I own many dolls.  Old dolls, new dolls, baby dolls, Barbie dolls, antique dolls, wood dolls, wax dolls, mama dolls, cloth dolls.  I love ALL of my dolls, but if I had to pick an all-time favorite type of doll I would choose the French Poupee, also known as French Fashion doll, from the mid to late 19th century.

The French Fashion dolls are dolls that were made to represent ladies, and not children.  These dolls generally had bisque heads and leather, cloth or wood bodies.  The dolls had elaborate wardrobes, furniture and accessories--everything in doll size that an upper-class woman living in the 19th century would have.  The dolls and their trousseau items generally display superior craftsmanship, which is one of their major charms today.  There was an entire district in Paris devoted to shops selling the dolls and their belongings.

I am privileged to own a few of these antique dolls, and all of them delight me.  However, there is one doll in particular in my collection that intrigues me--she is a lovely porcelain poupee by an unknown maker.

I first saw this doll in an auction catalog.  I was very interested in her just from her description and photo, since she was an early poupee with a rare mark--very unlike any poupee that I had.  She was also a porcelain poupee as opposed to bisque, which, again, is not common.  And, she had on a lovely, original silk turquoise dress.

At The Auction

I was very interested in the doll, but....I can never tell for SURE how I will react to an antique  doll until I see her in person.   At the auction, I examined her closely, and I really fell in love.  The doll has a haunting quality about the face.  She is plump-faced, and a bit reminiscent of some of the early dolls from Rohmer and Huret.   The painting on the doll was lovely--delicate brows and lashes, rosy cheeks, nicely accented lips.  The eyes were cobalt blue enamel.

The 17" doll has an incised mark "Depose J" on her front shoulder plate.  The doll was attributed in the catalog to circa 1860, which appeared about right to me.  Considering the age of the doll, the body was very sturdy.   The doll's original turquoise blue dress was fragile (not surprising, considering it was 140 years old!) and made out of very delicate lace and fine turquoise silk.  Again, the outfit was similar to some of the early Huret and Rohmer outfits, and the style of the dress was more child than woman-like, which is more commonly found on the earliest poupees.  The matching slippers were unusual with delicate rosettes and little heels.  And, a lovely pressed wool bonnet completed the outfit.

Unfortunately, the doll was listed to be the FIRST lot to be sold at the auction.  This can be good, and it can be bad.  It can be bad because it's sometimes hard to bid on the first item up--you don't have the benefit when bidding on item #1 of knowing how prices and competition are going for the day.  So, its a bit like bidding blind.  And, it can be good--sometimes, everyone is a bit slow to bid for the first auction item.  So, after examining the doll at the preview, I  held my breath and hyperventilated until the auction started and the doll came up for bid.

Finally, the bidding started!  I was determined to have the doll....but, unfortunately,  so was another collector  We both dug in....and kept bidding....(gosh, is she EVER going to put her paddle down?)  and, finally, the doll was mine, at several hundred dollars past the HIGH estimate.  She DEFINITELY cost me more than I had planned on spending, but to me, the doll was truly worth it.  

A Surprise

When I got the doll home and was finally able to examine my doll carefully, I was very pleased, and I also found a wonderful and very unexpected surprise.  When I looked at the pressed wool hat, I found that, inside the folds of the silk lining in the interior of the hat it was marked as follows: "HURET// A PARIS."  This hadn't been noted in the catalog, but it was easy to miss, since the mark was almost totally hidden by the silk until you spread it out (I was spreading it out to see the construction of the hat, since I make and costume dolls!!).  When I saw the mark, I did a little dance around the room!  I already THOUGHT this was one of the most special dolls I owned--I didn't even NEED this little surprise to entice me more!

Now, of course, my imagination ran away with me.  Perhaps the doll was made by Huret!  Or, more likely, perhaps the entire costume had been made by Huret.   Well, at least I knew for SURE that the HAT was made by Huret--that's the difficulty with attributing ANYTHING that is so old--there is no way for SURE to know what is original to a doll. The auction firm I bought the doll from believed the dress was original to the doll, and given the age and fit of the dress TO the doll,  I agree.  The hat matches the dress in color AND in style, and the silk used in the hat matches the dress well enough, but is it original to the dress?  Hard to say!  I certainly wish the doll could talk.

A Bit About Huret

Mlle. Huret started making dolls circa 1850.  Maison Huret was one of the most exclusive makers of French Fashion dolls and costumes and accessories--in fact, the creations of Adelaide Huret are so highly thought of by collectors today that Huret items are one of the "Holy Grails" for collectors of these dolls.  Maison Huret made dolls, outfits, shoes, boots, hats, furniture, and many other items which they sold in their exclusive Paris shop.  Today, Huret dolls and items are very expensive, and this is the first ANYTHING marked Huret to join my collection.  Poupees marked Huret easily can cost over $15,000, and even accessories marked Huret can top $1,000. 

Today, this doll proudly sits in my collection.  She is a bit of a mystery, and very different than all the other poupees in my collection, but she is my favorite poupee.

If you have a similar doll, either in appearance or marked "Depose J" I would like to hear about it.  Please e-mail me at collectdolls.guide@about.com.

Part II:  More Photos of the Doll and  Her Outfit

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