The “Golden Era” of the Madame Alexander Doll Company
http://www.camelotarticles.com/articles/8277/1/The-aGolden-Eraa-of-the-Madame-Alexander-Doll-Company/Page1.html
Super Admin
By Super Admin
Published on 09/4/2007
The Madame Alexander Doll Company first began in 1923. Madame Beatrice Alexander and her husband, Phillip Behrman together formed the company.
Beatrice Alexander born March 9, 1895 in Brooklyn, New York was the daughter of Maurice Alexander. Maurice Alexander owned the first doll hospital in America. In his doll hospital he repaired antiques and restored porcelain and bisque dolls. Beatrice witnessed many times how upset children were when their favorite doll broke. This may account for why Ms. Alexander’s earliest dolls were all made of cloth, which would not break when dropped by the fragile hands of a child.
By the 1930s, the Madame Alexander Doll Company was making high quality composition dolls. The dolls were not easily broken. The costumes designed for the dolls were of the finest materials and with explicit details. The Madame Alexander Doll Company survived during some very difficult economic times. Their survival was probably due mostly to Madame’s creativity and her non stop wish to make absolutely breathtakingly, beautiful dolls. She certainly accomplished this goal many times. Many of the vintage dolls created between the years of 1948 and 1965 are now worth anywhere from $300 to $2,500.
In 1954, eight Bible Characters were made, which are now considered to be the rarest of the 8” Madame Alexander dolls. The Bible Characters were made in extremely limited numbers. There is no information available to know exactly how many of these 8” Bible Characters were actually made. One of the first advertisement for the dolls appeared in a black and white Herald House in 1954.
Most of the Bible Characters were straight leg walkers. There were a few known to be straight leg non-walkers. They all have black eyes with no pupils except for Queen Esther who has dark brown eyes with no pupils. A Bible Character from this series today in mint condition is worth $4,500.00 to $10,000 each. The set includes:
• Joseph
• Rhoda
• Queen Esther
• Martha
• David
• Mary of Bethany
• Ruth
• Timothy
Madame Alexander was awarded the “Fashion Academy Gold Medal in 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1954 for the fashions designed for her dolls. The 1950s are referred to as the “golden era” of the Alexander Doll Company. These were the years the famous dolls of Cissy, Cissette, and Wendy were introduced and remain a major part of the Alexander Company line today. The Madame Alexander dolls made during the years of 1948 and 1965 are the some of the most sought after and expensive of all dolls.
The Madame Alexander Doll Company was sold to private investors in the year of 1988. It has been located at the same location in New York City since the 1950s. On 615 West 131st Street, you will find the showroom of the current Alexander line, the Heritage Gallery of vintage Alexander dolls, the Alexander Doll Hospital, and the factory store.
Some rare and most sought after dolls of the 1950s “golden era,” include:
• 1953 – 1954: Little Madaline, 8”, (Wendy Ann), in mint condition a value of $900 to $1,600
• 1954: Victoria 8”, Me and My Shadow Series, Blue taffeta dress, mint in box value of $1,3000 to $2,400
• 1954: Mary Louise, 8”, (Wendy Ann), Me and My Shadow Series, Godey period costume, mint in box, value of $1,500 to $2,400.
The above dolls and the eight Bible Characters is only a teeny, tiny portion of the rare and most sought after dolls made during the “golden era” period. They are all made with exquisite and detailed costumes, such beautiful little dolls, are the collections of the Madame Alexander Dolls.
Disclaimer: Vintage Doll Collecting is not associated with the Madame Alexander Doll Company. This article is for information only. We do not promote sales for Madame Alexander Doll Company or any other Vintage doll. Our website is designed to help a person begin collecting and maintaining a Vintage doll collection. All information in this article and the website is purely for educational purposes. We do not sell or promote any type of doll at Vintage Doll Collecting. It is a web site of Vintage Doll information and resources.
Written by: Connie Limon. For more information about starting and maintaining a Vintage Doll Collection visit http://smalldogs2.com/VintageDollCollecting For a variety of FREE reprint articles as well as special sections in U.S. History and the Kennedy Administration visit http://www.camelotarticles.com
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
The Madame Alexander Doll Company first began in 1923. Madame Beatrice Alexander and her husband, Phillip Behrman together formed the company.
