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Overview
Immigrant
Roots
The
Doll Hospital
Career Beginnings
The
Alexander Doll Company
A
Shrewd Businesswoman
Expecting
the Best
An
Innovative Designer
Milestone
Creations
Doll
Philosophy
Gender
and Dolls
"The
First Lady of Dolls"
A
Generous Philanthropist
Later
Years
Legacy
Timeline
Bibliography
Artifacts
Alphabetically
Artifacts
Sorted by Source
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Timeline
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1895
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Born Bertha Alexander on March 9, to immigrant
Hannah Pepper, in New York
Step-father Maurice Alexander opens America's first
doll
hospital
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1912
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Graduates from Washington Irving High School,
New York
Marries Philip
Behrman
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1915
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Daughter
Mildred born
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c.1918
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Designs her first doll, a Red Cross Nurse, in
response to shortages of dolls caused by wartime
embargoes; sells
the dolls in parents' shop to bolster
family income
Gives birth to second child, who dies in
infancy
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c.1920
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Begins lifelong involvement with Women's
League for Palestine (later Women's
League for Israel); desire to earn money for the
League's efforts is a significant influence on
Alexander's decision to start her own business
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1923
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With a $1600 loan, founds
Alexander Doll Company; shortly
thereafter, moves production out of family kitchen
on the Lower
East Side
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c.1925
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At Alexander's demand, husband Philip
resigns his job and joins her at the
Doll Company
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1935
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Introduces Dionne
quintuplet dolls, which bring Alexander
Doll Company to the forefront of the toy world
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1936
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Fortune
Magazine features Madame Alexander
as one of three major doll manufacturers in
America
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1940s
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Pioneers
use of plastic for doll
manufacturing
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1951
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Wins
Fashion Academy Gold Medal Award for
"the ultimate in design beauty of dolls"; wins
again in 1952, 1953, and 1954
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1955
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Introduces Cissy,
the first full-figured, high-heeled fashion doll,
four years before Barbie
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1961
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Madame
Alexander Fan Club established (later
the Madame Alexander Doll Club); club membership
later reaches 12,000, reflecting dolls' emergence
as collectors' items
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1966
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Husband Philip Behrman dies
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1981
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Receives Distinguished Public Service Award from
the Anti-Defamation League, one of many
acknowledgements of her generous
philanthropic efforts
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1988
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Officially
retires and sells Alexander Doll
Company
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1990
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Dies on October 3 at age 95, in Palm Beach,
FL
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How to Cite This Page
For a bibliography:
Jewish Women's Archive. "JWA - Beatrice Alexander - Timeline." <http://jwa.org/exhibits/wov/alexander/tmline.html>.
For a footnote:
Jewish Women's Archive, "JWA - Beatrice Alexander - Timeline," <http://jwa.org/exhibits/wov/alexander/tmline.html>.
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