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1880s Bru Jne & Cie, Bebe, 14 1/2" tall
Bru Jne 3 marked, with kid gusseted body |
The Bru Jne & Cie company
was located in France and manufactured some of the most beautiful and
treasured bisque dolls that have ever been made. Dolls are commonly referred
to as "Bru" dolls, but nothing about them is common,
want to make an Antique Doll Collector faint, mention you bought a Bru
doll for less than a few thousand dollars and have some smelling salts handy
or they will think you must be referring to just a pair of shoes.
There are three basic types of Bru
dolls; Poupee de Modes or Lady Doll (translation is Doll of Fashion with Lady body),
Bebe Bru (Bébé
Bru) doll (translation is Child Bru) on a kid leather body and a Bru Doll
with a
wood and composition body. Some bisque heads were supplied to Bru Jne
& Cie by Eugene Barrois.
After 1899
Bru Jne & Cie joined the Society Francaise de
Fabrication de Bebe & Jouets (S.F.B.J.) and continued to produce the Bru and Bebe dolls.
Because of the great value attached to
Bru dolls, they are reproduced by artists more than other antique dolls.
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Here are Bru Jne & Cie dolls we have found 1866-1899:
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1866 + Poupee´
de Modes, Doll of Fashion or Fashion Lady doll, 11-28"
tall, bisque swivel shoulder plate head, kid leather, some
gutta percha (rubber) jointed lady body, wig is
human or mohair, can have painted or paperweight eyes, pierced
ears, closed slight smiling mouth, some are marked with a size
number or a letter marking.
Doll
shown is 16” tall, very rare smiling Bru, marked: letter E
on head and E on shoulder plate. |
Poupee
de Modes, 16" |
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1879
+ Circle Dot
Bébé, 11-28" tall, bisque socket head, kid gusseted
body with bisque lower arms but not jointed at the elbows,
paperweight eyes, feathered brows, pierced ears, mohair wig,
closed mouth with white space between lips, usually marked on
head with a dot in a circle or crescent over a dot
and both marks came as white or black dolls.
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Circle Dot
Bebe, 21"
Doll shown is 21" tall,
bisque swivel head on kid leather lined bisque shoulder plate and
forearms, kid leather body, paperweight eyes, open/closed mouth with
molded teeth, accented nostrils and eye corners, dimpled chin,
pierced ears, human hair wig.
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1879
+ Bru Jne Bébé, 12-28"
tall, bisque socket head, kid body,
kid over wood upper arms,
hinged elbows, bisque lower arms, some have wooden legs,
paperweight eyes with long lashes, pierced ears, closed mouth
with white space between lips, usually marked on head:
Bru Jne + size number and stamped on body:
Bébé
Bru and BTE SGDG.
Doll shown is a size number 8
and is 21 1/2" tall.
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Bru Jne Bebe,
21 1/2"
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ca. 1876-1929 Bébé Teteur
(Child or Baby Nursing Doll), 13 or 16" tall, bisque
socket head, jointed kid leather or wood composition body, paperweight eyes,
open nursing mouth with mechanism in head to take up liquids
when key is turned, usually marked: Bru Jne N. T.
Doll shown is 13" tall is
dated to ca. 1878-1899 and is appropriately dressed.
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Bebe Teteur,
13"
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ca.
1889-1899 Bru Jne R Bébé, 11 - 35" tall, bisque
socket head, paperweight eyes, painted lashes, thick feathered
brows, pierced ears, mohair wig, jointed wood and composition
body, jointed wrists, pull-string crier mechanism, open or closed mouth
with white space between lips (but no tongue), head marked: Bru Jne R
with a size number, stamped
on body: Bébé Bru.
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Bru Jne R Bebe,
13"
Doll shown is marked size number 2, is 13" tall, and has blue
paperweight eyes, closed mouth with space between her lips and
has jointed wrists
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Additional Bru June & Cie dolls
not shown:
1879 + Brevete´
Bébé, 11-28" tall, (Brevete = a marking that is a registered
patent, Child doll), bisque socket
head, kid leather body, bisque lower arms, skin wig, paperweight eyes,
painted upper & lower lashes, feathered brows, pierced
ears,, closed mouth with space between lips, usually head
marked only with size number and body stamped: Bébé
Brevete´ SGDG Paris. |
