Name: The Happy Family and The Happy Family Grandparents
Made by and When: Mattel, 1974
Material: Vinyl with five points of articulation for all except the baby that has a one-piece, bent-leg body
Marks: (Heads) 1973 MATTEL INC.; (bodies) 1973 / MATTEL, INC. / TAIWAN
Height: Hal and Grandpa are 9-1/2 inches tall. Hattie and Grandma are 9 inches tall. Hon, the baby, is 3 inches tall.
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: The dolls have rooted black hair, brown inset stationary eyes, and closed smiling mouths. The grandparents’ hair is gray.
Clothes: Hal wears a striped muscle shirt with blue pants and black shoes. Hattie wears a yellow peasant blouse with a multicolored full-length skirt and brown sandals. Hon’s one-piece romper is white on the top and red on the bottom. Grandpa wears a dark plaid shirt, a bright green vest, and light blue pants with black shoes. Grandma’s red dress and dark green floral-print apron are worn with brown shoes.
Other: The Happy Family boxed set includes Hal (the dad), Hattie (the mother), and Hon (the baby). The grandparents were sold together as a separate boxed set as shown. The Happy Family is the black version of Mattel’s white Sunshine Family. The dolls use the same molds, which were sculpted by Martha Armstrong-Hand. Other dolls, a host of accessories, and a paper doll book followed.
“Doing things together & with you!” is printed on the top of the dolls’ boxes that feature colorful illustrations of the family in outdoor scenes.
Gallery
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