Lesson 1: Bonnie Zacherle And My Pretty Pony

My Little Pony began as a toy brand in 1982 developed by it's original creator, Bonnie Zacherle, and published by Hasbro. Information on Zacherle can be found on this Wikipedia article, and this article on About.com "Inventors".


Excerpt from the Wikipedia article:

"Zacherle is an American illustrator and designer who now resides in Warrington, Virginia. [She] is best known as the creator of the best-selling My Little Pony toy line and also the creator of of Nerfuls."

Excerpt from the About.com article:

"Hasbro received a design patent for "an ornamental design for a toy animal". The patent (U.S. #D269986) was filed in August of 1981 and granted in August of 1983. The inventors were Bonnie D. Zacherle of Norwood, MA, Charles Muenchinger of Providence, RI, and Steven D. D'Aguanno of Greenville, RI.
The illustrations to the right (click for more images) are from the original My Little Pony patent. The vinyl toy was first mass-produced in 1982."

The original patent illustration:

And the rest is ancient history. The toy line went on to become an insanely popular one among girls (and a few early closeted "bronies") during the 80s. It remains popular to this day, though its hottest moments in the spotlight are without doubt 80s and the 2010s.

However, MLP's story technically begins one year earlier, in 1981, when the first pony, My Pretty Pony, was released. Only two versions of the toy were ever made (with a third being rumored, but never confirmed). Standing at 10 inches in height, it's the biggest official pony toy Hasbro ever made.

Next Lesson: MLP Gen 1, Toy Line.

The research for the article was compiled by Faerie-StarV, also the founder of the deviantART group.