The Antique Doll Saloon, in the Hoshi-building (4F)
takes pride in its world fs greatest collection of antique
dolls in quantity and has many valuable dolls which
collectors would be envious of.
Please enjoy some examples of our precious collection.
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Setonaikai Kisen Co., Ltd. Hoshi-building.
1-6-9 Kamiyacho Naka ward Hiroshima City
Tel 082-249-1941
yE-Mailzinfo@hoshibld.co.jp
Click here for Antique Music Box
Among antique dolls, Bisque dolls are definitely the ones with the highest
qualities. Bisque dolls came into their golden age in the late 19th century
during the lives of the outstanding doll-makers, such as Jumeau and Armand
Marseille.
The industry had disappeared around 1930, due to the surge of the
mass-produced celluloid dolls, and now bisque dolls are very rare and
valuable. Their heads are made of porcelain and bodies are made
of a composite material (a mixture of paper, sawdust and similar items
glued together) or kid (soft young goat leather).
Their elaborately designed joints, enables them to make a human like movements. It is said that their exquisite eyes are impossible to
reproduce even with the latest science techniques.
Dolls made with such loving care and endless labor
will never come to life again.
| Representative Doll Makers | |
| French Dolls | |
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Jumeau is the most celebrated bisque doll creator. Starting from producing doll dresses, he began to make bisque dolls in the 1870fs. He exercised his towering abilities of business management in the doll making industry. He supplied his products to other companies, assigned various sculptors, advertised his products through international expositions and pioneered new sales channels, such as department stores. It could be said that Jumeau immortalized gFrench dollsh in history. Successive producers > Pierre Jumeau 1842-77 > Emile Jumeau 1877-99 |
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| 1842 Pierre Jumeau establishes atelier with co-producer Belton. 1851 Awarded a prize medal at the Great Exposition in London. Jumeaufs doll dresses won the highest praise. 1855 Exhibit dolls at Paris Exposition. In those days, a French company, Barrois, supplied doll heads. Gaultier, a French doll maker, began to supply doll heads to Jumeau in 1860. 1872 Started to make bisque heads on their own. Dolls made around this time are called gPremiereh. 1874 Management succeeded from Pierre to Emile. 1878 Exhibits at the Paris Exposition. Produces dolls from molds made by a sculptor, Carrier Belleuse. Those dolls were called gJumeau Tristeh 1879 Wins the gold medal at Sydney Exposition. Starts to mark as gELh. 1886 Registers the trademark gBebe Jumeauh. 1889 The trademark gParis Bebeh is registered by the director of Atelier Jumeau, Danel. gEDh mark is used then. Danel sets up business on his own and sells copies of gJumeauh. 1890 Douillet becomes the director of the atelier. 1899 Having a disadvantage in price competition against German products, Jumeau organizes S.F.B.J. (Societe Francaise & Fabrication de Bebes & Jouets: Association of French Dolls and Toys). |
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Bru made high quality dolls and innovative dolls, such as double-faced dolls where one face is smiling and the other one is crying, or one face awake and the other one is sleeping, and dolls with rubber bodies. Later, he made wooden dolls with motion, and kid (young goatskin) body bebes in 1879. He > also made nursing dolls. He created various unique dolls. Successive producers > Leon Casimir Bru 1866-83 > Henri Chevrot 1883-89 > Paul Girard 1890-99 |
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| 1867 Atelier Bru Jne & Cie established. 1868 L.Casimir Bru obtains a patent for the use of rubber, wooden body and double-faced dolls. 1873 Registers gSmiling Bruh 1878 Registers gBebe Breveteh as an early bebe model. 1830 Advertises gBebe Modeleh that has wooden joints. 1883 Henri Chevrot takes over the Atelier. 1891 Advertises gBru Jne Rh. |
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Gaultier was established as a quality doll head maker early on in his business career, supplying high quality bisque heads to doll makers such as Gesland, Jullien, Petit & Dumontier, Rabery & Delphieu, Thuiller and Vichy. Gaultier was one of the pioneers of the French bisque doll industry. Gaultierfs dolls are identified by the precocious look on their faces and big eyes. Changes of the company name > Francois Gaultier 1860-80 > Gaultier et Fils 1880-88 > Gaultier et Freres 1888-99 |
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| 1860 F.Gaultier establishes the atelier. Starts to make doll heads and doll dresses. 1878 Wins a silver medal at the Paris Exposition. 1880 Awarded a bronze medal at the Brussels Exhibition. 1882 Becomes Gaultier et Fils. 1888 Becomes Gaultier et Freres. 1899 Joins the SFBJ. @ |
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Stiener excelled at making mechanical dolls, and made a wide variety of dolls. He co-produced many masterpieces with Bourgoin in the 1880fs. During the period from 1880 to 1890, Stiener inspires the French doll industry with Jumeau. Their production has a wide range of variety from series gAhto gGh and from figure gAh to gDh. Successive producers > Jules Nicholas Stiener 1855-91 > Amedee Lafosse 1891-92 > Madam Lafosse 1893-98 > Jules Mettais 1899-1901 > Edmond Daspres 1902-07 |
