I was browsing eBay the other day and as usual I noticed many Barbies described as vintage which I certainly didn’t consider deserved that title.
I have written before about how important it is to do research before buying. It seems that many sellers are still making the mistake of listing dolls as “vintage 1966” because that is the date stamped on the back. This is misleading as that date refers to the date that particular body was patented. Some will add the date marked on the doll’s head too. That’s a bit more useful but it’s another patent date so you can’t ID a doll by that alone.
It does annoy me to see dolls from the 1980s and 1990s listed as vintage. I know that’s partly due to my age. It doesn’t seem that long ago to me but I do realise that to a young person, 1980 seems a pretty long time ago. It was a different century after all. I can’t tell you how often we go to antique shops or even museums and see items we once owned or in some cases still do own and use. It makes you think.
A friend of mine who used to own an antique shop said that an item had to be 50 years old to be vintage and 100 years old to be antique. Fifty years ago was 1974, when I was sixteen.So for me Barbie and friends up to but not including the Superstar era are vintage.
I decided to look up some doll collecting guides to see what their definitions were.
Vintage dolls are typically described by collectors as dolls from 1925-1979. This time period is when brands of dolls became household names. https://www.americasantiquemall.com/post/how-to-start-an-antique-doll-collection
Here’s another:
Before eBay set their own ideas for what is antique or vintage, a doll to be considered vintage had to be 75 years old and to be antique had to be at least 100 years old. eBay decided an item could be called vintage if it is no longer made— even if production stopped last week— and anything older than they are must to be antique. So for the sake of clarity in my blog, a doll has to be made BEFORE 1960 to be vintage, and at least 100 years old to be referred to as “antique”. Dolls made between 1960 and 1980 are considered to be “modern collectible dolls” and those made after 1980, such as Cabbage Patch, “My Double”, “American Girl” and others, including “limited edition” dolls, are not considered, on my blog, to be any of the above. They are just used dolls.
One more:
Experts typically divide collectible dolls into three groups. Antique dolls are 100 years old or more. Notable dolls from the 50s are considered vintage. Finally, specific brands from the 60s and 70s are viewed as modern collectibles.
https://gaslightsquareshoppes.com/antiques/antique-dolls-history-doll-mania
Above are vintage fashion dolls. Below are not. They might be considered modern collectibles but they are all from the playline so not rare or expensive.
So it seems like while antique dolls are generally considered to be at least a hundred years old the definition of vintage is a bit more flexible. However, I haven’t yet found an expert who thinks that the 1980s is part of the vintage era. Not yet anyway.