Collectible Lenci Dolls were Madame Alexander’s Inspiration

Many of us have heard of Madame Alexander dolls, which are very collectible, but few of us realize that a lot of the inspiration for these dolls came from Elana Scavini and her creation, the Lenci doll. Scavini and her husband started their doll company as early as 1918 in Turin, Italy and became a huge success throughout the world. Although all Lenci dolls are valuable as a collectible, the ones made in the early 20’s and 30’s are the most sought after.

Lenci dolls were very well designed and constructed. Lenci dolls were made of felt and had faces that were painted with oil based paints. Usually the ears were sewn on individually and were made of double felt. What is interesting about these dolls is that they were jointed in such a way that the heads, shoulders and hips swiveled and then they were dressed very finely and elaborately dressed. The dolls also usually feature eyes that look off to the side.

Because the Lenci dolls are made of felt, condition problems may occur which will affect the bottom line of the doll as a collectible. Many of their earlier dolls whose clothing were also made of felt and sewn directly onto the doll are in the worst condition because the clothing is not removable. The Lenci-Dolls.net offers 12 Tips for Cleaning and Care of Lenci Dolls.

Beatrice Alexander - Madame Alexander Dolls

Beatrice Alexander grew up in the ghettos of Brooklyn, New York of Russian parents. In 1923, she started what was to become the Alexander Doll Company. Initially, Beatrice was influenced by the Lenci Dolls and their creator Elena Scavini. It is believed that she was so much taken with Elena and her dolls that Mrs. Alexander took on the name of Madame because Elena tended to call herself Madame Lenci.

In the 1920’s, Madame Alexander’s husband Philip took over the operation of the business so that Madame could concentrate mainly on the designing and accessorizing of the dolls. Toy store operator FAO Schwartz was one of Madame Alexander’s first customers and remains one today. If you look up FAO Schwartz on the Internet today, you will notice that they have a whole section devoted exclusively to Madame Alexander Dolls.

Madame Alexander borrowed many of her designs from movies of the period such as Alice in Wonderland, Little Women and later Gone With The Wind. In fact, Disney and Madame Alexander Doll Company are still partners to this day. However, Madame also based some of her dolls on her own family. One of her most popular lines, the Wendy Ann, was named after her granddaughter and the William was named after grandson William Birnbaum.

NOVA-Antiques Newsletter Archive November 3, 2005 . . . .