Barbie A Rare Beauty [Hardcover]

Sandi Holder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2010

What a Doll!

The year is 1959. It is an era of one-dimensional paper dolls and cherubic baby dolls. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, there is Barbie doll. Sophisticated and full of possibilities. Barbie changes everything--forever.

When Ruth Handler created Barbie doll five decades ago she not only introduced a wonderful toy for little girls, she helped create one of the most popular and prized collectibles in the toy market. Imagine, Handler's first doll, a Ponytail Barbie, sold for more than $25,000 at auction; a staggering amount for a doll that originally sold for $3.

Barbie: A Rare Beauty hosts an amazing visual feast of 50 years of beautiful dolls, showcasing more than 500 striking photographs of some of the finest and rarest dolls ever created. Author and celebrated Barbie doll expert Sandi Holder presents a banquet of gorgeous vintage dolls, classic fashion sets, prototypes, one-of-a-kind rarities, Japanese fashions, store displays, licensed products and many never-before-seen items in this stunning presentation of the grandest doll ever: Barbie.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sandi Holder is one of the leading authorities on all things Barbie doll in the world. Her own Sandi Holder's Doll Attic has been featured in Newsweek magazine, as well as newspapers and magazines around the world. She set a world record for the highest price ever paid for a single Barbie doll when she auctioned a Ponytail #1 doll for $25,700.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Krause Publications; 1 edition (October 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440212791
• ISBN-13: 978-1440212796
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 0.8 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Dolls, Toys & Figurines > Dolls

More About the Author

Sandi Holder's Doll Attic has been featured in The NY Times, cnn.com, ABC & CBS News, Newsweek Magazine and has appeared in numerous newspaper and magazine articles across the US & Europe. Sandi has participated in radio interviews on the BBC, has been a guest speaker at many Barbie events, a writer for various Barbie publications such as Barbie Bazaar Magazine, and has been a guest in several films. She most also appeared in the Sundance Award winning film "The Tribe" and on The Today Show March 9th, 2009 to kick off Barbie's 50th Birthday. "Barbie Collecting is my first love, my second is, fitness, boxing or jet skiing." In 2006, Sandi was honored "Barbie's Best Friend" award at the 2006 National Barbie Convention.

Barbie A Rare Beauty was featured on 12-20-10 on Good Morning America and was selected as one of their top books in their Holiday Gift Guide

Doll Attic's internet catalog features a wide spectrum of vintage Barbie & Family dolls and thousands of outfits and accessories. We also feature two auctions annually, showcasing some of the rarest items in Barbie. The auction is proud to hold a Guinness world record for the highest price paid for a single doll, which was over $26,000.

Sandi Holder's Doll Attic makes a strong commitment to customers to bring them the finest in Barbie. Customer satisfaction is our main concern. Please visit www.dollattic.com for more information.

Over twenty three years of collecting experience makes Sandi Holder's Doll Attic the best service provider of the finest in Barbie collecting. We carry a wide assortment of vintage dolls, clothing, accessories, and the current line of Barbie Collectible dolls.

Authoring Barbie A Rare Beauty has been a dream that is now a reality. I hope you enjoy my book as it will provide you endless hours of viewing some of the most treasured items in Barbie Doll Collecting.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This book IS a rare beauty! December 17, 2010

By nancy miller

Format:Hardcover

It is indeed sad when someone who obviously has an agenda, to take a book apart page by page and write a review that is not factual. Box dates and production or issue dates do differ, but this poster already had their post removed at another site, so please people do not believe everything you read about a book being in error due to a date. If this person was so good at their history, they would have written their own book by now. Holder's book captures the essence of beauty in Barbie, it was never meant to be anything but a coffee table book to be enjoyed, and what eye candy it is! I was so happy for this author to have Good Morning America select Barbie A Rare Beauty as one of their three top picks. If that doesn't say it all, what would?

I have been a hard core Barbie collector for over 20 years. What was so compelling to me is that I saw things in Sandi Holder's book that I never knew existed (and here I thought I have seen just about everything). The title of this book is very appropriate, as this book in itself is a rare beauty and I am sure destined to be one of the best selling Barbie books ever written.

We have had such a huge void in our hobby with the lack of a Barbie magazine and new Barbie books, that I could not wait to get my hands on this book and it was worth the wait. Sandi covers just about everything and with such flare and alluring photos! What really struck me as a collector is that this book managed to peek a bit into each year and was able to do so with such elegance.

I truly miss Sandi's articles in the old Barbie Bazaar and Miller's Magazines. While I love surfing the internet, nothing beats having a exquisite book such as this sitting on your coffee table. Print media is vital to any hobby and having authors in my family, I can see just how much work and dedication goes into publishing a book and putting yourself out there to the public. I am so glad that she did this as our hobby was in dire need of a new book, and done by an author who has such a wealth of knowledge and is a collector herself. Her dedication to our hobby is admirable and when she won Barbie's Best Friend Award, I had to join in the standing ovation as her sprit and enthusiasm to making this hobby the best it can be is evident in everything she does. I hope to someday visit her museum so I can take myself back in time and relive my childhood memories with my children.

I must admit, when I bought two copies of Barbie A Rare Beauty, one was for "show" and one was for me to keep as I had a feeling this book was going to be well "loved" in no time and that was the truth! My second copy fell into the hands of my sister, and just as she did as a child (stole my Barbie dolls), my second copy found its way to her large suitcase she calls a handbag and I know I will never see it again, so I ordered a third copy.

Kudos to Sandi Holder for delighting the Barbie Collecting Community with this unbelievable book!! As a side note, when I took the book to work, my co workers who are not collectors ended up ordering copies of this book as it is such a fun way to spend a few hours or days, as is the case with me, walking down memory lane.

I just have one hope - SHE WRITES ANOTHER BOOK!!!!!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of Barbie May 21, 2012

By Reviewer

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Apparently by all the reviews, this book creates some serious emotional passions by those who either love it or those who tear it apart, without absolutely no gratitude for all the effort and amazing photo collection. It love this book and it is a great fun coffee table book. When guests come, they love it and I have not heard a single person complain. It is a source of cultural inspiration for anyone who remembers this amazing doll phenomenon. Thank you for writing a great book, loaded with tons of photos and eye candy. It has made me and everyone who comes over and looks at it smile with great appreciation and gratitude. I wish more positive books were written like this! Lots of fun!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply gorgeous March 23, 2011

By Katballou

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As an avid Barbie collector who loves both contemporary and vintage Barbie dolls and products, I must say this is the most beautiful book I've ever seen on the subject. If you are looking for an encyclopedia or product valuation type book, there are plenty of others. This book is different. It is the unfolding of both the American culture in general and the culture of female beauty specifically through a unique and enduring venue - Barbie and her friends and family. The pictures are absolutely gorgeous, and the dolls selected are stunning in every respect. The many close-ups reveal a divine diversity in this doll that often escapes our awareness, countering through the art of Barbie pernicious evaluations of her as false beauty. The author smoothly guides the reader through transformation of dress, appearance, role, and ethnic valuing across five decades of Barbie. She also vividly demonstrates the many varieties of doll mechanics and construction over the years, those that sustained and those that did not, displaying for us the most exquisite and often unusual examples on each and every page. The color and photography are luscious, the narrative crisp and interesting. I will use this publication as a coffee table book that illustrates the art and humanity of Barbie.