GI Joe Figure: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Hasbro introduced the GI Joe action figure in 1964. By 1968, declining sales, probably tied to the controversy surrounding the American war effort in Vietnam, led Hasbro to reinvent its product line by downplaying the "military" aspects of the GI Joe character. This "land adventurer" is a 12-inch action figure from the GI Joe Adventure Team toy series released in 1970. The new figures came with civilian-style beards and round dog tags with logos that conspicuously resembled peace signs. The Adventure Team Club magazine marketed alongside the toy envisioned these GI Joes taking part in archaeological or scientific missions rather than military ones. These fully articulated 12-inch figures were among the last of their kind. Owing to laggard sales and rising plastic prices, GI Joe figures thereafter would be produced in smaller sizes.

Materials, dates and provenance

• copyright date: 1974
• maker: Hasbro
• Object Name: Doll
• Object Name: doll
• Other Terms: Doll; Dolls; Male; Plastic
• Physical Description: plastic (overall material)
• Physical Description: rubber (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Physical Description: fabric (overall material)
• Place Made: United States: Rhode Island, Pawtucket
• Subject: Toys
• Subject: Dolls
• depicted: Man
• ID Number: 1977.0575.05
• accession number: 1977.0575
• catalog number: 1977.0575.05
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.