1959 Madame Alexander Doll Gift From My Cousin

On June 19, 2020, I received this photo and the next in a text message from my cousin, which is captured below the second photo.

From my cousin's photos, I thought the doll was possibly a Madame Alexander Cissy and I looked forward to receiving it. The doll arrived in early July. After spraying the outside of the box with a Lysol-type disinfectant, the box was placed unopened on top of a stack of other unopened boxes. It was late July before I opened the box to discover the well-wrapped, well-preserved doll that is simply marked "Alexander" on the back of the head.

Googling "redhead Madame Alexander 1950s doll" and a combination of other search words related to the doll's physical attributes, I found a photo of a 14-inch Shari Lewis doll dressed similarly. Searching further, I found information about the 21-inch size made by Madame Alexander in 1959 (see the first link under Related Links). The doll is style #2430. Madame Alexander was granted a one-year license to make the 14- and 21-inch versions.

My 21-inch Shari is jointed in the usual five places. In addition, she has jointed knees. She still wears her original pearl earrings but is missing her pearl necklace. She also has the original pink fabric floral adornment to her hair that matches the flowers at the waist of her skirt. Her blouse and skirt are original. She arrived with one original stocking and gold shoe (not shown in my cousin's photos, but these are captured in one of my photos below).

Before taking her to my husband for restringing, I removed the clothes, surface washed the doll without getting the hair wet, covered the fabric flowers in the hair with two hair clips, wrapped the head with plastic wrap, placed the skirt of the dress flat, spot cleaned a couple of areas of the skirt, and placed two old-fashioned cast irons on several areas of the skirt to smooth out wrinkles without using heat. I feared using a heated iron would damage the delicate fabric.

My Initial Photos

After opening the box, I undressed the doll and took this first photo.

The gold metallic tulle lace dress has rose brocade ribbon trim at the neckline, bodice, and sleeves. I spot cleaned two small brown spots that removed easily with a damp cloth.

Her original yellow nylon slip, taffeta panties, one gold shoe, and one stocking are shown here.

A few areas of the skirt of the dress were wrinkled. I placed two cast irons over the wrinkled areas for a few days, moving them to different wrinkled areas as necessary. The weight of the cast irons helped smooth out the wrinkles. Steaming would work better.

After Cleaning

After washing all vinyl parts with mild soap and drying with a towel, I placed the doll on a hand towel for a day to allow all parts to air dry.

To prevent damage to the cloth flowers that adorn the upswept portion of her hair, I clamped two hair clips around the flowers.

I was worried that my husband might crush the flowers during the restringing process. So I protected the flowers with hair clips before asking him to do the restringing and without letting him know why the clip was in the hair.

To keep her hair in place, I wrapped plastic around the entire face and head before the restringing was done.

Restrung and Dressed

Shari Lewis poses proudly after the restringing was completed.

Shortly after the doll's shipping box was opened and I measured and identified her, I purchased new stockings from an eBay seller (see link under related links) and a pair of replacement shoes from another source.

The new stockings fit perfectly.

After putting the stockings on the doll, the original undies were replaced.

The elastic at the waist of the panties is stretched. As a quick fix, I folded the waist in the back. It is held in place with a piece of Scotch tape.

As I was preparing to put the half slip on the doll, I saw the tagged Madame Alexander label that includes the doll's name, Shari. I wasted time googling to determine her name when it was right under my nose all the while.

The yellow nylon slip has tulle underneath at the hemline.

Because the elastic is stretched at the waist of the slip, with the doll wearing it, I gathered the elastic in two places in the back and tacked it in place.

Shari now wears the original blouse, slip, undies, and new stockings.

Now she has on the skirt.

This photo illustrates the pink satin sash and the pink fabric flowers that embellish the waist of the dress.

The plastic wrap has been removed from her face and head. As illustrated, she has beautiful facial coloring and clear eyes.

The flowers that accent her hair can be seen in this photo. I added a hairpin on either side of the upswept section to lift it to the original position.

Shari will wear a pair of old store stock gold high-heels until a replica of her original elasticized shoes can be found.

Fully Dressed in Final Photos

Shari, a 21-inch vinyl doll by Madame Alexander has been restrung and dressed.

She poses here looking forward.

In this photo, she must be looking for her missing hand puppets Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Blue Dog.

Whose Doll Was It Anyway?

In her text, my cousin indicated the doll was probably her older sister's doll. This most likely is true since the younger of the three of us (the cousin who gave the doll to me) was born in 1958. That year her sister, Michelle, was five and probably six if she received the doll in 1959. Always mature for her age, my aunt probably felt she was old enough to take care of the doll. During the countless times I spent days, overnight, or weeks during the summer with my favorite cousins at the house on Caillet Street, I don't recall seeing this doll. I do recall Chatty Cathy and other doll friends that attended our tea parties where we used water for the tea we sipped from Michelle's child-size porcelain tea set.


