Barbie Bubble Cut Midge Ken Wedding Party Gift Set and a Guhl & Harbeck JUPITER N Cast Iron Mechanical Pencil Pointer Sharpener
by Jessica Kosinski
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$3,317 (Bids 66, Bidders 25) Amazing rare! Vintage Barbie Bubble Cut Midge Ken Wedding Party Gift Set NRFB. Up for auction is a fantastic, very rare, original gift set of four dolls: Barbie, Ken, Midge, and Skipper. I truly believe this set in this shape is very HTF. Everything is mint, unused, and completely sealed. There are no holes or tears at all in the cellophane wrapping, and everything inside the set is intact and in perfect condition. Barbie doesn’t even have any green ear, just what looks like a faint tint. All head cello, wrist tags, and accessories are intact and tied in. The box is also in very good condition—sturdy, with no rips or tears on any corners. Everything is intact. Beautiful classic graphics without rubs. Minor wear/marks are expected after 60 years.
JK: Barbie dolls were first produced by Mattel in 1959, and they have been taking the toy world by storm ever since. Today, there are Barbie dolls of all different descriptions, including firefighter, ballerina, and dentist Barbies. Then, of course, there is Ken, Barbie’s boyfriend. The set above also includes Barbie’s friends, Midge and Skipper.
This particular set was produced in 1964, making it an early Barbie product. Any Barbie released between 1959 and 1966 is considered part of the vintage Barbie era. Many of those Barbies are coveted by collectors.
One of the unique things about Barbie dolls, outfits, and sets is that they were typically identified by a number. For example, this set was given the code “1017.” The Bride’s Dream Dress featured as part of the set is #947. It was originally produced the year before and can also be found in the 1963 Trousseau Set.
It is difficult to say exactly how rare this set is because Mattel never published information regarding how many were produced in 1964. However, the run was certainly limited. Also, as stated by the seller, this set is “NRFB,” meaning “never removed from box.” That is incredibly
rare because these toys were designed for children to play with. Whenever sets like this were played with, pieces were inevitably stained, broken, or misplaced.
Bidders were clearly excited about this auction because all of the dolls are present and their outfits complete. The box itself is another feature that probably attracted bidders. Children often discarded boxes, so having one intact and in very good condition is a major bonus to any collector.
$1,084 (Bids 58, Bidders 26) Antique Guhl & Harbeck JUPITER N Cast Iron Mechanical Pencil Pointer Sharpener. The ‘Jupiter N Pencil Pointer’ is a cast iron, mechanical pencil sharpener made in 1897 by Guhl & Harbeck in Hamburg, Germany, and distributed by Favor Ruhl & Co. of New York. The Jupiter N Pencil Pointer is designed to sharpen pencils using a rotating cutter, where the pencil is inserted and advanced against the cutting wheel. Measuring 5 3/4” tall by 15 1/2” long by 7 1/2” wide, this cast iron pencil sharpener is in remarkable, original condition. It retains its original black enamel paint with all gold decals and the Guhl & Harbeck emblem in excellent condition. We placed a pencil into this mechanical sharpener and although the mechanism still turns properly, the cutting wheel is dull. It works very well but didn’t do a very good job of sharpening. There are no problems or restorations to this rare, antique German cast iron Jupiter N Pencil Pointer.
JK: Heinrich Guhl and Christian Friedrich Harbeck founded their company in Hamburg, Germany, in the 1860s. The company was not initially known for making pencil sharpeners; it started out as a maker of sewing machines. Interestingly, neither man had a background suggesting they would produce such devices. Harbeck was a merchant, and Guhl was a locksmith before they founded Guhl & Harbeck together.
Eventually, their product lines expanded to include multiple mechanical devices, including the Kosmopolit and the Hammonia—typewriter models released in the 1880s. In fact, the Hammonia, released in 1884, was the first German typewriter.
As Guhl & Harbeck continued to grow, the company branched out into producing other office equipment. By the early 1900s, cast iron pencil sharpeners like the one above were among their products. The Jupiter line also included other models, such as the Jupiter 1.
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Many people collect pencil sharpeners today, especially early cast iron models like this one. Collectors often spend only a few hundred dollars for one, but they can sell for more depending on condition. This model was in almost perfect shape, with clear, crisp decals and original paint. That most likely explains why it caught the attention of so many bidders and reached a final sale price much higher than average.
Jessica Kosinski has been a freelance researcher and writer since 2001. She developed a passion for 1980s pre-1980s TV and films as a kid, and she has never grown out of it. Recently, she turned that passion into a retro TV and film blog. Follow along with her at medium.com/@jkos_writing, as she dives deep into the characters, actors, quirks, and trivia that brought us some of the greatest films and shows in TV history and also discusses some of the more obscure films and shows most of us may have forgotten.
