Mattel’s Barbie: Investigation of a Symbol—Analysis of Polymeric Matrices and Degradation Phenomena for Sixteen Dolls from 1959 to 1976

Abstract

Mattel’s Barbie dolls are the most famous and iconic dolls since 1959. Today, they are being collected by individuals and often conserved in museum environments due to their cultural and historical significance reflecting everyday life and historical events. However, just like most museum objects made of plastics, both historical and more recent Barbies show evident degradation phenomena. Firstly, Barbies were made of plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC), affected by the migration of additives—mostly the plasticizers—from the bulk phase to the outermost layer, appearing as a tacky and glossy exudate. Over the years, Barbies’ polymeric constituents were replaced with more stable ones, whose additives migration is limited compared to PVC, even though still occurring. Multispectral photography in visible (VIS) and ultraviolet (UV) light, microscopical observations in VIS and UV light, and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy in the Attenuated Total Reflectance mode (FT-IR ATR) were performed to characterize the constituent materials of 15 Barbies produced between 1959 and 1976, bridging the information gap on their processing over the years. The micro-invasive multi-analytical approach also allowed for the characterization of the degradation products, permitting the reference of the exudated compound to the specific bulk polymer.

Exploring the Materials and Condition of 20th-Century Dolls in Zoe Leonard’s Mouth Open, Teeth Showing 2000

“…From the 1940s, there was an interest in producing ‘drink-and-wet’ dolls [ 2 ] that could tolerate water exposure, which combined with manufacturing developments, led to the widespread use of plastics such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC, available from 1927), polystyrene (PS, available from 1937), low density polyethylene (LDPE available from 1941) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE, available from 1957) [ 8 ]. From the 1950s, vinyl heads with rooted saran (vinyl chloride/vinylidene chloride copolymer, VC/VDC) hair were common [ 2 , 12 , 13 ].…”

“…Even though children’s dolls and toys can form significant parts of museum collections (as examples, 2451 objects listed as Dolls & Toys on the V&A website (accessed on 19 January 2021) and there are many museums and associations specialising in antique dolls and toys, etc.—see ‘Caring for Dolls & Toys, Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute’, (accessed on 19 January 2021), there are relatively few studies published in the conservation literature which document degradation phenomena and treatment options for 20th-century dolls [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. For CA dolls, issues with ‘sleep-eyes’ (weighted eyes that close when the doll is placed lying down horizontally) have been documented where any iron-containing mechanisms become stiff, preventing the dolls eyes from opening when held vertically.…”

“…Other reported degradation phenomena include the formation of white stearic acid bloom on PVC components [ 8 ] and stearyl alcohol bloom in PVC dolls from the 1980s and 1990s [ 16 ]. Surface whitening and migrated plasticiser on PVC elements of 20th-century Barbie dolls have also been reported [ 13 ]. Thus, in general, the identification of the main polymer types present in each doll remains key to informing conservation strategies which often involve minimising exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, preventing exposure to fluctuating environmental conditions and utilising cool storage as appropriate [ 9 ].…”