Early Alice and Wonderland Dolls
Although I’m quite sure that there were Alice and Wonderland dolls made prior to the 1920s, the earliest Alice and Wonderland dolls that I am aware of are made by Madame Alexander and Martha Chase in the 1920s. Some of the very first dolls made by Madame Alexander were Alice in Wonderland cloth dolls. Madame Alexander handmade these dolls at the very start of her company 1n 1923; they sold for about $14.00 per dozen to stores. If you can find one today, they can sell for many hundreds of dollars. Another early documented set of Alice in Wonderland dolls are the wonderful, whimsical Alice and Wonderland dolls made by Martha Chase. Also circa the early 1920s, a set of four Alice in Wonderland dolls (Alice, The Mad Hatter, the Duchess, and one Frog Footman) from the estate of doll dealer Richard Wright sold at a Skinner auction recently for $40,000. These Martha Chase Alice dolls were made with painted stockinette heads. Although Alice is the character most often made into dolls, many artists and companies have also made the Queen of Hearts, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and others into dolls, producing some spectacular doll sets.
Vintage Alice and Wonderland Dolls
Many American companies made Alice and Wonderland dolls from the 1930s through the rest of the 20th Century. Nancy Ann Storybook is one company that made Alice dolls for many years, first in bisque and later in Hard Plastic. These dolls were part of their popular Storybook Series. Other makers that made Alice in Wonderland Alice dolls included Arranbee, American Character, Mary Hoyer, and Effanbee (I have one of these dolls from the 1970s). Madame Alexander continued to make Alice dolls throughout the 20th Century, in hard plastic as well as vinyl; Madame Alexander has mad e several other Alice dolls into characters including the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit. and others into dolls, producing some spectacular doll sets.
Alice in Wonderland Dolls After 2000
Thanks to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, there has been a real resurgence in the production of Alice in Wonderland dolls, especially in the few years leading up to and just after its release in 2010. Several companies, including Tonner Dolls and Mattel, made licensed Tim Burton Alice dolls (they tend to look older than the Storybook Alice and resemble the actress that played Alice in the movie, Mia Wasikowska. The license Mad Hatter dolls resembled Johnny Depp as the character, including very detailed Mad Hatter outfits from the movie. Both Tonner Dolls an Mattel have released several well-received Alice doll sets in the past (one of the Mattel Barbie as Alice sets is pictured above). Nearly every artist and doll manufacturer has produced Alice dolls lately; in fact, my own, collection of Alice dolls got started around this time.
My Personal Interest In Alice in Wonderland Dolls
Honestly, I’ve never been a huge fan of the Alice in Wonderland books and movies. I liked them well enough, but the dolls never did much for me. Several years ago, however, my son Alex played the White Rabbit, and my daughter Katie played the Doormous in a local Alice in Wonderland production . I started to look at Alice dolls a little more closely then, but still wasn’t collecting them. Then, in 2009, my daughter was cast as Alice in a much larger production of Alice which performed at a local university. This was at the time of the crazy production of Alice dolls due to the Tim Burton movie. I couldn’t help myself…I started picking up various Alice dolls, and I started to truly appreciate them. Right now, I have a display of Alice dolls from companies and artists including Nancy Latham, Nancy Wiley, Madame Alexander, Tonner Dolls, and others, displayed with a photo of my daughter in the iconic Alice pinafore outfit. Which is truly nostalgic for me right now, since my daughter recently dyed her hair brunette to play Gabriella in High School Musical!
