16" (41 cm.) Pressed bisque socket head with highly defined modeling of cheeks and mouth, brown glass enamel inset eyes with spiral threading, painted eye-liner around the eye sockets, painted lashes and feathered brows, rose-blushed eye shadow, accented nostrils and eye corners, closed mouth with shaded and accented lips, definition of painted teeth between the lips, pierced ears, antique hand-tied human hair wig over original lambswool cap and cork pate, all-wooden fully-articulated bebe body with dowel-jointing at shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles, shapely wooden torso which is hollow and contains a musical mechanism that operates from the winding key at torso back, original white pique dress, undergarments, straw bonnet, maroon stockings, black leather shoes signed Bru Jne Paris. Marks: Bte SGDG (forehead) 112 (impressed on back torso). Condition: generally excellent, original body finish albeit scuffed, musical mechanism functions well. Comments: Leon Casimir Bru, circa 1882, the concept of a musical wooden-bodied doll had first been deposed by Bru in 1872 as his "surprise poupee" in which a keywind Geneva musical box was contained in the torso of a wooden-bodied lady doll. Then in 1883 Bru offered the "surprise bebe", a keywind musical version of Bebe Modele; it was mentioned in his advertising for one year only and can be presumed never to have been put into production except on special order. Value Points: beautiful Bru bebe with very fine modeling, rare painted teeth, rare Bebe Modele wooden body, and extremely rare "surprise" musical box in torso with very fine quality music box. Few models are known to exist.