Monday, September 18, 2023

Madame Alexander 100th Anniversary!

 In honor of the 100th Anniversary of the 
Madame Alexander Doll Company,
I wanted to do a special post.

I believe everyone has heard of the Madame Alexander Company.
The company was started in New York in 1923, by Beatrice Alexander.
Known for their character dolls, the company is still very
prominent in the doll Community.

In appreciation of all Madame Alexander dolls, I wanted
to share my Madame Alexander dolls and how I found them.

My Madame Alexander Dolls

My oldest Madame Alexander Doll is my 13",
1937 McGuffey Ana. She is all composition
and is a character found in the McGuffey reader.

This reader was a mainstay in
American education from the 1850s
through the early 1900s.

Here she is with her very own copy
of the McGuffey reader.

Before and After
I found Ana in an antique shop.  She looked so sad
and pleaded with me to take her home.

Next is my Madame Alexander Maggie face doll.
She is 14" tall and from around 1956.

Before and After
One of my favorite molds. Maggie was wearing
her original outfit, but in such sad shape! I 
found her in Texas in an antique book shop!

She got a new wig and tried on some
other outfits while hers was repaired.
I found out she is a skater!

I love dolls I can play with!
I love Maggie's new hair, so long and curly.

Also from 1956 is my Madame Alexander Cissy.
She is 20" tall and I found her in a
thrift store! I think thrift stores have
gotten more savvy since then.

When I found Cissy she was lying on a 
stack of bisque dolls.
I did a double-take before I could believe
what I was seeing!!

Here is her original dress all washed and pressed.
I made her shopping bag...

And her hat.

Cissy in her leopard coat and black tafeta gown.

Cissy in her room wearing her lovely
peach satin night gown.

And Cissy looking SO lovely.

Next is my Madame Alexander Lissy doll.
 Lissy was a gift from 
my friend Janet P. 
Lissy is 10" tall and dressed as Amy 
from Little Women.

Janet also sent this sweet little dress
for Lissy. Janet has been instrumental
in several dolls being added
to my collection.

When these tiny skates came with a
lot of misc. doll clothes I knew Lissy needed
her own skating outfit!

Next is my 1965 Puddin doll
I found her online because my bestie, Sina,
had a Puddin.  Sina's Puddin needed repair. 
After I restored Sina's Puddin, 
I wanted a Puddin too!

This is Sina's Puddin after I repaired her 
and sent her home again in time 
for Chrismas!

Puddin is 20" of cuddly love!
I call my Puddin Annabella.

Sina's Puddin and my Puddin together.
(through the magic of photo editing!)

Next is....

My Madame Alexander Pussycat Doll.
She is 19" and I found her in a thrift store.

Here she is wearing her favorite dress.  
She is so pretty in blue! 
Her name is Bonnie and 
she is another cuddly baby!

Last but not least....

My 1966 Sweet Tears who I recently 
found in a thrift store. She is 13"
tall and drinks and wets.

She was very dirty, but still
had her original dress.

Such a sweet face and a darling addition
to my doll collection.

Here are some very cute NEW dolls at
Madame Alexander!

These are the "It's all me!" dolls
They are poseable 8" play dolls.
Almost all these cuties are already out of stock!

These next are the 14" "Kindness Club" dolls.

I love their outfits!!!

And LOTS of Baby Dolls, of course!
These are just a couple.

New Born Baby Lavender
(So adorable)

My Little Girl baby doll.

And look at the new Pussycat doll!
She is 14" of adorable.

Congratulations on 100 years!



12 comments:

  1. Love this look back at some of your beautiful doll restorations!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Maryn,
    I must admit, I like looking back too. It's fun to be reminded of how much my dolls were improved with a little TLC. I love makeovers of any kind. The whole "before and after" is always so fun to see.
    Hugs
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous3:05:00 PM

    Brenda what a delightful post. All of your Madame Alexander dolls re so pretty. I tried to pick a favorite. Every time I saw the one ,then the next one could have been the favorite. So I don't have a favorite. Love them all .
    Marion

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous5:10:00 PM

    Brenda, what a beautiful collection of Madame Alexander dolls. Each one is lovely in her own way. Thank You for sharing and taking the time to do this post.
    Marilyn

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous5:12:00 PM

    What a spectacular collection of Madame Alexander dolls you have. The clothes on each of the dolls are so special and beautiful. Enjoy this wonderful collection.
    Joan

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Marion.
    Thank you! I can't pick a favorite either. They all have a different appeal to me. I was a bit amazed to realize how many of my dolls were thrift store finds. Someone loved them and then had to give them up. I am so glad I found them!
    Hugs
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Marilyn,
    Thank you! When I found out the Madame Alexander Co. has celebrated 100 years this post became my obvious choice. I think the MA co has made a lot of girls and grown-up girls very happy over theire 100 years. I am grateful to have found so many MA dolls over the years.
    Hugs
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  8. HI Joan,
    Thank you! I do really appreciate the dolls I have been fortunate enough to find. Fortunate that most of them had their original outfits! Even in poor condition, I consider an original outfit a great find.
    Hugs
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dorothy in PA10:21:00 PM

    Dear Brenda. what a wonderful tribute you have created to the Alexander Doll Company! You certainly are a "doll whisperer." You have rescued and restored so many dolls.

    All of your girls are beautiful after their makeovers but I do have a favorite in your "Alexander parade." It's Cissy. You have made her so glamorous! I am sure Madame is smiling. As you know, her dream for Cissy was to use her as a model to introduce young girls to fashion and beauty. You have definitely accomplished that!

    I remember two of my first dolls when I was a child were 8-inch Alexanders. I loved them. When I joined the local doll club and started collecting, I started with the 8-inch Wendys.

    In case your readers are interested, I will share that the Madame Alexander Doll Club will hold its convention next June in Charleston, South Carolina.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Dorothy,
    Thank you! I have had so much enjoyment of my MA dolls over the years. I agree my Cissy is pretty special. It seems incedible that I found her in a thrift store! I didn't even continue shopping, I just went straight to the register before someone realized their mistake. hahaha! She was $19.99.
    Oh how I would love to attend the convention!! Do you just apply for tickets?
    I will look into it.
    Hugs
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dorothy in PA5:26:00 PM

    Dear Brenda, hello. You can go on the Madame Alexander Doll Club website and download a form for submission.

    I can also share with you some additional information about the convention, if you like, if you tell me how to give you my email address.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you Dorothy,
    My email is right beneath the header photo at the top of this blog. thesavagedollblog@gmail.com.
    Hugs
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete

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