The first case of our series of antique doll mysteries is the all-bisque 132. But who actually made this tiny replica of a French Bru bébé?

Would the Paris 1889 Exhibition Universelle offer a clue? International exhibitions were important documents of the goods and trades available at the time and were a chance for shop owners to show their wares. The few who could afford to shop in the Paris boutiques indulged in a new sentimentality toward children and childhood. Thought was now given to their education and their entertainment. Paris was bustling from the Rue de la Paix to the Boulevard de Capucines and beyond with specialty boutiques in the doll trade.

The Exposition was where competitors could see the latest models and make their own versions. 32 million people attended the Paris 1889 Exhibition Universelle from around the world. However, one would not find German dolls at the 1889 Exhibition. The theme of the 1889 Paris Exhibition was to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the French Revolution - the over-throw of the French monarchy. Countries with existing monarchies opted to boycott the 1889 Exhibition, including: Germany, Austria-Hungary (attended through private sponsorship), Belgium, Spain, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, and Sweden. This may explain why no link has been found between the 1889 Paris Exhibition and the German doll manufacturers such as Kestner or the Sonnenberg region of Germany. So the 1889 Exhibition cannot provide possible manufacturers of the 132 all-bisque.

The history of all-bisque dolls is a story of innovation and quality winning over the consumer. Initially French doll makers began producing very small rather simplified pocket dolls. However, the producers of these early all-bisque mignonettes were not enamored of their small scale as evidenced in their lack of detail in modeling and painting. The French soon abandoned all-bisque manufacture in favor of imported bodies and heads from factories in Germany which between the 1870s and the late 1890s produced all-bisques of such a high degree of detail and artistry that collectors still seek them out today.

Most all-bisques are not directly identifiable to a specific manufacturer simply because their size did not permit many identifying makers marks except for numbers. It is challenging to find specific information about all-bisque models today as books written on the topic of all-bisque dolls are decades out of date, often attributing most high quality all-bisques to Kestner or to Simon and Halbig. We have a difficult task of unwinding prior assumptions and speculation today in order to find possible manufactures of the 132 all-bisque.

Perhaps it is possible to derive further clues by assessing what the 132 all-bisque is not. It is not cheaply made nor simplified in its modeling. It is not vastly different in color palette from other high quality all-bisques, nor is the porcelain content identifiable to a degree that reveals the manufacturer. Porcelain formulas used in the Sonnenberg / Thuringia region were published in trades magazines so that anyone wanting to make a high quality bisque could.

Paint color was defined by formula that belonged to the company and had to be mixed by hand at the factories. It may be possible to visually compare paint color between signed and unsigned Kestner pieces, but this is no guarantee of origin. Paint applied on such a small scale as to the wigged all-bisques would be difficult to discern an identical match to determine manufacturer. It could also be true that some paint color formulas were published. Painters among factories may also have been shared or rotated their work there. So, there is not proprietary formula of porcelain or paint that would directly lead us to the manufacturer.

We can look further at factories operating during the time period of the early Bru bébé (1879-1885) - that the all-bisque 132 greatly resembles - who had the capacity, the skill and the success to produce such a quality model. One other company besides Kestner was known to produce high quality all-bisque dolls, the firm of Simon and Halbig. Cieslik states in the German Doll Encyclopedia that major manufacturers of Walterhausen region in Germany such as Simon and Halbig provided many of the “French” doll parts for the French trade. These dolls would be modeled to appeal to the French who witnessed the advent of the French bébé. Tiny all-bisque counterparts to the French bébé were assembled and sent to France, where they were costumed and sold in individual boutiques often bearing the boutique’s label on their bodies or on presentation boxes. However, Simon and Halbig does not list the 132 among its registered series from 1890-1912 (Cieslik, German Doll Studies, p.204). Therefore, we can safely eliminate Simon and Halbig as the producer of the all-bisque 132.

