Out of the Box: Canada & India (Madame Alexander's Little Women/International Friends)

Madame Alexander's "India" and "Canada"

I'm actually not the only toy collector in my family - I have an aunt who has a fairly extensive collection of vintage and antique play-type dolls.  I've always been fascinated by her collection, but was always a little creeped out by the Madame Alexanders.  Something about the setting of the eyes always made me feel that they were watching me with great disapproval.

Canada.  She looks tough, doesn't she?

Despite feeling like they're frowning at me, I have occasionally thought that I  might enjoy adding one or two of the dolls to my own collection, but was frequently turned off by the prices (which can start fairly low, but are really all over the map).  Since I wasn't a huge fan, I didn't feel the
drive to put in the effort that would be involved in researching the prices and conditions of the dolls, and so put off picking any of them up.  Until this past June, when I came across not one, but two low-priced and reasonably cute dolls from the smaller-sized International Dolls line from the 1970s: Canada and India.

Both dolls are in quite good condition, with complete (and clean) outfits and bodies that can still stand on their own.   The India doll included her original wrist-tag and booklet (although she came in the wrong box), while the Canada doll still had her original packaging.

India.  She has a skeptical expression.

The dolls stands around 20cm (just under 8 inches) and has 5 points of articulation (hips, shoulders, and neck) and "sleeping" eyes.  The outfits are nicely detailed for dolls of this size (the India doll has a light blue sari-inspired dress with a gold metallic trim, while the Canada doll has an interestingly-patterned Acadian-style dress with a satin-type apron).

I don't know that I'll add more of these dolls to my collection (although I'll confess to being tempted by the more recent "New Zealand" and "South Africa" releases), but  I've been very pleased with this pair, even if they do look a little out of place with the rest of my collection.