Rare Early French Bisque Poupee w/Pull-String Crier by Jules Steiner,Signed Body

Live Auction

20" (51 cm.) Pale bisque shoulder head with plump facial modeling,cobalt blue glass eyes,dark eyeliner,painted curly lashes,lightly-feathered brows,accented nostrils,slightly-parted lips,two rows of tiny teeth,un-pierced ears,blonde mohair wig over cork pate,stretched-kid over firm-sided hollow torso that contains a "mama" bellows crier that operates from pull-string at a grommet-edged hole at the torso side,bisque arms from above the elbows with separately-sculpted fingers,gusset-jointed hips and knees,wearing lovely antique silk taffeta gown with matching lavender floral coronet,undergarments,leather slippers. Condition: generally excellent. Marks: J. Steiner Mecaniques Paris (green stamp on torso). Comments: Jules Steiner,the doll was deposed by Steiner in 1863 with this description: "Up until now the application of a talking mechanism has been accomplished in dolls identified as bebes,either of wood or cardboard,but no one has as yet thought of this adaptation for kid-bodied dolls...". An illustration of the doll appeared with the patent application that not only shows the internal workings,but also a face that is remarkably similar to this actual one. Value Points: extremely rare early deposed poupee by Steiner,with very rare early Steiner mark,the doll is superbly-preserved with very long original mohair wig,very sturdy body,superb bisque and painting of both head and arms with defined fingers and fingernails,beautiful early costume.