Today marks the opening weekend for Director Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” after what many call the most pervasive major motion picture marketing campaign in years. Before there was Barbie, another dress-up toy stole the hearts of kids across the nation. Before Mattel’s launch of Barbie in 1959, most dolls were designed as infants or toddlers, reflecting cultural expectations that young girls should model motherly behavior. Seeing how much her daughter enjoyed playing “dress-up” with cut-out paper dolls, Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler set out to make the fully realized Barbie doll we know today. Since her launch, Barbie sparked a cultural debate that continues in 2023. Some celebrate representations of an independent woman, while others criticize the materialism and unrealistic body standards the doll projects. This paper doll book, published by Claire McCardell Enterprises in 1956, exemplifies the type of toy that inspired Handler’s development of Barbie. In addition to providing an in-...