If You're Serious About Small Vintage Dolls, This book is a Must-Have:
MADAME ALEXANDER DOLLS
Alex head-turning walker in ethnic outfit
photo: Ebay listing Made in 1953 only, the Mme Alexander Quiz-Kin doll looks just like Wendy, but a device in back makes her shake or nod her head in response to questions - similar to the Block "Answer" doll.
Madame Alexander dolls are alive and well today! photo: Ebay listing Here's Wendy in a dinosaur costume from 1993.
photo: Ebay listing The Little Women series has always been a hot collectible category! Madame Alexander's favorite book as a child was Louisa May Alcott's Little Women
Zendelle Bouchard's FASHIONABLE LADIES website focuses on the teen and young woman fashion dolls of all sizes (includes Mme Alexander, American Character, Beehler Arts, Belle, Citro, Cosmopolitan, Dee and Cee, Deluxe Reading, Eegee, Horsman, Ideal, Kaysam-Jolly, Uneeda, & Valentine)
photo: Ebay listing Typical Back Marking. Others are marked "Alexander."
Madame Alexander introduced her 8-inch Wendy/Alexander-Kins in 1953.
Together with Ginny, this is one of the few dolls of this type that have been continuously produced since the 1950's into the modern era.
The Madame Alexander dolls still have the wonderfully detailed and durable hard plastic head, and are widely collected today.
The Madame Alexander 8-inch size dolls are called Wendy, Wendy-Kins, Wendy Ann, Alex, Alexander-Kins, Little Genius; The many names are often used interchangeably. Before 1955, they had straight legs and came in both walker and non-walker models; After 1956-57, they have bendable knees and are head-turning walkers.
photo from a 1983 Doll Reader
Who was Madame Alexander?
No, not British royalty, but an American Queen of doll-making. She was born in 1895 in Brooklyn, New York. Although she herself never owned or played with a doll as a child (she says her 3 younger sisters took the place of dolls), she gained an admiration for them through her father's antique-repair business.
She began her doll company in 1923, with a $1600 loan. Her goal was to provide some financial security for her family, since her husband worked for a hat factory, and she felt that the future of the hat business was tenuous. (she was largely correct)
She also wanted to use some of her earnings to help a charity she helped found, Keren Harpod, which helped young working women find better jobs or recuperate from work-related injuries and illnesses.
Her doll business gradually grew to be a dominant force in the American toy industry.
Her philosophy for success? "I believe that if you use the best ingredients to bake a cake, one can expect good results."
Thanks to John Axe and Doll Reader for these facts about Mme Alexander's life.
Here are some more really good books about Madame Alexander dolls, which you can order right here:
