Customer Reviews

Madame Alexander Dolls, An American Legend (Robert Campbell Rowe Book)

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This book is excellent! I found the life of Madame Alexander very interesting and read this book from cover to cover. I hated to put it down. If it were not for Madame Alexander we might not know Scarlett O'Hara or Barbie as we know them today. We have a lot to thank her for...you will be amazed! I also enjoyed the photographs of the dolls. Lia Sargent, the leading expert on pre 1965 Madame Alexander dolls did an outstanding job on this book also. The photographs and photo captions show Lia's work is perfection..something Madame Alexander would be proud of. This book will be loved by generations to come. Doll collector or not, this book will leave you saying "WOW"!!!!

Photos of many dolls in outfits never seen before.All in color.So you can identify your Alexander doll or hunt for that particular doll. This should make Madame Alexander dolls go up in value.

The photos of Lia Sargent's dolls in this book are, indeed, beautiful, but the real draw is the way Ms. Finnegan, the author of the book, relates Alexander's life to what was going on in the world at the same time. Wonderful historical perspective, which is very unusual in a doll book!

BEAUTIFUL BOOK! WONDERFUL PICTURES! IT WAS GREAT HOW MANY SCARLETT O'HARA DOLLS THERE WERE! BUT THIS BOOK COSTS TOO MUCH, IT SHOULD COME IN PAPERBACK!

I do like this book- the photos are great- and the history of the company and of Madame Alexander is very well done. The only problem I have with it is that the Alexander company produced so many beautiful dolls over the years- and the book seemed to concentrate on the 1950's hard plastic dolls. I felt like it failed to show as many of the earlier dolls other than a couple here and there. I would have loved to see an extensive compiliation of the dolls such as the early cloth dolls and the composition dolls- there were so many and in such wonderful costumes. While I love the 1950's hard plastic dolls- for the money it just wasn't as complete as it could have been in my opinion.

Born in 1895 in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, Madame Beatrice Alexander was the daughter of Russian immigrants who rose to become America's premier doll maker. As a child she was known as Bertha, but soon took what she considered to be a more socially acceptable name - Beatrice. This name change was but a harbinger of her determination to excel, to rise above what she considered to be humble surroundings.

Her story is well documented and lavishly illustrated in this keepsake volume. Included are numerous full-color photos of the famous Alexander dolls.

Early on Madame Alexander adored her step-father, Maurice,emulating his love of doll making and doll repairing. He is responsible for this country's first doll hospital located on the Lower East side of New York City. The family lived above this business.

With the outbreak of World War I and America's ban on German goods, including the dolls which were the family's best sales items, it seemed their business was doomed. But Beatrice and her sisters would not accept this. They put their heads together to try to determine how to make dolls without porcelain or kilns. The answer was, of course, cloth toys. Their first success was a Red Cross Nurse doll. Beatrice was the creative member of this team, coming up with ideas and issuing instructions on making her concepts a reality.

Building upon their success the Alexander Doll company moved to a large space in the late 1920s. It was not long before their efforts were rewarded with an order from FAO Schwarz.

The Alexander Alice In Wonderland doll debuted in 1930. Today, in an updated incarnation, Alice is still one of their most popular items. There were soon Scarlet O'Hara dolls, bride dolls, Queen Elizabeth II dolls, Eloise dolls, and more.

Today, the original issues of many dolls are prized items in collections throughout the world.

"Alex" is among the latest creations - she's a very modern miss in an extravagant gold gown or capris and crop top. Her wardrobe is extensive as is her following. But, to many, a Madame Alexander doll is the Mercedes of toys.