PLEASE NOTE BEACH HOUSE GIFT BOUTIQUE DOES NOT OFFER APPRAISALS AND DOES NOT PURCHASE FROM THE CONSUMER PERSONALLY OWNED MADAME ALEXANDER DOLLS OR MADAME ALEXANDER DOLL COLLECTIONS.
THE MADAME ALEXANDER BRAND PRODUCTS SOLD ON THIS SITE ARE RETIRED DOLL ISSUES AND ARE NOT WARRANTIED BY THE OWNER OF THE MADAME ALEXANDER DOLL BRAND.
Madame Alexander dolls are highly sought-after and are known “as the most beautiful dolls in the world!” If you see one or own one of their older versions, you will know why. At Beach House Gift Boutique, we offer a large selection of old Madam Alexander dolls that have been kept in their boxes, never displayed, and are in “like new condition.” These are rare, retired Madame Alexander dolls. Plus, when you buy a collectible Madame Alexander doll, you get a doll stand! Find your favorite doll for your collection or for a meaningful gift.
Discover classic, rare, and themed Madame Alexander dolls to add to your collection, or discover historical cloth, play, and baby Madame Alexander dolls at The Beach House Gift Boutique!
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Where did Madame Alexander dolls come from? Madame Beatrice Alexander, the woman whom the dolls and the company are named after, started her work in the doll world in her father’s doll hospital. She then, wanting to create a doll that didn’t break and make little girls cry, created her first doll: a nurse cloth doll in 1918. This represented her being a doll hospital nurse. In 1923, she founded the company factory in New York City. It was a man’s world at the time, but Madame Alexander soon gained recognition and many Fashion Academy gold awards for the ultimate design in beautiful dolls. She and her dolls became famous!
The heart of the collectible Madame Alexander doll is the 8-inch Madame Alexander doll. The 8” Alexander-kin and then the 8” Wendy doll (named after her granddaughter, Wendy) was introduced in the 1950s as a play doll. It was intended for girls to buy extra doll clothes and furniture to play with her. The Alexander Wendy had a sweet round face, open-and-close eyes, joints to easily move her arms and legs for outfit changes, and was made of unbreakable, hard plastic. She was a doll a child could love forever. Because she was so loveable and had outstanding detail and beautiful quality, the 8” vintage Madame Alexander dolls began to be collected and displayed in the early 60s, not just played with.
As demand for the 8” Madame Alexander dolls grew, The Alexander company started producing many themes to collect 8-inch Madame Alexander dolls. Some of the most collected Alexander series are International Countries Foreign Lands dolls, Americana dolls, Storyland dolls, Nursery Rhymes dolls, Ballerina dolls, Fairy dolls, Disney dolls, Christmas dolls, Hollywood TV and Movie dolls, Famous Character dolls, Little Women dolls, Gone With The Wind dolls, and Wizard Of Oz dolls. There also was an 8” boy doll added to the line, named after her grandson Billy. Many of the doll series needed boy character dolls to complete the doll set.
The rarest vintage Madame Alexander doll is the 21” Cissy doll that was created as the ultimate fashion doll in 1955. She was introduced as the first full-figured doll. Cissy wore high heels, jewelry, hats, gloves, and layers of clothes with fancy undergarments. Many times, the company produced a matching shadow of Cissy in an 8-inch Madame Alexander doll size and sometimes a 10” Cissette doll size. But, the Cissy doll remained outstanding in size and was produced in fewer editions, making her harder to find. She has become a beautiful piece of art to display at home or in doll museums. She will always be a fashion statement doll
The 10” Cissette Madame Alexander, also known as the 10” Portrette, is the second most collectible Madame Alexander doll, right behind the number one 8-inch Madame Alexander doll. She is a smaller version of the Cissy doll with a woman's body. She could wear high heels and fashionable clothes, and Cissette was more affordable than Cissy. Thus, many doll series added a Cissette size doll, so most doll collectors would collect both the 8” and 10” dolls.
Vintage Madame Alexander dolls also have collectible and playable baby dolls. The most well-known is the Baby Huggums doll, a 12” baby doll that is baby-safe, lightweight, and has a molded bald head like a real baby. Babies are attracted to hold and cuddle these baby dolls. The Madame Alexander Huggums were offered in many different doll clothes and designs. Also in the vintage baby doll series was the Baby Pussycat which came in 16”, 18”, and 21” sizes. Pussycat was a toddler with hair to comb and pretty dresses to change her clothes. The baby Victoria doll was a larger version of the Baby Huggums doll for an older child. Then, a Newborn Nursery line was created with Lee Middleton doll molds. This was a lifelike doll that was weighted to simulate a real baby.
The company also produced a large number of Madame Alexander cloth dolls, sometimes of famous characters, like Angelina Ballerina, Alice In Wonderland, Fancy Nancy dolls, Wizard Of Oz, Eloise dolls, Madeline dolls, Raggedy Ann, Strawberry Shortcake, and Pinkalicious dolls which are collectible vintage Madame Alexander dolls. They also made fun cloth dolls for play in cute little girl styles with different hair colors that girls love, like purple, blue, and pink hair. You can explore more cloth dolls and plush toys here.
Madam Alexander added to their play doll line 9” Travel Friends dolls, which are soft, vinyl dolls to take with you wherever you go. Also, the Alexander 18” Favorite Friends play dolls were designed to compete with the American Girl doll line. Favorite Friends were larger dolls that were playmates for older girls and had extra doll clothes, shoes, wigs, furniture, trunks, and doll accessories to make playing with their dolls fun. All of these vintage Madame Alexander dolls are collectible dolls, too.
At Beach House Gift Boutique, we have a Madame Alexander doll specialist available who knows the history of the Alexander dolls and which among them are the most collectible dolls. There are many dolls that were overproduced and are not collectible anymore. Sometimes a doll may look the same, but it is not. There could be a variation in a fabric or something else that makes it different. We specialize in the vintage Madame Alexander dolls that were produced in limited editions and all 8-inch Madame Alexander dolls that are rare and hard to find. These are special dolls that hold their collectible value.
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