1938 Madame Alexander Snow White Marionettes

A series of Snow White marionettes were produced in 1938 by doll manufacturer Madame Alexander. The figures have composition heads, hands, and feet with fabric outfits. They stand between 9" (dwarfs) to 12" (princess) and come with wooden controllers and strings. The collection included 12 marionettes: Snow White, Seven Dwarfs, Queen, Witch, Prince, and Huntsman. (Four other Disney characters were also made.) A sewn cloth tag on each includes the character's name plus the Madame Alexander copyright.

Snow White

Original Snow White box and fabric drawstring storage bag (with tag).

Prince

Dwarfs

Original Seven Dwarfs Boxes.

Witch

Witch images via jaredclacorte.

Original box and storage bag.

Queen

Huntsman

Snow White, Huntsman, and Queen original boxes.

Each figure came with a 16-page Walt Disney's Marionette Plays booklet which contains three scripted performances. The longest is for Snow White. Two shorter scripts ("Mickey's Mix-Up" and "Donald's Disaster") are for the other Disney marionettes--Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Pluto.

Images via Hakes + Heritage.

Snow White and the dwarfs were listed in a 1939 toy catalog. The princess was $3.65, the dwarfs $3.20 each. A Mickey's Marionette Theatre set was also available (complete with a Mickie and Minnie) for $7.90. Pictured in the 1974 Disneyana book by Munsey (p.72) were most of the marionettes, plus the theatre stage.

Catalog scan via gdawg.

1938 Mystery Snow White Composition Doll

This Snow White composition doll dates from 1938. Measures 13.25" tall. Molded hair and ribbon. Hand-painted facial features with forward-looking blue eyes. Jointed arms and legs. She is pictured here in her original outfit: orange bodice with a blue collar and white dress. She is a "mystery doll" because we have yet to discover who actually produced it. There are no markings to indicate the manufacturer.

Images via wbmbooks.

The doll was listed in the 1938 wholesale catalog for N. Shure Co. of Chicago. Price per dozen: $3.92.

Catalog scan via gdawg.

During this time period, there were other companies releasing molded hair Snow White dolls. Ideal made one with a composition head and limbs, but it had a stuffed cloth torso. Their company imprint is found on the back of the neck.

Knickerbocker also produced one (left) that is often mistaken for our mystery doll (right).

Knickerbocker image via 15th Blue Book Dolls & Values by Jan Foulke, p.288.

We see that the Knickerbocker company imprint is found on the underside of the back of the head. And the head is a separate piece from the torso.

Our mystery doll, however, has no company imprint. Plus, the head and torso are all one piece.

If you have information on who manufactured this doll, let us know and we'll add your info to this post.

Additional pics via bellusvanitas + debandgen.