Doll

In the 1870s, French doll makers offered the novel figure that represented a child doll. Prior to the introduction of the bebe, most dolls looked like adults. Usually made of bisque, or tinted, unglazed porcelain, these child dolls appealed to the parents of a growing middle class who saw their own children in the adorable, romanticized faces of these new dolls. Doll makers dressed their little bebes in clothing modeled after the latest in children's fashions. The French bebe dolls remained popular for about 20 years. In the last years of the 19th century, German doll makers produced their own high-quality child dolls and sold them for less than the French models, essentially driving the French companies from the market. The Maison Huret (House of Huret) made dolls in Paris, beginning in 1850 and continuing until the 1920s. Many of the Huret bebes possessed faces similar to the firm's earlier lady dolls, and they often have distinctive, pushed-in chins. Huret is famous for inventing and patenting swivel heads for their dolls.