Quality is a product of industrial refinement. Germany was the first to produce at great scale and with great precision. Their factories occupied acres within the towns, and they were major employers of locals. Each factory had to house tons of clay and hosted large kilns that were in constant operation to keep even a moderately large production running smoothly. Cheap coal containing slag and other impurities used to fuel kilns burned unevenly and created impurities in the bisque, so slow burning coal from England was imported by factories who could afford this expensive alternative. The clay used to make the fine bisque was usually kaolin from Limoges in France.

In addition to the cost of materials, these large factories required enormous space to create and store molds, to continuously fire and dry the clay, and for every step in between firing and assembly, such as painting eye and teeth placement, and applying wigs.

It appears to be counter-intuitive that all-bisque collectors today would pay more for a painted mouth model versus an open-mouth model. The cost to produce individual teeth out of quality glass was far more expensive than closed mouth models. Teeth were even marketed by boutiques and catalogs as a special feature for their dolls. It is worth noting that the Kestner factory perfected the placement of teeth in dolls heads. This skill is most evident in the tiniest heads – the all-bisques. The placement of individual tiny teeth in all-bisques is extremely difficult and requires great skill.

Creating molds for doll heads was an expensive endeavor at the time and a high cost for porcelain factories. Cieslik states it was “an expense that only a large doll factory could afford”. (German Doll Studies, p.21). Production of the 100 series - 132 included - must have been an costly undertaking because each of the molds is unique. It was not merely a matter of providing painted eye vs. glass eye versions of the same mold. Doll molds were labor intensive. They developed wear and needed to be recast from master molds after a number of uses. According to author Genevieve Angione, All-Bisque & Half-Bisque Dolls, 1969, molds could generally be used about 50 times, then had to be recast (Angione, p.13). However, Jürgen and Marianne Cieslik, German Doll Studies, 1999, state that a mold “could be used for approximately 100 times” (Cieslik, p.17). One can reasonably conclude that the products of molds used no more than 50 times were superior to molds used up to 100 times, due to the level of debris build-up inside each mold after use. Only a few factories had the space, high degree of skill and production levels that could have made the 132. Of them, the Kestner factory is the most likely.

The Kestner factory had enormous presence in Walterhausen at the time the 132 was produced. Kestner employed over 1,000 workers from the surrounding towns as well as locally. Kestner was well-connected with every level of government, not even suffering prosecution when some of his locally painted toys poisoned several children, after it was discovered in a lengthy and detailed investigation. Kestner was on the board of the railroad which connected to railroad to the factory town. He built schools and parks and contributed to the well-being of destitute craftsmen. His practices alone must have attracted the very best craftsmen. In addition, the quality of the smooth, clear, and pale bisque from this region and the detail of the modeling that appears in the folds and wrinkles of the hands and feet along with the well-shaped knees and elbows at this tiny scale is evident of skill to be found with very few other manufacturers of the time.

A further clue as to the manufacturer are the model numbers on the back of the head. At the time many identifying doll head marks were simply inscribed or hand-written by the employee of the factory on the head to indicate size or model or even manufacturing stage. Impressing or stamping numbers on the back of doll heads is risky as because impressing the clay at this stage adds pressure and increases the danger of deeply warping the clay at the greenware stage in the firing process. This would have added factors of cost and time, as well as risk to the finished production.

The consistency of the number “font” style of ‘132’ is striking - each digit resembling the same to a high degree across multiples examples of the all-bisque 132. Magnified examination of the ‘132’ numbers shows that the numbers were part of the mold into which the bisque slip was poured. The hollow cavities of each digit in the bisque contain trapped particles of debris captured during sanding in between firings. These particles were then made permanent in successive firings of the bisque. This debris is proof that the production of the 132 was a planned model design; its identification number was part of the master mold. The same is true for the 102 attributed to Kestner with the model number as part of the mold. Author Angione notes that the clarity and crispness of the first-out-of-the-mold dolls often appear as if the identification number on the back of the head had been pressed, not poured as they were, into the molds. (Angione, p. 22).

