Rare Vintage Barbie No. 850 #1 Blonde Ponytail Doll & #972 Charles Mo Collection

  
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850 #1 Blonde Ponytail Doll wearing an original #972 Wedding Day set. This lovely #1 comes from the Charles Mo collection, and was acquired from his estate following his passing in 2019.

For more information on Charles Mo, please scroll further down. As you know, the #1 is the holy grail of Barbie collecting.

This particular example has been sitting in the Charles Mo collection for some time, and has been very well kept. Two pairs of white heels are included, one regular pair (Japan) without foot holes, and one pair with foot holes added (not an original holed pair). The stand is custom made for the doll, not an original Barbie stand. The veil was held on her head thanks to a pin poked into the back of her head, which I've since removed.

The doll is in wonderful condition, as the pics will show. I've performed an alcohol test on the eyebrows, eyelids, eyes and lips, and the swab came up completely clean. I swabbed several times to ensure the test was conclusive. The lips are very nice, but there is an ever so slight fade on the left side (her right).

The body is in great shape, as are her nails on her hands and feet. She has the slightest red stains from wearing the plastic shoes, as was typical for these early dolls.

Her feet have the holes for the stand with both foot tubes present. I believe this is an early production doll as she has the much rarer rectangular "Japan" stamp on the heel of her right foot. The common stamp consists of sunken letters spelling "Japan" along the length of the foot, rather than this rectangular version which is much smaller and runs the width of the heel.

I have seen this type of stamp photographed/identified in an article written by Christopher Varaste in Barbie Bazaar (October 2001) about #1 dolls. Although I wasn't able to find much more information about it, my feeling is that it is much more scarce as I've mostly only seen the regular stamp on #1's I've researched. Overall, this is a lovely #1 with an unusual foot stamp, which I believe makes it an early production run doll. This may account for slightly thicker lines in the eye detailing. This is my opinion, but I do realize that there are many passionate Barbie collectors who may either share or have differing opinions.

I welcome any information that could shed extra light on this piece. I'm sure there are many of you out there that are extremely knowledgeable thanks to years of collecting. The Late Charles Mo was Curator of the Mint Museums' Fashion Collection & Longest Serving Director of Fine Arts Mr. Mo's accomplishments in the world of Fashion span more than his 30 years tenure in the museum world.

Charles built the fashion collection of the Mint to over 10,000 articles of couture clothing, millinery, shoes, fans and jewelry by the time of his retirement in 2013. He is remembered for his fashion exhibits, including Life & Legend, CHANEL: Designs for the Modern Woman, Fashionable Silhouettes, and Dior, Balmain, Saint Laurent: Elegance & Ease. His acclaim reaches national recognition with a vast fashion doll collection of early Barbie, Madame Alexander, Gene Odom and Robert Tonner. Charles accolades include articles in Barbie Bazaar by Joe Blitman "One Mo Time" (May/June 1993) and Kathy Flood "A Show of Style" (October 1998), acknowledging his artistry and numerous awards at the National Barbie Conventions for his dolls, fashion, and knowledge.

Please look carefully at the pics to see the condition of the item and/or packaging. If purchasing multiple figures, please wait for an adjusted invoice before paying.

Please wait for an invoice before paying! Residents in Ontario will be charged 13% HST, and out of province buyers will be charged the corresponding rate for their province. The item "Rare Vintage Barbie No. 850 #1 Blonde Ponytail Doll & #972 Charles Mo Collection" is in sale since Sunday, February 2, 2020.

This item is in the category "Dolls & Bears\Dolls\Barbie Vintage (Pre-1973)\Vintage (Pre-1967)". The seller is "diecast_baron" and is located in North York, Ontario.

This item can be shipped to United States, all countries in Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia.

• Product Type: Doll(s) with Clothing/Accessories
• Collection: Ponytail Barbie
• Brand: Mattel
• Ethnicity: Caucasian
• Country/Region of Manufacture: Japan
• Original/Reproduction: Original
• Era/Year: 1950s
• MPN: 850
• Character: Barbie
• Packaging: Without Packaging
• Features: Vintage