Mothereau or Denamur Bebes Dolls French
1882 Mothereau 25″ bebe doll face, doll mark J symbol M.
Mothereau Bebes Dolls 1880-1899 French
Doll maker Alexandre Célestin Tiburce Mothereau filed a patent in 1880, 1881, 1882 for making an unbreakable articulated body. Mothereau and Alexandre Louis Bayeaux formed a partnership of Mothereau-Bayeux in 1881 to 1882 when the partnership dissolved. Mothereau’s equipment for making his patented body was sold to Decre, who sold to Etienne Denamur in 1889 whose bodies are the same as Mothereau, who continued doll making until 1899 when the business was sold to SFBJ. Mothereau’s pressed bisque head bebes (dolls) are marked BM, J symbol M, MB, TB.
Shown left is an 1880s Bébé Mothereau 23″ bisque head bebe doll face with a cork pate, blue paperweight eyes, thin feathered eyebrows, delicate painted upper and lower eye lashes, a closed mouth, chin dimple, French composition and wood jointed body, doll mark J symbol M.
Mothereau Bebes and Doll Marks Identified
Alexandre Célestin Tiburce Mothereau was born in 1836 and passed away in 1902.
Etienne Denamur Bebes Dolls 1889-1897 French
1890s Etienne Denamur Le Bambin clown doll 16″ face, doll mark E6D
Jan Etienne Denamur born in 1850 began making dolls in 1889 in Paris. By 1890 Denamur called his firm Le Maison du Bambin “The house of Bambin” as he made Le Bambin and other bébés.
Denamur is best known for his bisque head black or white dolls, painted face clown dolls with an open or closed mouth on composition jointed bodies. Denamur’s dolls won a gold medal award in 1890 at the London exhibition.
Denamur was forced to file bankruptcy on January 26, 1898, Mr. Bouchet purchased Denamur’s head molds.
Etienne Denamur Bebes Dolls and Marks Identified
1890s Etienne Denamur 20″ bisque socket head doll composition jointed body of Mothereau’s patent
Etienne Denamur dolls are marked with the initials of ED with a size number between the initials, E 6 D DEPOSE, E 8 D DEPOSE, E 9 D DEPOSE, E10 D DEPOSE
1894 Etienne Denamur antique bisque light brown socket head doll, 12″ tall, heavy feathered quite straight brows that nearly touch, almond shaped paperweight eyes, delicate painted upper and lower lashes, open mouth with teeth, outlined lips, pierced ears, doll mark E 7 D Depose.
Other French doll makers who used the ED initials are Dumont, Jumeau, Jules Nicholas Steiner and Roullet et Decamps if it’s a Jumeau head.
Etienne Denamur or Alexandre Mothereau Doll Resources: The Encyclopedia of French Dolls books, volume I, A-K, Denamur pages 180-182, volume II, L-Z, Mothereau pages 420-423 by Theimer and Theriault.