There is some confusion on the date of the German registered patent for Kestner models. Prior to 1892, a two-digit number system or letter indicated model size - such as the Kestner turned shoulder head dolls. Then in October of 1891 the German registration system was established and allowed manufacturers to protect their registered designs for 3 to 6 years. From 1892 on, Kestner used a three-digit mold number on the backs of the heads of the dolls. It was not until the 211-mold number that the 3-digit series was signed “JDK” on the back of the head along with the mold number. The back of the head may also be signed “Kestner”, “Made in Germany”, and be with or without a symbol of a crown with ribbons trailing beneath. Excelsior was Kestner’s trade name for dolls distributed in the USA and may also appear on a label affixed to Kestner composition bodies.

The all-bisque 132 and the nearly identical 102 models were unsigned by Kestner, Author Cieslik believes that the unsigned 100 series were made for customers who owned the design, or, that the patent belonged to the sculptor. In either case the 100 series were not signed Kestner or JDK. Still, experts Jürgen and Marianne Cieslik in their 1990 German Doll Marks & Identification Book attribute the 132 mold to Kestner: “Firm: J.D. Kestner, Jr., Date: GM 1897, Identification: dolly face.” (Cieslik, p.23). Cieslik explains that if “GM” (German design patent, Geschmacksmuster) appears next to a date, that is a reliable indication of date of the beginning of production. Cieslik also states in the 1984 German Doll Encyclopedia 1800-1939 “one may conclude…in contrary to the general rule” that in 1897 Kestner registered all molds already in production (Cieslik, p. 153). Kestner was also not known to produce all-bisque bodies for other doll companies. The Kestner dolls were made completely in the Kestner factory.

Skeptics of the Kestner origin of the all-bisque 132 point out several caveats. First, Kestner dolls are without pierced ears. Second, Kestner did not apply under brow painting to the eyebrows - in which a single stroke of color wash was applied under the individually painted hairs. Third, the sizing system of 0, 1, or 1 or 2 ½ , 3 or 4 – was not known to appear on Kestner signed dolls. These sizing number are seen on the early closed mouth “Pouty” models in all-bisque with bare feet and partly open or closed hands. So, these caveats would eliminate many Kestner- attributed all-bisque dolls today from the Kestner catalog, including the Kestner-attributed 102 Wrestler and the “Pouty” all-bisques.

Caveats for attributed Kestner dolls:

• Kestner did not make dolls with pierced ears.
• Kestner did not use sizing numbers like 0, 1, 2 ½, 3 or 4.
• Kestner only made dolls with plaster pates (under wigs).
• Kestner did not use any under brow painting (a large color stroke under detailed eyebrow hairs).
• Other German manufacturers besides Kestner have produced models similar to the 132

Many of these caveats carry less weight when we consider the long period of manufacture of the Kestner firm. Johann Daniel Kestner (JDK) of Waltershausen, Thuringia, Germany (b. 1787- d. 1858) began making papier-maché and wood dolls and toys as early as 1816. The Kestner company essentially closed in 1938 due to the beginning of World War II. Yet during the company’s long life, manufacturing marks and model styles changed to meet demand.

Kestner was known for offering dolls in different sizes, starting with the letter series turned shoulder dolls – marked as sizes A, B, C, D, etc., indicated size. Other sizing systems were employed over time. Author Genevieve Angione, All-Bisque & Half-Bisque Dolls, 1969 states that the numbering system on the back of the heads such as 0, 1, 2 ½ , 3 or 4 was an indication of the number of times the manufacturer miniaturized a doll head from the master mold. This number system related to size of the doll and was not a model number or registered design number. It should not be mistaken as a model number on the closed mouth pouty all-bisques. But Kestner certainly did use identifying marks to indicate model size.

