RARE Vintage Original 11 ½” German BILD LILLI DOLL Barbie Predecessor 1955

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RARE Vintage Original 11 ½” German BILD LILLI DOLL Barbie Predecessor 1955:
$2500.00

Lilli was originally a German cartooncharacter created by Reinhard Beuthien for the tabloid Bild-Zeitung in Hamburg, Germany. In1953 Bild-Zeitung decided to market a Lilli doll and contacted Max Weissbrodtfrom the toy company O&MHausser in Neustadt/Coburg, Germany. Following Beuthien\'sdrawings, Weissbrodt designed the prototype of the doll, which was on sale from1955 to 1964. Lilli is the predecessor of Barbie. When Mattelacquired the rights to the doll, German production of Lilli stopped.

The doll is madeof plastic (Elastoline). Her limbs are attached inside by coated rubber bands.Her arms and legs are firmly attached and move nicely. Her shoes and earringsare molded on. The fingernails on her left hand are painted a bright red. Thenails on her left hand were never painted at all.

Her hair is not rooted, but instead it is a cut-out scalpattached by a hidden metal screw. Her blonde hair is in a ponytail style withthe original ties and ribbon holding it in place. No missing hair.

She has moldedblack eyelashes, side glancing eyes, high narrow eyebrows and red lips.Beautiful face blush. The only flaw I can see are two tiny pin tip points ofmissing paint on her left eyelash.

Lilli is dressedin her original outfit #1168. A cream color low neck blouse with a stand upcollar and a snap front closure. A slim knee length blue skirt with twoinsertion pockets and a snap closure at the waistline. The outfit shows alittle wear, but is still in nice display condition. The waistline snap is notworking, so the skirt is held in place with a stitch or two of thread.

The original standis included in this sale. It is similar to the first Barbie stand. The stand is designed to support thedoll in a standing position on a single metal bar that goes up the leg througha hole in the bottom of the foot.

I am also including a copy of an originalmini Bild-Zeitung newspaper carried by German Lilli. The magazine is not in the best condition, butit gives you an idea of what it looked like and is a fun item to add to yourdisplay.