Brand record
Doll
The Alexander Doll Company, later known as the Madame Alexander Doll Company, is an American maker of dolls for children and collectors. Founded in 1923, it began with cloth and composition dolls and later used plastics. Its products have included baby and play dolls, figures based on literature and historical subjects, international costume dolls, and fashion dolls. The company popularized sleep eyes and introduced the Jeannie walking doll in 1942. Its 2023 catalogue lists nurturing, play and collectible ranges, including Storyland, International and Cissette dolls.
- Founded
- 1923
- Countries
- United States
- Locations
- New York, USA
- Founders
- Beatrice Alexander Behrman
The story of Doll
Beatrice Alexander Behrman grew up above her stepfather’s doll hospital on New York’s Lower East Side, where china dolls were repaired. During the First World War, embargoes on German goods threatened the family business. Alexander proposed making cloth dolls modeled as Red Cross nurses, a more durable alternative for children’s play. In 1923, she founded a doll company and hired her sisters and neighbors to sew.
The company’s early dolls were made of cloth and composition; it later adopted plastics. Alexander developed dolls based on literature and international costumes, and popularized sleep eyes and rooted hair. In 1942 the company released Jeannie, one of the first walking dolls. In the early 1950s it produced a 36-doll group representing the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. A few years later, it introduced Cissy, identified by The Strong as an early American fashion doll.
The company’s 2023 catalogue marked the centenary of the Alexander Doll Company’s founding. It presented nurturing and play dolls alongside collectible Storyland, International and Cissette ranges. The catalogue describes the company as continuing the Madame Alexander brand.
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