The other caveats can be considered. The style of painting changed markedly over time. With the advent of the French bébé, under brow painting in particular, and heavier facial paint in general supplanted earlier, more restrained decoration. It is true the earliest Kestner attributed all-bisque do not have under brow painting such as the 7-inch closed mouth pouty series with marked sizes of 1 or 2 ½. Yet it does appear on the Kestner-attributed all-bisque 102. This change in this style - under brow painting - is evidenced on signed Kestner dolls such as the 211 baby (available in all-bisque) as well as Kestner attributed all-bisques. These dolls widely attributed to Kestner do have under brow painting.

Pierced ears appear rarely on signed Kestner models but are seen on the following signed models: 164 (circa 1900), 192, 260 (circa 1915) model. They were also seen occasionally on Kestner attributed models such as the Kestner Bru with its painted teeth. It was clear that Kestner was following demand, as many French bébés had pierced ears. The Kestner-attributed 102 “Wrestler” all-bisque also sported original pierced ears with unique double striped glass beads likely made in Bohemia or Italy. The 132 also has pierced ears though the Bru face instead of the opened mouth and teeth of the 102

The 102 and 132 all-bisque models have identical bodies – with the 102 having either gold painted or black painted boots. Occasionally 102s appear barefoot and occasionally 132s appear with painted boots. However, as the bisque bodies of the 102 and 132 were identical in modeling except for the feet and therefore interchangeable, legs could be interchanged. But it must be assumed that a 132 with boots received replacement legs and a 102 with bare feet, due to their extreme rarity, did not start out that way and was designed and marketed with boots. If we accept that the Kestner-attributed 102 has an identical body to the 132 and their parts are interchangeable, there is not much room for doubt that the same manufacturer made both.

Publicized references to the all-bisque 132 surface only occasionally, underlining the rarity of the all-bisque 132 and certainly a short production period of a few years. The earliest known photographic reference of an all-bisque 132 at this time can be found in Madeleine Selfridge’s 1969 Wendy and Friends.

In Patricia Smith’s 1992 Album of All-bisque Dolls, Smith describes it as a “French all-bisque. Left arm is bent and has excellent modeled hands. Glass eyes, feathered eyebrows, open/closed mouth. Marked “132” and looks very much like a miniature Bru.” (Smith, p.10). Smith states the all-bisque 132 is a French doll.

In September of 2008, the 132 switches nationality to German. The Galerie de Chartres auction catalog describes the 132 as: “All-bisque mignonette by KÜHNLENZ in large size. Swivel head mold 132 in size 0 [reminiscent of] the Chevrot era BRU mold…21 cm.” It is not known why Kühnlenz was attributed as manufacturer in this instance. The 132 all-bisque rarely surfaces at auction but when it does it almost always is attributed to Kestner with few exceptions.

Gebruder Kühnlenz was a factory of 100 workers in Kronach, Germany, founded in 1884 by three brothers, Julius, Cuno and Bruno. Kühnlenz, according to Cieslik’s 1984 German Doll Encyclopedia 1800-1939, made “doll heads, moveable children and swimmers”. An example of their dolls can be seen on page 73 of Cielik’s 1990 German Doll Marks & Identification Book.

While the model 34-27 bears a resemblance to the all-bisque 132, the Kühnlenz numbering system is entirely different. In 1889 Kühnlenz registered only a 2-digit series identification system - GM Nos. 68, 71, 72, 75, 76, 77. Due to the lack of a 3-digit model series system and the lack of coinciding production date with the Bru bébé, along with the absence of any other all-bisque models in production by Kühnlenz, it seems highly improbable that Kühnlenz produced the all-bisque

In January of 2023, a 132 all-bisque at auction is described as Sonnenberg:

9" (23 cm.) Bisque socket head on kid-edged bisque torso, blue glass inset eyes with darker blue outer iris rims, painted lashes, brushstroked brows, accented nostrils and eye corners, rose blushed eye shadow, closed mouth with downcast pouty lips, pierced ears, blonde mohair wig, peg-jointed bisque arms and legs, curved arms with cupped fish hands, bisque bare feet, well-costumed. Condition: excellent condition, very small imperceptible chip and reglue on upper crown rim (under wig). Marks: 132 0. Comments: Sonneberg, mystery maker, circa 1880, the doll closely resembles the early bébé of Bru. Value Points: rare and beautiful all-bisque with especially fine modeling of body musculature, bare feet.

