This might be my favorite Mme. Alexander doll. It is a 12 in. Lissy, 1959 – 1966, found in her original dress. She has a hard plastic teen-age body, flat feet and glued on wig. It would be fun sewing outfits for her but I could never match the perfection of this two-piece original.
Madame Alexander was among the many companies making the large fashion dolls and their smaller 10.5 in. versions in the 1950s and 1960s. I do not have the 20 in. hard plastic Cissy of 1955 – 1962 but do have some smaller 10.5 in. Cissettes. On the right is the 1968 Godey. On the left is the 1962 Jacqueline.
A hard, plastic 18 in. Madame Alexander walking doll like this is a lucky find at a flea market. She dates from about 1953. Besides making the outfit, I had to replace part of her eyelash using a bit of unraveled black velvet ribbon. The Margaret face mold was used for this doll.
In the early 1950’s, to compete with the popular Ginny by Vogue, Madame Alexander produced an 8 in. Wendy doll. This is a 1960’s Wendy in Sewing Basket, an F.A.O. Schwarz special. It came with a 7 in. hard plastic Wendy doll, sewing supplies, and pre-cut clothing with instructions.
When mother bought me a Madame Alexander Little Genius cloth and composition baby doll I had a feeling that, at age 12, I was getting too old to play with dolls. So she was never played with and remains in perfect shape.
This is the 8 in. Tiny Betty (1943) I received in the 1940s. By using different hair and clothes, this doll mold was used to make many cute characters like Carmen Miranda. Can you see the resemblance?
Carmen Miranda
I went on to receive additional Madame Alexander composition dolls. One was a 14 in. Alice in Wonderland (1946). Her blue dress has faded a little over the years.
In the 1940s, my sisters gave me two 13 in. composition dolls McGuffey Ana and Flora McFlimsey, with wardrobe. These dolls were so beautifully dressed that I kept them that way. Both had human hair wigs. Flora was a redhead with freckles.
Madame Beatrice Alexander 1895-1990 was primarily a fashion designer and her doll clothes were perfection. To this day the Madame Alexander label means excellence.
Carmen Miranda
Sometime in the 1940s I received three Madame Alexander dolls. My brother, soon to be drafted into the Army, gave me a 7 in. composition Carmen Miranda doll. The real Carmen was a popular singer, dancer, and comedienne in the movies.
