This happened recently in Stockport in the UK. The doll was found in a Children’s Society charity shop. The doll was in a pile of other items that had been donated and was picked out by a sharp eyed worker at the shop. The doll is from 1885 and still with it’s original Jumeau doll dress.

The doll was put up for auction at Bonhams and there is no surprise that it fetched £5,200 (over $10,000). The sale was a great windfall for the charity and couldn’t have gone to a better cause.

Before the rise of the French doll making industry, European doll making had been dominated by German manufacturers. European doll making had begun in Germany in the 15th Century and had continued to be dominated by them up until the eighteen hundreds with companies such as Armand Marseille and Simon & Halbig.

There was a major development in the early 18th Century with the development of bisque. This was a new material used in the manufacture of dolls (they had previously been made of many materials including wax and porcelain). It allowed for a much greater production of dolls at a cheaper price, thus making them more widely available. German manufacturers took an early lead in the production of bisque dolls. As a result of this, most French doll heads were imported from German.

The Founding of Jumeau

The Jumeau Company was set up by Francois Jumeau (along with Louis-Desire Belton who dropped out a few years later) in 1841. The company initially began by producing dolls in papier mache and later porcelain.

Jumeau Bisque Dolls

In the early 1860’s Francois Jumeau decided he would start producing bisque dolls. But, rather than importing them from Germany, he decided that Jumeau should make their own bisque heads. There was no chance that Jumeau would be able to produce bisque dolls more cheaply than German manufacturers. Jumeau realised that the only other option available to him was to make better quality dolls. So, he set out to design and make dolls that would be superior in every way to other dolls of the time. He ensured the the design of the head, the doll’s features, the decoration, the wigs, the clothes and everything else that makes the Jumeau doll stand out, would be the finest possible.

Jumeau Bebe Dolls

In 1874, the Jumeau Company was passed on from Francios Jumeau to his son Emile Louis Jumeau.. This change in leadership also brought about a change in the direction of the company. Under Francois Jumeau, they had been making Jumeau ‘poupees’ or ‘fashion ladies’. These dolls had the features and proportions of grown up women. Emile Louis Jumeau realized that young girls preferred to play with dolls that looked like babies. To that end, he designed the ‘Bebe Jumeau‘; a doll with the features of a baby.

Jumeau Success

These two strategies paid great dividends. Jumeau became famous for their Bebe Dolls which were, and are, regarded as some of the most beautiful dolls every produced. Their production rose quickly with the new methods and pretty soon Jumeau were exporting dolls and becoming world famous.

Demise of Jumeau

Towards the end of the 19th Century German production of bisque dolls got more and more efficient and their dolls got cheaper and cheaper. Eventually, the more expensive (and better quality) French dolls, such as Jumeau, just couldn’t compete.

As a last ditch attempt to keep the French doll industry, Jumeau and the other major French doll makers banded together to form the Société Française de Fabrication de Bébés et Jouets (S.F.B.J.). The dolls made under the SFBJ tend not be so highly regarded as those produced earlier and this move is seen as the end of the golden age of French doll making and the end or true Jumeau Dolls.

Amongst the dolls sold at the auction were a number of very high quality and much sought after Jumeau dolls including:

A first series Portrait Bebe Jumeau from around 1878 which fetched $29,900.

A thirteen and a half inch, 1885 Tete Bébé Jumeau with original clothing was sold for $16,100.

A size 1 Tete Bébé Jumeau fetched 14,950.

There were plenty of auctions of other dolls on the day including many other antique French Dolls. You can find out more here.