Sonnenberg, Germany region dolls resemble the 132 all-bisque in appearance, but appear on composition or all wood bodies. In 1880 Ernst Grossmann registered the first Sonnenberg design for a doll (GM Nos. 82 and 88) consisting of a wood or composition ball-jointed body that moved in every direction. (Cieslik, German Doll Encyclopedia, p.100). However, despite the E.G. face resembling the 132, these dolls are marked “E.G.” or “Gesetzlich Geschutzt”, not 132, and consist of a closed dome head with pierced holes in the flattened top for cording to attach to the body. (Cieslik, German Doll Studies, p. 156). Hence, Grossmann was not concerned with the making of all-bisque dolls, nor used the 132 m

Bahr and Proschild from the Sonnenberg region offered some similar molds to the 132 all-bisque such as the 203 and 204. However, these models were available in very large sizes (with two digit size designations) down to 10-inches (with 0 size designation) but not offered in all-bisque.

In October, 2008 Theriaults offered the 132 all-bisque named Daphne in the Dimples and Sawdust auction, selling for $5750 . The description attributes the 132 all-bisque to Kestner:

“9" (23 cm.) Bisque swivel head on kid-edged bisque torso, large blue glass eyes, dark eyeliner, painted curly lashes, lightly feathered brows, accented nostrils and eye corners, closed mouth with slightly petulant expression of accented lips, pierced ears, blonde mohair wig over plaster pate, peg-jointed bisque arms and legs, sculpted bent elbows, bare feet. Condition: piece missing and rebuilt at left side of lower neck socket,two small leg rim chips. Marks: 13 0.

Marks: 13 0. Comments: attributed to Kestner, circa 1885, the doll closely resembles the Bébé Bru. Value Points: very beautiful all-bisque with superb original wig in waist-length braid with blue silk ribbons, antique lace dress, undergarments, earrings, stockings, tiny brown leather Bru-like shoes. The doll appears in Wendy and Friends by Selfridge [1969], page 49, named Daphne by the collector/author.

In September 2011, a 9” 132 all-bisque for $16,500 appears in Antique Doll Collector magazine, offered for sale by Joyce Kekatos of the Grandma’s Attic Dolls:

VERY RARE 9” Bru Type All-bisque Barefoot Bébé, gorgeous blue p/w [paperweight] eyes, mint bisque overall, orig. mohair wig, magnificent ant. Fr. Silk & lace dress, great ant. Fr. Hat, ant. Undies. On orig. perfect early peg strung all-bisque body w/blush in all the right places & rare bare feet & a “swivel neck”. Desirable molded Bru Type tongue tip. Looks “exactly” like a tiny Bru. Extremely RARE doll.

In February 2019, a 9” 132 for $9800 appears on Rubylane.com by seller Mary Ann Spinelli:

“Here is one you don't see but once or twice in a collecting lifetime; the elusive German Bru Jne. for the French market all-bisque wrestler. She comes from the line of wrestlers we all know, from the standard number 102 to the rare Circle Dot Bru face of the number 120 and then this extraordinary Bru Jne. version of the doll bearing the number 132 on the back of the head. These are the only three numbers found on an actual wrestler all-bisque…