About Shari Lewis

Born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz, Shari Lewis was an American puppeteer, ventriloquist, and children's entertainer. She had her own TV show from 1960 to 1963. I enjoyed seeing Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop on Captain Kangaroo. Later, I watched the Shari Lewis Show and enjoyed seeing Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop on several other shows in guest appearances during the early to mid-1960s. While I quickly outgrew Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, she continued performing until the 1990s. On August 2, 1998, Lewis succumbed to complications of viral pneumonia following a hysterectomy to treat uterine cancer.

Related Links

21-inch Shari Lewis - Worthpoint

Shari Lewis doll documented in the 1959 Madame Alexander catalog.

Stockings, tights, undies, leggings, etc. for dolls at Dollsecrets

Interesting Facts about Shari Lewis

Shari Lewis (Wikipedia)

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

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C-3PO x Barbie

After opening the Amazon shipping box, I was surprised to find C-3PO x Barbie enclosed in the original Mattel carton.

Purchased in May, C-3PO x Barbie arrived on June 5, 2020. I opened the shipping box on Friday, August 14, 2020. The doll, much to my surprise was still in the Mattel carton which was shipped in an Amazon box.

C-3PO x Barbie's Mattel carton provides the style number, GLY30-9993.

The top flap of the Mattel carton warns retailers in red bold print: DO NOT PUT ON SHELF BEFORE: 4-MAY/Mai-2020.

Because I have no immediate plans to remove the doll from the beautiful yellow-gold box and because it is difficult to photograph dolls inside the box, I took several photos of this Barbie that pays tribute to the Star Wars character, C-3PO.

The box has two side flaps which are held in place with a removable wide plastic translucent yellow band.

Barbie has curly honey blonde hair with highlights, the front of which is pulled up in a top knot held with a gold-tone ponytail holder. She wears C-3PO-inspired glasses.

This picture and the rest were taken with the plastic band removed and the side flaps opened.

One flap illustrates the Star Wars character, C-3PO. The other flap illustrates Barbie as C-3PO. Closer photos of the side flaps are below.

Barbie's liquid gold dress has organza underneath gold straps at the sleeves and a tease of organza is at the waist and on the sides of the skirt.

Barbie uses the Mbili head sculpt and ModelMuse body.

Barbie wears an elaborate gold choker. The bodice of the dress is embellished with gold sequins.

The sheer organza at the waist and sides of the skirt are better illustrated in this photo. She wears a bold C-3PO-inspired belt.

Her gold bangles extend to her elbows with dorsal hand ornamentation.

She wears gold knee-high boots. (A couple of her curls are on the bottom of the box.)

This is a closer shot of C-3PO's box flap illustration.

This final photo is a closer shot of Barbie's box flap illustration.

This Gold Label* doll designed by Robert Best comes with a doll stand and certificate of authenticity. The box year is 2019. Other than a couple of shed curls and the need for me to finger comb her hair (but I'd have to open the box to do that), I am very pleased with C-3PO x Barbie.

*No more than 20,000 dolls worldwide.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Angie's Treasures Doll Pins

Doll pins and angels by Angela M. Young of Angie's Treasures

These pins were offered to me by the seller (Angela M. Young of Angie's Treasures) on the very day that my doll-buying hiatus ended. How about that?  They were just in time.  I had seen images of some of Angela's other doll pins a couple of weeks before the offer, but I was determined not to break the promise to myself that I would stave off doll buying for the entire month of July until I completed a personal improvement project.

I wanted to share these very well-made, affordably-priced pins here and Angie's contact information in the event that someone is looking for unique doll items and/or gifts.

The pins have been removed from their cellophane packages.

The pins were beautifully presented in individual cellophane packages wrapped in tissue paper and bubble wrap. In the above photo, they have been removed from the cellophane envelope. Each pin has a round wooden faceless head, black pom-pom hair and each holds a Bible. They wear gold-tone earrings, necklaces, and each one has a purse made from the same fabric as the dress.

The pin backs are in the center of their backs.

Shown on the far right in the above photo, one of the three pins is an angel with gold wings. Their arms, legs, and feet are made with beads.

This one holds a black Bible and wears a beige caftan with mask-prints in the material. The head is medium brown.

A medium brown bead was used for the head of this one. The Bible is white. 

My camera did not capture the words, "Holy Bible" that are printed on the front of the black Bible this one holds. This one has a light brown head.

Completely handcrafted, they range in size from approximately 4-1/2 inches tall to 4-1/2 inches wide.

This is how they look when worn.

They are perfect wearable art, can be used as a collectible, or as a gift. Because there is no room for additional pins on my denim pin bag, I started a pin vest with the two I kept. The third one was a gift for a friend.

I found this denim vest at a thrift store several years ago for under $2. It was purchased for the sole purpose of starting a doll pin vest. Let the pinning continue.

This is a closer shot of the pin vest which contains pins by Angie's Treasures and a host of other doll artists.

These are some additional pins that Angela has made recently.

If interested in purchasing one or some of Angie's (doll pin) Treasures, contact her directly here.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!