Madame Alexander Dolls

Alexander 18” cloth dolls came about during the first World War.   Before World War I Beatrice, known as “Madame Alexander” parents ran a successful doll hospital.

Many of the dolls that filled Maurice Alexander’s (Beatrice Dad) shop and hospital came from Germany, and Hannah and Maurice’s livelihood was soon threatened by Allied embargoes of German goods.

That’s when Beatrice and her sister determined not to allow their parents business to fail, quickly decided to produce cloth dolls.

Inspired by the women involved in the war effort, she chose a Red Cross Nurse for her model. Under Beatrice’s exacting but effective direction, the Alexander sisters gathered around their parents’ kitchen table to sew the cloth dolls, which then flew off the shelves of Maurice’s store and saved the family business.

This cloth Fancy Nancy doll is 18 inches tall.

• She is based on the character from the book by Jane O’ Connor, and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser.
• Her wild red yarn hair is decorated with bows, butterflies, a crown, and other “fancy” stuff!
• She is wearing a bright colorful dress, with lots of sparkles, glitter and glitz!
• Her pink sunglasses are her special trade mark.

The renowned dollmaker Madame Alexander based this 18-inch cloth doll on the original Strawberry Shortcake character, who first appeared in the 1980s. Since then, Strawberry Shortcake has reappeared in updated iterations, but this Madame Alexander doll retains the original pink, strawberry-topped hat, the red dress with its white apron, and most notably, the signature green-and-white striped tights.

Cloth play doll, A true classic

Raggedy Andy with all the lovely quality of Madame Alexander .

• A true classic
• Dressed in denim pants with felt buttons, a plaid shirt with a white collar, black tie and red and white striped legs
• A cloth play doll

The Holly Hobbie Collection has a new addition - Holly in an 18″ cloth doll. She is wearing her traditional patchwork dress and blue bonnet. She has straight, light brown yarn hair and a hand-painted face. She is a cloth doll, and is 18 inches. She is a great playable doll, and is safe for all ages.

Click Here To See More Coth Dolls

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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 18th, 2009 at 9:24 pm and is filed under Doll Collectibles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.