Original Listing Description

BARBIE® Blond Ponytail Includes Original Zebra Swimsuit, Earrings, Sunglasses, Shoes & #2 STAND! Vintage JAPAN Doll & Accessories! Up for ebaY bids today is a genuine Mattel Ponytail Barbie doll Circa 1960. #850 Blond Ponytail Barbie will come to you wearing her original zebra striped swimsuit, a pair of white heels, white sunglasses with clear blue lenses, and a pair of doll-safe replacement pearl earrings that have nylon posts! Rounding out the genuine original Barbie doll is her rare #2 Barbie doll stand! Genuine vintage era stand base has been repaired where the upright positions into the base, but it appears to be solid as it was used to display the doll for these ebaY auction photos. The black painted wire upright that holds Barbie below her arms is a replacement IMO, but the base, the part you actually see while the doll is on display, is verified genuine vintage Mattel and is so marked. Barbie's genuine vintage Japan zebra swimsuit does have wear, and signs of play. Please see photos as they are a major part of the description. However, the swimsuit still has the intact elastic at the neckline that cleverly keeps Barbie's swimsuit from falling down! Barbie's genuine vintage Japan sunglasses are in good shape, with attached, working, unbroken arms and intact clear blue lenses! Barbie wears replacement faux pearl earrings that have nylon posts that will not turn her ears green. Barbie's original used condition faux pearl glass bead earrings are also included, but the faux pearl finish is gone, and the brass posts should never be returned to the doll's ears as the metal can damage the vinyl doll and cause her ears to turn green. Speaking of green ears, MIRACULOUSLY, this Ponytail Barbie doll has zero green on her ears. It appears as though she never suffered from "green ear" syndrome! Barbie has only one piercing per ear! Barbie wears white, instead of black "mule' pumps. Upon photographing her, I noticed her right shoe slipped on with no problem, but her left shoe seemed too tight, so that is why she is carrying her left, unsplit shoe in the photo! Advanced Barbie collectors might know that the size of Barbie's mules varied, and the early dolls have a slightly large shoe (& foot!). This doll's shoes are the larger style, but that left was just a bit too tight for me to want to chance placing it on her foot and splitting it across the toe strap...Shoe is marked Japan. Barbie herself is in EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION. Barbie's blond ponytail hair style is in good condition. Barbie has no neck or ear splits. No missing hair plugs. No missing fingers or toes, No hair trim. Ponytail appears to be exceptionally long. Barbie has much of her original finger and toe nail polish. Barbie's facial paint appears to be all original und unretouched! (and that is extrordinary to find in a doll this old) Barbie has the TM markings that a Number Three Barbie would have. Best of all, #3 Ponytail Barbie has that "Crayola Crayon Scent"! She has indeed turned pale, as 1s, 2s and 3s often do. She has a few minor blemishes on her body, but not her face. Again, please refer to my tight close up photos as they are a major part of my description. Barbie's limbs move freely, and her head fits on her neck and moves as it should. What makes this doll a #3 and not a #2 or a #1 s that she does NOT have the arched eye brows and black and white irises of a #2 or a #1. Rather, this Ponytail Barbie has the "new" blue eyes and softly arched eye brows of the #3. What makes her a #3 instead of a #4 is her pale skin tone. 1s, 2s & 3s often turned pale. All three of the first Barbie dolls had the softer, semi solid rubbery vinyl body, a FLOCKED scalp, and tightly curled "poodle" bangs that were of the same soft, silky Saran as Barbie's ponytail. Those soft, tight curls were achieved by curling them on four tiny, miniscule curlers - by Japan factory workers BY HAND! The following doll, the #4 Barbie had those same new eye and brow features as the #3, however, the newer version retained her tantone skin color. The #4 Barbie never turned pale. Mattel had modified the vinyl formula so that the doll did not turn pale. The next version, a much more mass version of the Ponytail Barbie, was called the #5 Barbie. Two innovations distinguish the #5 Barbie from her predecessor. Barbie's softer, heavy, rubbery body was replaced with a hard, hollow "blow mold" plastic that has not aged as well, or proved to be as hefty or hearty as the 1, 2, 3, & 4 Barbie body. Depending on how they were stored, the later #5 bodies have often become brittle so they can crack like an eggshell of not handled properly. The second change for the #5 Ponytail Barbie was that her bangs were rooted in a new stiff, wiry pre-curled Saran that was noticeably different from the tightly curled soft "poodle" bangs of the earlier dolls. The Number Four Ponytail Barbie might have been the doll that Mattel would have issued had they given the product more time in Research and Development, as it is most like the doll that Mattel intended to market. Earlier One, Two and Three Barbie dolls were more or less experimental products that were released to the marketplace while they worked out the kinks and costs of producing their innovative doll. This Number Three Ponytail Barbie for sale today represents Mattel's work in progress. She received a revision stand with a black metal upright, new BLUE irises rather than the black and white eyes of her predecessors, and new, friendlier CURVED eye brows that replaced the upside down "V" brows of the first and second versions of the Ponytail Barbie doll which gave Barbie a slightly Oriental appearance. As stated above, the next major development in the manufacture of the Barbie doll was that the doll's skin tone remained tan, without fading, yet the tantone Number Four Barbie doll still have that Crayon scent. Up for sale is a blonde Number Three Ponytail Barbie with her original swimsuit, stand, sunglasses, earrings, and a pair of Japan Barbie shoes. The white display box with lid and liner are also included in this sale. I will verify that this doll has not been on display, and has been stored away from light, humidity and pets for the last 25 years, and has been in the possession of an adult collector for as many years. This is a genuine Mattel vintage Japan Barbie doll. No original packaging is included in this ebaY sale. I will happily combine shipping on your multiple ebaY wins! I ACCEPT OVERSEAS BIDS/ BIDDERS FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES. PayPal™ payments preferred. Items ship on Wednesdays. Payments received before 12:00 noon on Wednesday ship that afternoon. Payments received after noon on Wednesday will ship the following Wednesday. Good Luck, thanks for looking! I will happily combine shipping on your multiple ebaY wins! Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands bids welcome. MiKelman™ Is In No Way Affiliated With Mattel T (Condition: Pre-Owned)

Note: This item has been sold and is no longer available. This page serves as a historical price reference for Barbie collectors and appraisers.