The Little People first appeared in 1950 with the “Looky Fire Truck” and three round-headed fire men permanently attached to the toy. Following this, between 1952 and 1953, Fisher-Price developed the “Super-Jet” and “Racing Rowboat”
But it was the School Bus in 1959 that was the first to include removable figures and the following year 1960 saw the release of a number of other vehicles with removable figures including a Station Wagon and Fire Engine.
The figures were referred to as the “Play Family” by Fisher-Price throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s and in 1965 they released a stand-alone Play Family box set giving names to the six figures: “Daddy, Mommy, the Boys, Butch and Pee Wee, the Girls, Patty and Penny and of course Fido the dog.
In the late 1960’s the Play Family line was extended with the release of the very first play set, the Play Family Farm. The farm came with a big red barn, silo, animals, and a barn door that made a mooing sound when opened. More classic playsets, including the Play Family House, Play Family Action Garage, Play Family School, and the Play Family Airport soon followed.
The early releases of the figures were made of all wood and then wood with plastic accents, but over the years Fisher-Price has made changes to the figures size, shape and material. But the biggest change occurred in 1991, when the bodies were changed into a wider and shorter version of the earlier “peg” style figure (this version is often referred to as “Chunky Little People” by collectors).
The chunky body style lasted until Fisher-Price again re-tooled the line in 1997. The new figures were all-plastic, smaller in size, and included additional details, such as arms, hands, and facial features.
Mattel (the parent company of Fisher-Price) has reported that, since the brand’s launch, more than 2-billion Little People figures have been sold in over 60 countries.
