Doll
Object number2016.99.1 a-v
Manufacturer
Alexander Doll Company, Inc.
Date1958
OriginNew York, NY
MediumPlastic; Fabric; Metal; Rubber; Paper; Adhesive; Paperboard; Ink; String
Credit LineGift of Susan Welsh Stevens
DescriptionDoll with original accessories and box.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth (a): 9.75 × 6 × 3.625 in. (24.8 × 15.2 × 9.2 cm)Length x Width x Depth (b): 5.25 × 1.75 × 2 in. (13.3 × 4.4 × 5.1 cm)
Length x Width x Depth (c): 5.375 × 1.75 × 2 in. (13.7 × 4.4 × 5.1 cm)
Length x Width x Depth (d): 7.25 × 1.875 × 2.125 in. (18.4 × 4.8 × 5.4 cm)
Length x Width x Depth (e): 8 × 1.75 × 2.125 in. (20.3 × 4.4 × 5.4 cm)
Height x Width x Length (f): 0.875 × 1.188 × 2.375 in. (2.2 × 3 × 6 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (g): 5.313 × 1.75 × 1 in. (13.5 × 4.4 × 2.5 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (h): 5.25 × 1.75 × 1.125 in. (13.3 × 4.4 × 2.9 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (i): 3.25 × 1.5 × 0.75 in. (8.3 × 3.8 × 1.9 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (j): 3.25 × 1.5 × 0.75 in. (8.3 × 3.8 × 1.9 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (k): 10.25 × 1.563 × 0.25 in. (26 × 4 × 0.6 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (l): 10.25 × 1.563 × 0.25 in. (26 × 4 × 0.6 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (m - open): 1 × 3.25 × 2.375 in. (2.5 × 8.3 × 6 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (m - closed): 1 × 2.875 × 0.75 in. (2.5 × 7.3 × 1.9 cm)
Length x Width (n): 4 × 2 in. (10.2 × 5.1 cm)
Length x Width (o): 4 × 2 in. (10.2 × 5.1 cm)
Length x Width x Depth (p): 17.25 × 13 × 4 in. (43.8 × 33 × 10.2 cm)
Length x Width x Depth (q): 16.188 × 4.875 × 3.625 in. (41.1 × 12.4 × 9.2 cm)
Length x Width x Depth (r): 16 × 4.375 in. (40.6 × 11.1 cm)
Length x Width x Depth (s): 4.25 × 2.688 × 1.813 in. (10.8 × 6.8 × 4.6 cm)
Length x Width x Depth (t): 4.625 × 2.75 × 1.313 in. (11.7 × 7 × 3.3 cm)
Length x Width x Depth (u): 16.25 × 7.375 × 3.625 in. (41.3 × 18.7 × 9.2 cm)
Height x Width (v): 7.5 × 6 in. (19.1 × 15.2 cm)
Inscriptions(p)
Inside box lid has text including:
“Marybel / THE DOLL THAT GETS WELL”,
“Look Mommy- / I’m Well / Again!!”,
“I need crutches / and I must wear a cast / ‘cause I broke my leg / riding Pony too fast”,
“I caught chicken-pox / from my friend Bella / When you have chicken-pox / your spots are yellow”,
“I broke my arm / when I stumbled and fell / Now I wear a cast / to make it well”,
“I have the measles / and my spots are red / But I’ll soon be well / if I stay in bed”, and
“DEAR PARENTS- / Illness of any kind can be an especially disturbing / experience for children. They need the greatest un- / derstanding of all the fears that beset them. Whether / at home or in a hospital, MADAME ALEXANDER be- / lieves that MARYBEL, The Doll That Gets Well, will / be comforting therapy. / Bandages, casts, crutches, spots and band-aids can all be used by the child in her make-believe play / world of a doll who is ill and gets well”.
Marks(a)
Back of doll has imprinted text at back center “MME / 19©58 / ALEXANDER”.
(b)
Raised number on shoulder opening “1”.
(c)
Raised number on shoulder opening “10”.
(d)
Raised number on hip opening “17”.
(e)
Raised number on hip opening “28”.
(h)
Raised text on back at top “PAT. PEND.”
(j)
Raised text on back at top “PAT. PEND.”
(k-l)
Each crutch has raised text on one side near bottom “PAT. PEND.”
(m)
Text on inside of each arm “MADE IN FRANCE”.
(p)
Inside of lid has black printed text along the bottom “ALEXANDER DOLL COMPANY, INC. NEW YORK, NY / PATENT / PENDING”.
(s)
Imprinted number on exterior of one short side “2”.
(t)
Imprinted number on exterior of one short side “2”.
(v)
Fabric tag inside with blue embroidered text “Marybel / © MADAME ALEXANDER / REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. N. Y. U.S.A.”
Historical NotesThe Marybel doll, was made by the famous Madame Alexander New York doll maker. She claimed she has always wanted to make a doll that is sick and gets well as she had grown up helping her father mend dolls. The doll was made in the late 1950s, and some of the appeal may have come from children who had suffered from polio and now had braces. Susan (Sue) Welsh Stevens was born in Homestead, PA. Sue received her Marybel doll as a Christmas gift in 1959, when she was six years old. In her own words, “As a child, I was fascinated by her casts and crutches because I had never known anyone who used them. But most of all, I was intrigued by the chicken pox and measles “spots” that were included with the doll. I’d had a bad case of the chicken pox earlier that December. I liked to put the “spots” on Marybel so that she would look like I had. She was so special to me because she was different from my other dolls. I took extra special care of her.”
Previous owner
Susan Welsh Stevens
On View
Not on view
Mrs. Day's Ideal Baby Shoe Company, Inc.
