October 12, 2025, Meeting

Jan Irsfeld gave a program on goddesses, celestial, movie, and royal, using examples from her collection of Cissy dolls by Madame Alexander. She explained that Madame Alexander was fascinated by powerful and successful women. Peeking out in the far left corner is a Cissy, dressed by Jan, representing  Hatshepsut, a female pharaoh who reigned in the fifteenth century B.C.E.; she qualifies as a goddess because the pharaohs were considering living deities. The dolls on the table represent more modern goddesses of the silver screen. Starting from the left, the luscious lady in white represents Hollywood, while the others are Madame Alexander's  interpretation of actual actresses; Grace Kelly in icy blue, Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, Marilyn Monroe, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Elizabeth Taylor models a hand-beaded gown designed by Jan.

Alexander also created many queens. This is an all-original Queen Elizabeth II.

Elizabeth I is represented by a Cissy dressed in authentic Elizabethan garb by Jan. Next to her is "Royal Reception" by Alexander.

French queen Marie Antoinette in her original bejeweled and embroidered gown by Alexander.

In opera, a "diva" is a celebrated female singer, and the word is derived from the Italian for goddess or divine. This Cissy represents Madame Butterfly from the famous opera by Giacomo Puccini.

However, this sassy swashbuckler is more devilish than divine. . . .

Jan shared two more scintillating Cissy dolls, including this flamboyant flapper. . . 

. . . and her favorite Cissy, reduced nude from an Austin doll shop, whom Jan has since restored and elevated to a goddess.

Elaine Jackson shared this wooden Hitty, currently the queen of her Hitty House, carved by member Elaine McNally. 

Jenell Howell brought this goddess of the night, Evangeline Ghastly by Robert Tonner.

David Craig had an earlier example of the eerily beautiful Evangeline. 

Another Tonner doll belonging to David is Ellowyne Wilde, ready for trick or treating in a Halloween outfit made for her by a friend of David's.

Bette Birdsong brought another movie goddess, a Gene doll designed by Mel Odom. In keeping with the season, Jenell shared this Sasha in fall colors.

Sharon Weintraub displayed a trio of little bisque fairies by the German firm of Hertwig and Company, noting that fairies were the subjects the fairy queen and the elfin court.

She also shared this bewitching bisque witch. Witches were thought to worship Hecate. Hecate was originally a Greek goddess, who was the protector of liminal spaces and borders, such as thresholds and doors, and was associated with the night, the moon, and magic. 

Myrna Loesch displayed this doll dress created by the Milwaukee Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). The W.P.A., which operated from 1939 to 1942, provided work and job training for thousands of unemployed Americans during the Great Depression. While the W.P.A. created large public works such as roads, parks, and schools, it also operated handicraft projects aimed at teaching women skills such as sewing. The Milwaukee W.P.A. handicraft project produced dolls designed to be used as teaching materials in schools, as well as for children in hospitals or as Christmas gifts for children on the relief rolls. This dress was designed to be worn by a cloth doll.

 

Devotion

The Florence Nightengale pledge is a statement of the ethics and principles of the nursing profession and a version is often recited at nursing graduation ceremonies. In the final line of the original 1893 oath, the nurse pledges that, "I shall be loyal to my work and devoted towards the welfare of those committed to my care." In these days of the coronavirus pandemic, nurses all over the world have proven their extraordinary loyalty and devotion to the high tenets of their calling. As part of our club's virtual doll meeting, this blog hopes in some small way to acknowledge and honor the the nurses on the front lines of the epidemic, working long hours, often scrounging for necessary supplies, and even putting themselves at risk in order to care for their patients.

This lovely lady of the lamp belongs to member Bette Birdsong. She is Gene Marshall, 15.5-inch tall fashion doll introduced by Mel Odom in 1995.  Gene's backstory is that she is an actress during Hollywood's golden age, and she comes with meticulously-created outfits, costumes, and accessories based on fashions from the 1930s through the 1950s.  This Gene doll is wearing a nursing outfit based on a picture featured in 1943 Coca-Cola calendar.

This trio of nurse dolls is from the collection of member Sylvia McDonald. The little girl in red is "Doll Hospital Nurse" by the famed company of Madame Alexander. The 8-inch tall doll was introduced in 2002 and holds her own tiny patient. The center nurse doll is from Poland and is made from wood. The final doll is "Gift of Life" Ginny introduced in 2001 by Vogue Dolls. Vogue made a donation for each doll purchased to the Gift of Life, a nonprofit organization that raises funds to bring children to the United States for heart surgery

Another Alexander doll, this "Nurse Wendy" belongs to member Ann Meier. In 1953, the company introduced an 8-inch tall hard plastic little girl doll called Wendy-Ann, named after Madame Alexander's granddaughter. This doll was renamed Wendy in 1954 and became a beloved staple of the Madame Alexander line.