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. Bebe dolls made by Andre Florent Thuillier of Paris in the 1870s are known among doll historians and collectors for the intricate detail in the eyes, the fine quality and coloring of the bisque head, and the charming face with full cheeks. Early AT dolls had white leather bodies; later dolls made in the 1880s and 1890s had bodies made of wood or composition (a papier mache-like material).