Madame Alexander dolls

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Who

Beatrice Alexander, daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants in New York

When

1923

Where

New York, United States

Beatrice Alexander grew up above her stepfather's doll hospital on the Lower East Side and started making cloth dolls during the First World War, when German porcelain stopped arriving. Her company, founded in 1923, was the first to make dolls of literary characters, and the collectors' line is still produced.

Sources

Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.