The “Golden Era” of the Madame Alexander Doll Company
The Madame Alexander Doll Company first began in 1923. Madame Beatrice Alexander and her husband, Phillip Behrman together formed the company.
Beatrice Alexander born March 9, 1895 in Brooklyn, New York was the daughter of Maurice Alexander. Maurice Alexander owned the first doll hospital in America. In his doll hospital he repaired antiques and restored porcelain and bisque dolls. Beatrice witnessed many times how upset children were when their favorite doll broke. This may account for why Ms. Alexander’s earliest dolls were all made of cloth, which would not break when dropped by the fragile hands of a child.
By the 1930s, the Madame Alexander Doll Company was making high quality composition dolls. The dolls were not easily broken. The costumes designed for the dolls were of the finest materials and with explicit details. The Madame Alexander Doll Company survived during some very difficult economic times. Their survival was probably due mostly to Madame’s creativity and her non stop wish to make absolutely breathtakingly, beautiful dolls. She certainly accomplished this goal many times. Many of the vintage dolls created between the years of 1948 and 1965 are now worth anywhere from $300 to $2,500.
In 1954, eight Bible Characters were made, which are now considered to be the rarest of the 8” Madame Alexander dolls. The Bible Characters were made in extremely limited numbers. There is no information available to know exactly how many of these 8” Bible Characters were actually made. One of the first advertisement for the dolls appeared in a black and white Herald House in 1954.
Most of the Bible Characters were straight leg walkers. There were a few known to be straight leg non-walkers. They all have black eyes with no pupils except for Queen Esther who has dark brown eyes with no pupils. A Bible Character from this series today in mint condition is worth $4,500.00 to $10,000 each. The set includes:
• Joseph
• Rhoda
• Queen Esther
• Martha
• David
• Mary of Bethany
• Ruth
• Timothy
Madame Alexander was awarded the “Fashion Academy Gold Medal in 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1954 for the fashions designed for her dolls. The 1950s are referred to as the “golden era” of the Alexander Doll Company. These were the years the famous dolls of Cissy, Cissette, and Wendy were introduced and remain a major part of the Alexander Company line today. The Madame Alexander dolls made during the years of 1948 and 1965 are the some of the most sought after and expensive of all dolls.
The Madame Alexander Doll Company was sold to private investors in the year of 1988. It has been located at the same location in New York City since the 1950s. On 615 West 131st Street, you will find the showroom of the current Alexander line, the Heritage Gallery of vintage Alexander dolls, the Alexander Doll Hospital, and the factory store.
Some rare and most sought after dolls of the 1950s “golden era,” include:
• 1953 – 1954: Little Madaline, 8”, (Wendy Ann), in mint condition a value of $900 to $1,600
• 1954: Victoria 8”, Me and My Shadow Series, Blue taffeta dress, mint in box value of $1,3000 to $2,400
• 1954: Mary Louise, 8”, (Wendy Ann), Me and My Shadow Series, Godey period costume, mint in box, value of $1,500 to $2,400.
The above dolls and the eight Bible Characters is only a teeny, tiny portion of the rare and most sought after dolls made during the “golden era” period. They are all made with exquisite and detailed costumes, such beautiful little dolls, are the collections of the Madame Alexander Dolls.
Disclaimer: Vintage Doll Collecting is not associated with the Madame Alexander Doll Company. This article is for information only. We do not promote sales for Madame Alexander Doll Company or any other Vintage doll. Our website is designed to help a person begin collecting and maintaining a Vintage doll collection. All information in this article and the website is purely for educational purposes. We do not sell or promote any type of doll at Vintage Doll Collecting. It is a web site of Vintage Doll information and resources.
Written by: Connie Limon. For more information about starting and maintaining a Vintage Doll Collection visit http://smalldogs2.com/VintageDollCollecting For a variety of FREE reprint articles as well as special sections in U.S. History and the Kennedy Administration visit http://www.camelotarticles.com
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved