shorty’ Ken included in any of the Japan-made gift sets.
Once again, pictures of flocked hair Ken are used, but the text in both catalogues makes it clear that Ken comes with “molded crew-cut” hair.
The Eaton’s catalogue features Allan more prominently than Ken.
DRESSED DOLL KENS
Available as Dressed Dolls in 1964:
#0772 The Prince
#0773 King Arthur
#0774 Arabian Nights
#0776 Ken In Switzerland
#0777 Ken In Holland
#0778 Ken In Mexico
#793 Dr. Ken
#799 Touchdown
#1408 Fraternity Meeting
Blue-eyed Japan-made Kens were used, but as they were produced exclusively in Japan, no ‘shorty’ Kens are found dressed. Unlike the versions from 1963, these all came with wrist tags. The Fraternity Meeting Ensemble Pak came without shoes and socks, so the Dressed Doll version is exceptional, as it comes with accessories not otherwise found with this outfit. He definitely came with plain brown shoes, and the socks were probably white (according to one version I’ve seen).
Although not clear from the photo, the King Arthur doll came complete: the shield was curved and laid in the back of box, picture-side down.
The stickers for 1964 were changed slightly, with code number, and Ken® moved higher, to make place for the extra words GENUINE and DOLL. The box lid ends have slightly different graphics to the 1963 version, and the imprint on the side of the box lid contains more information (see the THE ORIGINAL KEN® BOOK.).
KEN & ALLAN IN EUROPE
Ken first appears in Europe in 1964. So far I have discovered references to him in 1964 advertising from France and Sweden. In France he was distributed by jouets rationnels, and in Sweden by Brio. The French toy industry paper describes Ken as Barbie’s brother.
According to an article from the February 1999 issue of Barbie Bazaar, Brio agents would themselves dress toy store windows. The Barbie and Ken displays used dressed dolls in Brio toy boxes. These boxes were supposedly for display only, and returned to Brio once the dolls were no longer available for sale. In this way Brio built up a huge store of mint condition boxed dolls, which were kept in storage (in a ‘toy paradise’ attic!) for decades – meaning these versions rarely made it into private hands. I was given permission to use the photos below by the seller from a Swedish auction in 2021.
The description of Ken in the Swedish NK price list translates as follows: Ken is slightly taller than Barbie, 32cm high, made entirely of plastic with a moveable head, arms and legs, molded hair, wearing swimming trunks, beach jacket, sandals, with a special stand for dressing.
Despite his 1964 launch in the US, Allan did not make it to Europe until 1965, and even then not to every country.
There is even a Swedish version of the Barbie & Ken comic book, which had been released in 1962 by Dell in the US. The Swedish cover has reduced Ken’s role to a mere bridegroom. This would make sense if the comic is from 1963, at which point Ken was still not commercially available in Europe.
FEET MARKINGS
Most Kens up to 1964 have Japan stamped lengthways across the right foot. The only exceptions I’ve found so far are some Kens from 1961, who have differently-shaped feet with larger toes and Japan stamped very small across the width of the foot. The US-made ‘shorty’ Kens are not stamped on the feet. All regular Allans (1964-1966) and regular Kens from late 1964-1967 were stamped Japan across the width of the foot. For photos of all stamps, see THE ORIGINAL KEN® BOOK.
THE REPRODUCTIONS
A reproduction of Allan, wearing the 1964 version of Campus Hero, was issued in 2008 as part of the (Midge 45th Anniversary) Campus Sweet Shop gift set. A second reproduction of Allan, wearing his original beach outfit, was issued in 2014 as part of the (Allan 50th Anniversary) Double Date gift set. It also included a blonde painted hair Ken. After the release of the Barbie movie in 2023, Allan had something of a revival and is now quite a sought after vintage doll. Perhaps this encouraged Mattel to release the 60th anniversary issue solo version of him for 2024.
A bizarre version of the blonde painted hair Ken was produced for a one-off 60’s-style Batman. His body-mold is the classic version, but his face-paint is quite different, with white dots in the iris and sinister-looking arched eyebrows.