The familiar presence of the Bru Jne. comes alive in all-bisque form with her sky-blue paperweight eyes with soft eyeliner, lashes and brows, her closed lips with a hint of tongue in between, her full, rose-blushed, pouty cheeks and pierced ears plus a voluminous antique blond mohair wig. She has a swivel neck and the signature body of the husky wrestler we love; Full chest and muscular arms with one bent more than the other, jointed at the hips, and even more robust legs jointed at the hips and molded footwear with the knee height white stockings and gold and black bootines. She has the typical wrestler shading on joints and torso.“

It is clear the 132 model took inspiration from its contemporaries such as Bru Bébé, therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the 132’s production would have occurred not long after the Bru bébé or Circle Dot Bru’s appearance in 1880. Shared characteristics with the Bru are the modeled open / close mouth, space for painted teeth (though teeth do not appear on the 132), the protruding gull-wing upper lip that sweeps downward at the corners, the elongated nostrils that aim toward the tip of the pointed nose, the puffed cheeks that protrude the length the of the bottom half of the face, the exact shape and modeling detail on the ears.

In 1882, Kestner made the Kestner Bru doll to compete with the French Circle Dot Bru bébé that was manufactured from 1879-1884. We can reasonably place the 132 all-bisque’s years of manufacture between 1880-1885, following the Bru bébé, second generation. Observe the nearly identical appearance of the Kestner Bru to the Circle Dot (Second Generation Bébé, p.80, The Bru Book, Theimer). The Kestner Bru has a slightly open/closed mouth with tiny molded painted teeth just like Circle Dot Bru. Kestner placed roman digit numbers on back of the head on this early Bru rival doll. Coincidentally, the Bru Circle-Dot motif is identical to the musical notation symbol called a fermata (a symbol to indicate a sustained tone), was not in fact a model symbol mark but a craftsman’s mark which indicated where to punch through the bisque if the model was a Bru Teteur (1879) which would have an open mouth with a feeding tube. The 132 all-bisque does not have such a circle-dot symbol but resembles the face of the Circle-Dot Bru.

Kestner is the only known German manufacturer to offer direct competition to the French bébé. Kestner not only produced competing models with to the French Bru bébés, but he also produced a competing French Thuillier model. The A.T. Kestner closely resembles the French bébé by Antoine Thuillier (called AT) - with paper weight eyes, pierced ears, closed mouth, ball jointed composition and wood body. Kestner offering models to compete with the French bébé market further establishes the likelihood that the 132 all-bisque, with its plump bébé body and angelic face resembling the early Bru bébés was made by the German firm of Kestner.

Kestner all-bisque bodies feature quality, finely detailed folds and plumpness. They greatly resemble the early French Bru bébés. These features are seen on the early attributed Kestner all-bisque closed mouth “pouty” series marked 1/0 or 2/0.

Nothing in these findings eliminates Kestner as the manufacturer of the 132 all-bisque. If we assemble the facts, most of the details lead to Kestner. Kestner was known to compete and produce similar models to the French bébés of the early 1880’s. Kestner dolls were entirely produced “in-house”, bodies and heads. Kestner was known to produce bisque limbs with great details, folds and wrinkles. Kestner’s registered use of the 3-digit model designation on the back of the head follows the pattern with the 132 numbers. Kestner used graduated size systems such as the turned shoulder heads with the alphabet letters and the 132 uses the 0 and 1 sizes for the 8” and 9” models. These sizes appear on the widely attributed Kestner pouty all-bisques as well. The exact same bodies appear on the Kestner-attributed 102 and the 132 - with the difference of bare feet or painted boots. Both these models are found with plaster pates under their wigs – a Kestner factory hallmark. The date of manufacturer would appear to line up with the time Kestner produced the larger Kestner Bru. As Kestner was already known for producing entire dolls in the Kestner factory, such quality all-bisques as the 132 with its resemblance to other Kestner models seems likely to be a Kestner product. To sum up, we see a clear winner among manufacturers who could have produced the all-bisque 132. No other factory at the time appears to have had the ability to produce such a model as the all-bisque 132 in the early 1880s when the Bru bébé appeared and influenced doll designers.