French Bisque Bebe by SFBJ, Huguette's Childhood Doll Named "Suzette"

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12" (30 cm.) Bisque socket head, blue glass sleep eyes, painted lashes and brows, accented nostrils, open mouth, four tiny teeth, pierced ears, blonde mohair wig, French composition and wooden fully-jointed body. Condition: generally excellent, some body repaint, wax loss on left eye lid. Marks: SFBJ Paris 3. Comments: SFBJ, circa 1910. Value Points: especially pretty bebe with gentle expression, the doll is wearing old lace dress, undergarments, socks and cream kidskin shoes, and is resting in an old wooden box with various early costumes, some handmade. According to Chris Sattler, her personal assistant for more than a decade, Huguette spoke often of her favorite childhood doll, named Suzette, which she kept her entire life "in an old box with the clothes she played with". Fittingly, the doll was named Suzette, likely a nod to the childhood journal "La Semaine de Suzette" which first appeared in 1905, one year before her birth. It is likely this doll which is shown cradled in Huguette's arm in the portrait painted by Tade Styka, and also held by Huguette in the garden photograph of Huguette posed with her mother and sister.