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| 1855 Starts business as a watchmaker. 1862 Advertises a talking bebe doll. 1869 Registers its trademark. 1889 Registers gLe Petit Parisianh 1892 A.Lafosse registers gLe Parisianh. 1895 A.Lafosse registers gBebe Phenixh. 1899 J.Mettais registers gBebe Liegeh. 1900 J.Mettais registers gPoupee Merveilleuseh. 1901 J.Mettais registers gBEBE MODELEh. |
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| German Dolls | |
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Kestner is the oldest doll maker in Germany. In 1860, Kestner acquired a porcelain factory in Ohrdruf, and made china bisque heads there. Those heads were assembled with composition bodies and went on the doll market. Their dolls made at that time do not have a trademark on them. In the 1880fs, Kestner produced a large quantity of bisque dolls and actively advertised them. In 1909, there was an epoch-making event in the industry: the appearance of the character dolls. Kestner merged with Kammer & Reinhardt. Kestnerfs dolls were generally inexpensive and had a reputation of its good quality. |
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| 1805 Established by Johannes Daniel Kestner. 1840 Produces dolls made of wood and papier-mache. 1896 Registers gJDK Germanyh. 1897 Registers Kestner Alphabet. 1914 Starts to advertise Kewpie dolls |
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In 1869, Simon & Halbig built a high-performance pottery plant at Grafenhain in the Thuringen region of Germany. Simon & Halbig made a diverse variety of dolls such as parian, bisque, dollhouse-dolls and bebe dolls. Simon & Halbig supplied doll heads to various doll makers. Their heads had the identifying marks of Halbigfs initials along with the clientsf initials. For the French doll makers, it was marked as gTete Jumeauh with gDEPh(depose: registered). As it was a very popular maker, it continued manufacturing until 1930. |
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| 1870 Produces bisque heads and all bisque dolls. 1887 Obtains a patent for marking gDEPh on their doll heads. 1890 Obtains a patent for manually moving eyes. 1891 Obtains a patent for gSleeping dollh. 1905 Registers gDEP Bathing dollh. |
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| Other Doll Makers |
| Schmitt France Since Schmitt was ordering doll heads from Jumeau for one of its doll lineups in the 1870fs, so those dollsf features bear a resemblance to the early Jumeau dolls. Generally, Schmitt dolls are identified by their clear-cut features and fine details seen in each part. Most of them are also highly artistic. Limited production numbers of the dolls make them rather expensive. 1857 Starts business as a toyshop. 1877 Obtains a patent for the coloring method of bisque parts. Advertises gBebe Schmitth. 1878 Awarded a silver medal at the Paris Exposition. 1879-82 Doll heads were supplied from Jumeau. (Those were marked as gEJh) 1891 Dissolved. Pannier France 1872 Gains French patent for bebe with a metal frame and joints. 1873 Madame Blanche Pannier of Paris Maison de la Pannier has registered in Paris Directories as a maker of wigs, hats and clothes for dolls. 1878 Shows dollfs hat at the Paris Exposition. 1885-90 Advertises bebe, mignonettes. 1892 Mme. Pannier has listed as Pannier Freres, the doll maker. Existing Pannier dolls are very few and valuable. Maison Huret France 1850 Starts to make dolls. 1851 Advertised dolls with a new type of jointed body and porcelain head. 1855 Exhibits gutta-percha (a kind of resin) dolls at the Paris Exposition and won a bronze medal. 1861 Acquires a patent for its socket head, which could be moved in any desired direction. It was later supplied to Jumeau. 1890-1900 Advertises bebe dolls. Gutta-percha was no longer used at this time around. Continued to sell bebe dolls until 1920. Alexander Lefebvre & Cie France 1878 Exhibits papier-mache at the Paris Exposition. 1900 Wins a prize at Paris Exposition. Starts to sell jointed dolls made of rubber. 1912 Produces gBebe A.L.h 1921 Registers gBebe A.L.h in France. Alexander Lefebvre started to make doll parts from the beginning of the 20th century. From the dollsf features, it can be said that the dolls are close to character dolls. Danel & Cie France Danel had been working at Atelier Jumeau as a director until 1899. After registering gParis Bebeh with a picture of the Eiffel Tower as a trademark, Danel left Jumeau and started to make a Jumeaufs replica in his own atelier in the neighborhood of Jumeaufs. Danel & Cie made 50,000 dolls in a year, and was sued by Jumeau. After Danel lost the case, Jumeau sold gParis Bebeh in the name of Danel & Cie for a couple of years. As for a different style doll from Jumeau type, the gJewish Bebeh is well known. They can be identified by their noses. Danel & Cie stopped business in 1895. Joseph.L.Joanny France 1884 Obtains a patent for moving eyelids of bebe dolls. 1885 Wins a bronze medal at Paris Exposition. 1890 Registers gbebe metamorphosish. 1921 Produces jointed dolls and unbreakable dolls. With these dolls, Joanny was distinguished as the best doll maker. Joanny fs dolls have big eyes, and a characteristic gentle features. |
