$15,000
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sold
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Description
11" (28 cm.) Bisque swivel head on kid-edged bisque shoulderplate, brown glass enamel inset eyes, painted lashes and brows, rose blushed eyeshadow, accented pale lips, pierced ears, original blonde lambswool wig over cork pate, kid gusset-jointed bebe body, bisque forearms, separately-sculpted fingers, wearing original family costume of cotton frock, undergarments, cashmere wool coat and cap, stockings, brown leather shoes signed "B (script) 0000". Condition: generally excellent, very firm body, perfect bisque hands. Marks: 4/0. Comments: Leon Casimir Bru, circa 1878, the first bebe model by that firm. The doll had been in the hands of the original family owners from 1878 until 2008. Value Points: outstanding state of preservation of the rare size early Bru bebe. She was the original doll of Henrietta Turney who, in 1875, at the age of two moved with her family from Greensburg, Pennsylvania to Washington D.C. as her father, Jacob Turney, had just been elected to Congress. A few years later, Henrietta received this very special doll which she kept with her throughout most of her life, later gifting it to her daughter-in-law. The doll remained in the family for 130 years, and has been owned by only one other person since that time.