Blythe (doll)
doll
Blythe is a fashion doll, about 28 cm (11 inch) tall, with an oversized head and large eyes that change color with the pull of a string. It was created in 1972 and was initially only sold for one year in the United States by toy company Kenner (later purchased by Hasbro). In 2001, the Japanese toy company Takara began producing new editions of Blythe dolls. There is a network of hobbyists who customize the doll for resale and create clothing and shoes for Blythe. Enthusiasts share photographs of their work and other types of dolls on the Internet.
History
Blythe was created in the early seventies by designer Allison Katzman at Marvin Glass and Associates and bought and produced in the United States in 1972 by the now-defunct toy company Kenner. The first line of Blythe dolls were produced in Hong Kong and were only sold for one year in 1972 in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan, retailing for $5.88 in the United States. Over time the original "Kenner" Blythe dolls acquired a cult following of collectors and eventually, photographers.
In mid-1991, Hasbro purchased Tonka, which acquired Kenner Parker Toys, Inc. in 1987.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q574494. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1972, 2001, 1991 and 1987.
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This entry incorporates text from “Blythe (doll)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.