| The Golden Age of Dolls: Bisque Dolls from Europe in the 19th Century |
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| What is behind the relationship between dolls and human beings? ? This was a long-asked question for human beings. It is now generally agreed there was some kind of religious meanings in the old times. In the 17th century, dolls appear to be dressed in flamboyant clothes. In those days, dolls were only for privileged classes. As times went by, dolls underwent changes: from wooden dolls, carved and with painted faces, to wax dolls made from leftover candles after religious services and finally to papier-mache dolls made from papers and vegetable fibers glued and hardened. The Industrial Revolution promoted the growth of economics in the late 18th century. In the 19th century, the development of the printing technology gave rise to fashion magazines that introduced adult and childrenfs fashion around the world. On the other hand, the methods for making porcelain, which had been used to make tableware production from the medieval period, became to be used in making porcelain dolls. Bisque dolls were the embodiment of the two industries. The term gbisqueh comes from the Latin word gbish (twice) and gqueh(bake). Bisque is an unglazed porcelain that is colored and baked twice at a low temperature (in the second time), which makes it look very similar to human skin. A bisque head is a dollfs head made by this method. Dolls consisting of a bisque head and a body made of wood or composition (wood chips and papers harden up with plaster or glue) are named bisuque dolls. This established the gGolden Age of Dollsh. It was also an epoch-making thing in terms of economy and culture. But in the 20th century, bisque dolls, which required a complex manufacturing process, gave way to dolls made of new materials such as rubber, celluloid and plastics, which are low-cost and easy to form. Bisque dolls finally died out in the 1930fs. |
| Roles of the International Expositions | |
| Expositions are like a mixture of a museum, a botanical garden and a zoo,
that display industrial technologies from various fields. They had been
often held in France and gradually spread in Europe. The first industrial
exposition was held in 1789, and it flourished in 1823. In Germany, expositions
became in full-scale around 1850. After the Exhibition of French Industrial
Products in 1849, the worldfs first international exposition - the Crystal
Palace Exhibition was held in London in 1851, which marked the beginning
of the thriving international exposition era. This exposition also played
a major role in spreading industrial technologies, art works and craft
products. Japanese dolls were introduced for the first time at this exposition,
and many doll makers in Europe were inspired by the childlike figure of
them. This is said to be the first time for the world to meet bebes. (In
those days, most of the dolls were fashion dolls in Europe.) Bisque dolls
were shown at one of those expositions around 1855. Jumeau exhibited bisque
dolls at the Paris Exhibitions in 1867 and won great applause. At that
time, his dollsf heads were supplied from other makers. Being pleased
by the success, he built a bisque dolls plant in 1872. After winning a
gold medal at the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876, he also had a great
success at the exhibitions in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, in 1879
and 1880. With those success at the expositions, Jumeau had built up a
solid > reputation and saw its golden age in the 1880fs. Thus the influence of the expositions on industrial and cultural development were significant. |
| Structure of Bisque Dolls | |
| Heads | |
| Swivel head A doll head able to turn in any direction. The crown is cut out; making it easy to attach glass eyes. Shoulder head Doll's head and shoulders are molded together in one piece. They have a beautiful gdecolleteh line from the neck to shoulder, which shows off the dollfs costumes; often used in fashion dolls. Flange neck Dollfs head where the bottom edge of the neck radiates out in all directions. Usually assembled with a soft body. Turned shoulder head The dollfs head and shoulder in one piece (a shoulder-head), but this type is always slightly tilted to one side. Mainly used in German dolls. |
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| Bodies | |
