EXPERTbild lilli barbie sindy
AZO Do you know of any other characters Max Weißbrodt sculpted? The Lilli doll shows he was a highly gifted sculptor.
IA Yes, he sculpted for example Winetou (an Indian figure from Karl May- famous films in the 60's in Germany)
AZO Who bought her? Men, women, did girls wish to own her?
IA Lilli was first not intended for children, she was meant as a caricature for the Bild-newspaper to give as a gift to VIPs, or as a special gift article for adults (a gag gift) or as a decoration for a car swinging(on a little swing) in the window (car mascot), so she was first not sold in toy shops from her target group, but sold in smoke shops, paper shops and airport shops. An advertisement once said: "If you give with love, give Lilli!" Soon she became a hit for the children, because she looked so different than the common baby dolls and the teenagers enjoyed dressing her so later she became a doll to play with and was then sold in toy shops.
AZO What drew you to Lilli? When did you decide to begin your collection,can you remember that moment?
IA I started to collect Lilli over 15 years ago. I had already started to collect contemporary and antique fashion dolls and realized Lilli was the original. I saw she was the first of a new generation of fashion dolls manufactured from new materials depicting the new post war style, and why should I collect only the copy, when I can get the original here in Germany. And in my opinion from the historic point of view Lilli is the story of the Fifties -particularly in Germany
