barbie | Justmytypewriter

the barbie typewriter story

yes. mattel did in fact make a series of toy typewriters. the most interesting part? they can code and decode messages!

Mehano & Mattel

this Slovenian toy company made toy electronic typewriters that featured their own coding and decoding functions in the keyboard. users could type to each other in code and send messages to their friends. Mattel then licensed their designs to create their own line of barbie electronic typewriter toys. the base functions remained the same, including the encryption functions, but the instructions changed leaving users totally unaware that their typewriters could write secret messages! while cool in theory, the lack of proper instruction on how to use this function left many users thinking their machine was broken, and many barbie typewriters ended up being tossed.

(........& me)

inspired by the story of the machine whose coolest function led to it's downfall in the market, I had to hunt one down (or four). I now have two E117 models, an E115 model, and a manual barbie typewriter in my collection! all of my machines have come from other loyal typewriter fanatics, and with each addition, I learn a little bit more about these fascinating typewriters.

for more information on the barbie typewriter variants, check out cryptomuseum.com