| Fashion dolls Mostly made of kid (soft goat leather), some are made of composition materials. The shape of the breasts and hips are modeled after adult women. Bebe dolls Mostly made of composition material. Some are partly made of wood and steel. Character dolls Usually made of composition, and have a childlike roly-poly figure. The doll fs body and head are connected with elastic rubber cord, string or wire. During the period from 1840 to 1850, goat skins (kid) doll bodies were usually assembled with china heads or papier-mache heads. Kid was still the principal material in use in making dolls when the bisque heads appeared in 1860. Those dolls were very expensive. Bru made a sophisticated wooden body, and there were motchman-type soft bodies in the 1860fs, which are said to be influenced by Japanese dolls. These dolls are also valuable. Entering the 1870fs, composition bodies with ball joints became the mainstream materials for doll bodies, because those bodies could be made in at a lower cost than the kid (goatskin) bodies. In the 1900fs, many doll bodies were made from cloth. Among the most inexpensive dolls, there are rag dolls, which their whole figure is made in one piece, and frozen charlottes (the entire figure made of porcelain). Lenci dolls and Kathe-kruse dolls are also made of cloth. |
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| Eyes | |
| Glass doll eyes are made by coloring the glass with enamel or putting soda glass on top of a clear glass to make them look solid. Glass doll eyes were first seen with wax dolls of England. Generally, German dollsf glass eyes are made by the glass blowing method and thus the inside is empty, while French dollsf glass eyes are made from the paperweight method that layers different glasses. | |
| Wigs | |
| The principal material for dollsf hair is mohair, the hair of the angora goat, but various materials such as human hair, wool, hemp have been also used. Even lambskin with the hair left on has been used as doll wigs. Among all these, human hair seems to be the most expensive one. In 1885, it had been advertised that human hair was mainly used for French bisque dollsf wigs. Since Great Britain was the center of woolen goods manufacturing, when World War I broke out, it seemed to monopolize the mohair market. | |
| Costumes | |
| Dolls have been taking an important role in spreading fashion since the 17th century. Their role became greater in the 19th century, when bisque dolls began being made. In France, the latest fashions were adopted in dollsf costumes, according to the customersf orders. Some of the most gorgeous dresses were made with corsets or decorated with lace and silk. Since many doll makers were competing with each other over their skills, their costume makers earned more than any other craftsmen involved in the process of doll making. Naturally, quality dresses were expensive. Jumeau is said to have released about 300 types of new designs. The most famous among them is a dress with a floral pattern made in the 1890fs. It is believed that M.Lacroix, a fashion boutique owner in Paris, ordered the doll from A.Marque, whose dolls are the most expensive among antique bisque dolls now. This episode tells us how closely doll making and fashion were related. |
| Production of German dolls | |
| In Germany, images in Creche and the Catholic church began being made of fine woods such as in England, in the 18th century. In 1820, many dolls made of a papier-mache head and a kid (goat leather) body was exported to France. Those were fashion dolls with an adult figure dressed in fashionable clothes. Bisque dolls were produced in Germany from around 1860. Many small factories were built in Sonneberg, Thuringen, in 1870. Various types of dolls from fashion dolls to bebe dolls were made there and exported to France. Among those factories, Kestner and Simon & Halbig became major companies. Low priced products from the two companies were exported to France and the United States in large quantities. The German doll makers finally overtook the French doll makers in the latter half of the 1890fs. French doll makers organized the Association of French Dolls and Toys (S.F.B.J.) as a backlash against the German doll makers, but their efforts gradually came to an end. German doll makers continued to produce until 1930. |
| The Glory of French Doll industry | |
| The popularity of Jumeau dolls even benefited the German doll industry. German doll makers sold low priced Jumeau copies. Fleischmann & Bloedel made gEden Bebeh in Germany, and sold them as inexpensive French dolls. On the other hand, French doll makers persisted in emphasizing quality, which made their dolls expensive. Although the demand for dolls increased as the population rose, French doll makers had to dump their products at a reduced price of 40 to 60 percent. This happened during the Chicago World's Fair, held in the Untied States in 1893, which ignited the United Statesf protective trade policy. While a decline had been seen in its production volume, Jumeau advertised a new product called gAutomatah - a doll combining the technologies of a music box and Edisonfs phonograph, but it did not sell enough to pay all the debt. Jumeau finally organizes the Association of French Dolls and Toys (S.F.B.J.) in 1899, seeking for a breakthrough. After entering the 20th century, the French doll industry became active. They imported doll heads from Germany and assembled them with fashionably dressed bodies, and sold them as gFrenchh dolls. They also made dolls such as character dolls (dolls with lifelike expressions of real people) and automata, and tried various materials from felt, cloth, rubber, celluloid to composition and plastics. The French doll industry always has been suggesting new ways of producing dolls and taking the initiative in terms of creativity, which still crowns them in glory. |