Madame Alexander made four faces for her 14 in. & up hard plastic (HP) little girl dolls in the 1950's that seem to get mixed up with each other on eBay.  There are other faces, but I will just deal with these:  Maggie, Margaret, Elise, and Cissy.  Maggie and Margaret came in 14 in., 18 in., and 20 in.  The Margaret face was named for the movie star, Margaret O'Brien.  A Margaret faced doll should not be confused with a Margaret O'Brien doll, as the latter has the same face but is valued eight or ten times higher.  MO'B has braids, and her value depends upon whether or not she has her original clothes, usually tagged with her name.  With the exception of Maggie who wasn't marked, all of these dolls were marked Alex or Alexander on the backs of their necks.  The Cissy face was used for Winnie and Binnie Walker in 15 in., 18 in., and 25 in., who were also marked.  The 25 in. is stamped at the very edge of the back of the neck.  If a seller has an unmarked Margaret doll, M.A. may have made it for another company to dress and distribute.  These dolls are valued less than those with the M.A. mark.

Binnies and Winnies are hard to tell apart.  Winnies have regular wig caps with sewn-on hair.  Binnies have a rubber wig cap with the strands rooted in.  The later Binnies, with jointed knees, were given left-over Winnie wigs.  The face was also used for the 31-in. Mary Ellen.  Elise is a 17 in. doll. She is fully jointed but is unique because she is also jointed at the ankle.

In 1955, the Cissy face became a brand new 20-21 in. Cissy doll with a hard plastic mature body with jointed vinyl arms, jointed knees, and arched feet for high heeled shoes.  Sellers often do not know the difference between 20-21 in. Cissy and 18 in. Binnie/Winnie.  Be sure to look at the feet and the shape of the doll's torso.  If the doll is flat-footed and has a little girl's body, then she is a Binnie/Winnie with the Cissy face.  She is not a Cissy doll.  Cissys are valued higher than Binnie/Winnies.

The seller should describe the condition of the following:  wig (full or some strands missing), joints (tight or loose), arm condition, eyes working properly (clear or cloudy), eyelashes (any missing),  presence or no presence of cracks or splits, other flaws.  If any of these conditions are not mentioned in the auction, email the seller.

These particular dolls, especially Cissy, are prone to seam splits at the neck, crotch, and legs at the top where they go into the torso and at the knees.  Many times, the seller will leave out whether or not the doll has any.  Email the seller.  Sometimes a seller will email back that they have just found a seam split.  Dolls with seam splits can display beautifully, but they should cost less than dolls without them.  Do an eBay Search of Cissy and compare prices.

Cissy's vinyl jointed arms usually appear to be darker than the rest of her body.  These can be lightened with Oxy-10 acne cream, left on for 4 hours and put in the sun; repeat if necessary.  If a doll is auctioned as Cissy and does not have jointed arms, she is most likely a Portrait doll of the 1960's.