Bebe Jumeau Dolls
Jumeau's Bébé range of dolls first came into being in 1876/77. Before that, Jumeau had been producing Poupees (fashion dolls). The Bebes, with their features being much more baby-like, were designed to appeal more to young girls. However, the transition was not instantaneous. The earliest Bebe Jumeaus are very similar to the Poupée dolls and only gradually moved away from this look to the more familiar Bebe look.
Antique Bebe Jumeau dolls are probably the world's most sought after doll and with good reason. This era of French doll making (late 19th Century) is widely regarded as the Golden era of doll making particularly with French dolls. The techniques of making bisque porcelain dolls had reached it peak. Towards the end of this era, French made Jumeau dolls faced competition from cheaper, but lower quality German imports - made with the pouring technique. This brought an end to the high quality era and brought about the era of mass produced dolls.
