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In this article we're going to discuss a doll that was made specifically for boys, the classic G.I. Joe.

Back in the late 50s and early 60s dolls were just not something that boys played with. Your typical doll, even before Barbie came out, was a baby doll, maybe with a bottle and rattle. These dolls were made specifically for girls because boys didn't play with dolls. If they did, they were looked at as sissies.

So Hasbro had its work cut out for them. They already had great success with their Barbie Doll but wanted to break into the doll market for boys if it was at all possible. After a lot of thought and careful research, Hasbro decided that if they were going to make a doll for boys to play with then it was going to have to be a doll that ONLY boys would want to play with. It had to be tough and rugged, just like boys were supposed to be. So in 1964, Hasbro introduced the first doll made specifically for boys, the G.I. Joe Doll and ever since, it has been one of the most popular dolls in history.

G.I. Joe was indeed tough and rugged. The doll stood one foot high and had moveable joints so that it could be posed in a number of ways. He was a private in the United States Army and came with dog tags and boots and that was it. He was a pretty bare bones doll for boys to play with. And therein lies the genius of Hasbro's thinking.

If a boy wanted accessories for his fighting man he had to buy them separately. The doll itself sold for around $5.00. But where Hasbro really made its money was on the various accessories and uniforms that you could get for the doll.

The accessories were sold in flat packages as opposed to the dolls which were sold in boxes. The accessories usually sold for about $1.50. Some were more and some were less. They were usually sold in logical sets. For example, there was the infantry set which came with an M1 rifle, belt, helmet and hand grenades. Most accessory packages didn't contain more than 3 or 4 items in it. Some accessories, like the sandbags, came alone. Hasbro made a mint with these as there were just so many of them.

Aside from accessories, you could also buy different uniforms for G.I. Joe. You could dress him up as a Marine, Sailor or Pilot. In later years you could dress him up as an astronaut and even get a space capsule for him. The capsule was quite a piece and sold for about $10. Back then that was a lot of money.

In the late 60s, with growing outrage against the war in Vietnam, G.I. Joe became a very controversial figure. But Hasbro had won its own war. Boys were totally taken by the doll and it went on to become one of the best selling dolls of all time even though it only appealed to one segment of the child population.

In 1950, the Horsman Doll Company had been in business for 85 years. All this time the Horsman Doll Company produced a "People's Doll," which was a fine doll at a moderate price. Their reputation was built upon producing a limited number of well-made composition dolls. In particular, the Horsman Doll Company produced baby dolls with mama criers with a certain look, a sweet, dolly face that did not change significantly from year to year. The company's slogan was, "America's Best Known and Best Loved Dolls."

The material once used, which was composition, has now given way to a sturdier vinyl material. The Horsman Doll Company continued doing what they did best. They consistently produced a staple line of very attractive dolls in wonderful high quality outfits all at affordable prices which made it possible for almost any American girl to own one.

Another significant change for the Horseman Doll Company was the beginning of rooting Saran fibers into their soft vinyl doll heads. In 1953, they decided to use Dynell, another plastic hair fiber, for the Shadow Wave doll. The hair on this doll could be styled and set. However, in 1954, they returned to Saran fibers because the strength and resistance to abrasion was much greater when combed. The Saran fibers also presented a shinier looking hair that hung better than the Dynell fiber used in 1953.

The year of 1952 was a time of even more important doll innovations for the Horsman Doll Company. They introduced the dolls that walked and doll faces and skin with improved soft vinyl Fairy Skin. Advertisement for the new skin type was that it was softer, more realistic than the plastic they used previously. You can readily see the Fairy Skin on Horsman dolls today by the soft, almost radiant glow of the doll faces. This was a beautiful and significant improvement for the Horsman line of baby dolls.

The 1940s and early 1950s was a successful time for the Horseman Doll Company. The progress in their three-story factory complex at the corner of Adeline Street and Chestnut Avenue in Trenton, New Jersey was racing to the tune of producing about one million and a half dolls per year. As many as 12,000 dolls per day were rolling out from their factory in the peak production months of August and September. The size of these dolls was 12 to 26 inches. The company employed full and part time employees. The Horseman Doll Company was a bit different from other toymakers as well. They made everything in one spot, the dolls, the clothing outfits and even the boxes the dolls came in were made at the Horseman Doll Company.

The company had a research lab where technicians worked to perfect the vinyl compounds. About 300 women operated sewing machines, working on doll dresses and coats, while another team of men with electric blades were cutting out the pieces of fabric that were 18 thicknesses of cloth at a time. This amounted to 18 doll dresses or outfits per cut. Imagine the buzz of those sewing machines barely able to keep up with materials being sent to their work stations. This team of employees worked well and hard under a union. They made high quality dolls and good money. However, for management, this was a bit of a flaw as most other doll companies had manufacturing sites in New York City and they paid their workers much less.

Financial trouble again haunted the Horsman Doll Company in early 1953. They announced closure of the plant. Of course, union and workers announced concessions, however things moved on. The basic problem was "labor costs," which was never actually solved. The firm was purchased by Botany Mills Inc., in 1957, however, its management remained much unchanged.

Source: Horsman Dolls: The Vinyl Era, 1950-Present by Don Jensen

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